FIN201 CORPORATE FINANCE

Unit Guide

TRIMESTER 2 2023-2024
T1 2022

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About FIN201 Corporate Finance

CONTACTS
Below is a list of contacts for this unit. Please liaise directly with your unit instructor regarding
appropriate consultation times. It is usually best to make contact with the staff via email.

Unit Instructor Dr. Vo Hong Duc

Email: duc.vo@isb.edu.vn
Dr. Phan Thu Hien
Email: hien.phan@isb.edu.vn
Student Advisor 2A Nguyen Thi Dieu, Vo Thi Sau Ward, District 3, HCMC
Phone: (028) 3535 8888 Ext: 231, 233 Email: pathway.bbus@isb.edu.vn

UNIT OVERVIEW
This unit introduces students to the theoretical basis and analytical framework for corporate
financial decision making. It is concerned with both the investment decision of firms and the
determination of the financing mix necessary to achieve a firm’s financial objectives.
Investment decisions determine a firm’s size, its operating profits, its business risk and its
liquidity. Financing decisions affect a firm’s financing costs and its financial risk. These two
decisions, combined with the dividend decision, comprise the essential financial decisions
which firms must make.

PRE-REQUISITES
None.

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Assessment Information
UNIT LEARNING OUTCOMES
The table below outlines the unit learning outcomes (ULOs) for this unit. Upon completion of
this unit, students will be able to:

1. Be familiar with the basic financial decision making and valuation concepts.
Understand and solve problems involving financial mathematics so as to be able to use
2.
appropriate tools to assist in managing an organisation.
3. Be able to evaluate different types of securities.
4. Have developed critical skills in analysing capital budgeting projects.
Be able to evaluate a corporate financial position and capital and project investment
5.
strategy for the future to maximise the Present Value of the Firm.
Understand the relationship between risk and return, and be able to estimate the cost of
6.
capital using alternative and appropriate methods.
7. Understand the firm’s capital structure, relevant theory and its limitations.
Construct various indicators associated with the operating cycle, cash cycle and
8.
demonstrate the cash budgeting process.
9. Be able to select subsequent finance courses.

ASSESSMENT SUMMARY

VALUE LEARNING
ASSESSMENT ITEM THRESHOLD
(%) OUTCOMES
Class participation and discussion
1. 10% LO 1-9 No
(Individual)
72-hour Take-home exercises (4
2. 20% LO 1-9 No
exercises, Group)
Online Post-lecture quizzes (Individual,
3. 20% LO 1-7, 9 No
Weekly)
Final exam (Individual)
4. 50% LO 1-8 Yes - 35%
Due: TBA

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Final marks and grades are subject to confirmation by the School Assessment Committees
which may scale, modify or otherwise amend the marks and grades for the unit, as may be
required by the University’s policies.
🛈 Note: To successfully complete this unit, students must:
▪ Achieve a minimum of 50 marks;
▪ Complete all assessment items; and
▪ Attend 80 percent of class time.
▪ NB: Assessment 4 has a threshold mark of 35%, ie. you are required to achieve a
minimum 35% mark for this assessment and an overall pass mark (at least 50%) to
pass the unit.

Assessment 1: Class participation & discussion (Individual)

(10%)
Overview
Due: Ongoing throughout the duration of the course.
Details
Class attendance and participation includes coming to class prepared and on time, taking part
in class discussions (this involves listening/reading as well as writing/speaking and completing
all in-class activities), asking questions, contributing your knowledge and insights in whatever
form is appropriate, and striving to make all your contributions excellent. It also includes doing
quick quizzes and the required reading and writing for each class.
Attendance is checked by the lecturer. You are permitted no more than 20% absences during
the term. Coming late by 15 minutes at the beginning of the class, coming late by 5 minutes
after the break, or leaving prior to the scheduled end time without the permission of the
lecturer will equate to an absence.

Assessment 2: 72-Hour Take-home Exercises (Group) (20%)

Overview
Due: Ongoing throughout the duration of the course.
Details
A major question is delivered to students after a relevant lecture. Students are allocated into
groups. Evidence of the group's meeting is enclosed at the end of the submission. Each
student’ contributions to the completion of the group questions will be assessed by other team
members and mentioned in the group’s submissions. The groups will have up to 72 hours,
after the lecture, to complete the exercises and submit them to the system.
Answers to the questions are typed in Microsoft Word which is then converted into PDF for
submissions. Please be advised that hand-written answers, which are then copied as the
images into the Word document, will NOT be accepted.
Only ONE submission for each group is required. Multiple submissions of the same exercises
will be penalised.

Assessment 3: Post-class Online Quizzes (Individual) (20%)

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Overview
Due: Set online for each quiz after the lecture.
Details
The post-class online quizzes will be in the form of 10 multiple-choice questions and basis
reasoning questions/definitions which are uploaded on eLearning with specified due dates.
The online quizzes are compulsory and must be fully completed. If missing any quiz can be
considered not-completed, that may result in failure of the course.

Assessment 4: Final exam (Individual) (50%)

Overview
Due: TBA.
Length: 2 hours.
Details
Analytical Calculations & Written Answers based on Required Readings, Lectures, and Case
Studies covered in relevant chapters. The final exam will test on Learning Outcomes 6-9 and
Chapters 10, 11, 13, 16, 17, 21, 26, and 28 of Ross, Westerfield & Jaffe, 13th edition.
A threshold of 35% is applied on the final exam.
Marking criteria and standards
Based on logic, accuracy, correctness, and comprehensiveness of answers.

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Teaching Activities

SCHEDULE OF ACTIVITIES

Lectures Tutorials (Problems) Required

Session
(2 hours) (3 hours) Readings
Course overview Chapter 1, Ross,
Introduction to the unit Discussion on assessment, Westerfield, &
1 An Overview of Corp. expectation, and deadlines Jaffe, 13th edition
Finance Group formation & ice
breaking
Chapters 2 Ross,
Financial Statements Recommended problems:
2 Westerfield, &
and Cash Flow 2.3,5,6,9,11,13,14,18,20
Jaffe, 13th edition
Chapters 3 Ross,
Financial Statements Recommended problems:
3 Westerfield, &
Analysis 3,4,5,7,8,9,13,19,20
Jaffe, 13th edition

Recommended problems: Chapters 4, Ross,

Discounted Cash Flow Westerfield, &
4 7,8,9,10,12,13,18,23,25,36,4
Valuation Jaffe, 13th edition
5,48

Recommended problems: Chapter 6, Ross,

Making Capital
5 Westerfield, &
Investment Decisions 1,2,3,6,7,8,9,11,20,23 Jaffe, 13th edition

Recommended problems: Chapters 8, Ross,

1,2,3,5,6,8,9,10,17,18,28 Westerfield, &
Interest Rates and Bond
Jaffe, 13th edition
6 Valuation
Chapters 9, Ross,
Stock Valuation Recommended problems: Westerfield, &
1,2,4,6,8,9,11,12,13,14,15,16 Jaffe, 13th edition

Recommended problems: Chapter 10 Ross.,

Risk and Return - Westerfield, &
Lessons from Market 1,7,,8,9,10,12,13,19,23
Jaffe, 13th edition
History Chapter 11,
7
Return and Risk-The Recommended problems: Ross.,
Capital Asset Pricing 1,4,5,7,9,10,13,14,15,16,22,2 Westerfield, &
Model (CAPM) 3,27 Jaffe, 13th edition

Chapter 13,
Risk, Cost of Capital, Recommended problems: Ross.,
8
and Valuation 1,4,5,7,8,9,11,17,19 Westerfield, &
Jaffe, 13th edition

Chapters 16, and

Recommended problems:
17 (17.1; 17.2 and
9 Capital Structure Chapter 16: 17.4 only) Ross.,
1,2,3,4,6,6,8,9,13,14,16,17,1 Westerfield, &

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Lectures Tutorials (Problems) Required

Session
(2 hours) (3 hours) Readings
8,19, 21,25 Jaffe, 13th edition

Chapter 21,
Recommended problems: Ross.,
10 Leasing
1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,13,14,15 Westerfield, &
Jaffe, 13th edition

Recommended problems: Chapters 26 and

Short-Term Financing &
28, Ross.,
11 Working Capital Chapter 26: 5,6,7,8,9,10,12 & Westerfield, &
Management Chapter 28: 1,3,5,11,12 Jaffe, 13th ed.

Recommended problems:
12 Revision Chapters of 10, 11, 13, 16,
17, 21, 26, & 28

Self-study

FINAL EXAM Chapters of 10, 11, 13, 16, 17, 21, 26, & 28

TUTORIALS
Tutorials following the lecture in each session provide students the opportunity to apply and
share knowledge by doing a variety of in-class activities individually or in groups such as
exercises, discussion, and presentation. These activities focus on demonstrating your skills
and help you build your ability to achieve the learning outcomes for this unit. It is required to
set tutorial appointments with lecturer in a prior notice via email.
Tutorial questions/exercises will be regularly set. You will be expected to have completed
specific reading and exercises from the textbook and other required materials prior to attending
each lecture and tutorial class. If you have not prepared adequately, you will not get the full
benefit from this learning opportunity.

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Learning Resources

ESSENTIAL READINGS

Prescribed
Ross, S., Westerfield, R., Jaffe, Corporate Finance, 13th edition (2021).
textbook
Brigham, E. F., & Houston, J. (2022). Fundamentals of Financial
Management (16th ed.). Cengage Learning.
Recommended
readings Saunders, A., Cornett, M. M., & Erhemjamts, O. (2021). Financial
Markets & Institutions: An Introduction to the Risk Management
Approach (10th ed.). McGraw Hill.

ONLINE RESOURCES

E-library https://smartlib.ueh.edu.vn/
Log in with UEH-ISB account
E-learning https://learn.kfo.edu.vn/

REFERENCING REQUIREMENTS
Student assignments are to contain original content created by the students. Assignments will
be rejected if they include plagiarised content or contain excessive amounts of quoted/cited
material and minimal original content. Students will receive a grade of ZERO (0%) for any
assignments rejected for this reason. Written assignments WILL BE RANDOMLY checked by
the lecturer with Turnitin.com, an online plagiarism-checking tool.
Furthermore, your reference to support your statements must be from a reliable source, such
as textbooks, additional reading materials, and reference books. However, many websites are
not reliable sources. Examples are Wikipedia.org, about.com, and ask.com. If you are not sure
if a reference is acceptable or not, please contact the lecturer.
The Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (APA) 7th ed., will
serve as the primary reference materials for all students. Therefore, all papers must be
submitted in APA format. The mechanics of student papers and work will be evaluated, as well
as the content. It is imperative that guidelines be reviewed before an assignment is begun. It
is also important that the required submission format be followed in compiling the final paper
or assignment.

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General Information & Policy

Submission
Assignment cover sheet
▪ All assignments are required to be submitted with an Assignment Cover Sheet.
▪ Group assignments are to be submitted with a Group Assignment Cover Sheet as well
as a Peer Evaluation Form depending on the request of the unit instructor.
Non-contributing team members can sometimes be an issue with group-work structured
assessment. Individual student group work scores may be adjusted as a result of peer
dissatisfaction with a particular student’s contribution to group work assignments, as reflected
in submissions of the evaluation form.

🛈 NOTE:
▪ Assignment cover sheets and the evaluation form can be located on E-learning system
(https://learn.kfo.edu.vn/)
▪ Students are advised to keep a copy of all assignments submitted for marking.
Submission style
Assignments are expected to achieve a professional standard:
▪ Be typed, one and a half spaced, on A4 paper
▪ Use a simple clear format, suitable for a report to senior management in a commercial
organisation.
Submission method
Soft copy: submitted electronically via E-learning system (https://learn.kfo.edu.vn/) before
the deadline (Suggested title: Student name/Group name_Unitname_Name of Assignment).
Hard copy: submitted to your lecturer(s) on the due date if required.
Late assignment and make-up policy
All quizzes, the mid-term tests, group assignments, and final exams must be taken on the
assigned dates. No late assignments will be accepted unless prior authorization is granted by
the Unit Coordinator. In case such an authorization is not granted, grade deduction will be
applied. The Unit Coordinator may decide not to accept assignments that are not submitted
within 3 days after the assignment due date. However, if there are extenuating or unforeseen
circumstances, the Unit Coordinator must be contacted before the quiz, midterm, group
assignment or final exam dates to authorise a make-up if required.

Attendance
Class attendance is compulsory and students should provide reasons for the failure to attend
the class on a particular lecture/workshop session. Students are required to attend a minimum
of 80% of all classes in order to secure class participation marks. Please let your lecturer(s)
and/or ISB know AND submit a request for absence form to the Student Advisor prior to the
session if you are unable to attend any session.
Cases equating to an absence:
▪ Arriving to class late by 15 minutes at the beginning,
▪ Arriving late by 5 minutes after the break
▪ Leaving prior to the scheduled end time without the permission of the lecturer

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🛈 IMPORTANT: Students will not be allowed to sit in the final examination if violating the
above absence rule.

Electronic Device Use

▪ Cell phones will be turned off or switched to vibrate mode before class starts.
▪ No phone calls or text messaging are allowed inside the classroom during class time.
▪ Portable listening and/or music devices may not be operated in the classroom.
▪ Headphones and/or ear buds of any type may not be worn while in the classroom
whether operating or not.
▪ Laptop and other electronic devices are not permitted unless specifically authorised
by the lecturer exclusively for note taking and doing class work.

🛈 IMPORTANT: If you are in violation of these policies, you will be excused from class and
an absence will be assessed.

Email Etiquette
Your lecturers receive many emails each day. In order to enable them to respond to your
emails appropriately and in a timely fashion, students are asked to follow basic requirements
of professional communication.
Your emails should:
▪ Have a concise and descriptive title, including the class and name of the unit you are
enquiring about
▪ Be clear about the intention of their emails
▪ Use appropriate tone and language, proof-read what is written in the email before
sending it.
Students should also allow 3-4 working days for a response before following up. If the matter
is legitimately urgent, you may indicate “URGENT” in the email subject header.
Make an appointment: If your email request is complex and requires a lengthy response it
may be probably best to make an appointment with your lecturer/instructor to meet in person.

Disability Support Services

Students with disabilities are advised that accommodations and services are available at UEH-
ISB. It is the student's responsibility to contact the UEH-ISB office and submit appropriate
documentation prior to receiving such services.

Additional Information
This unit guide may be revised at the discretion of the Unit Coordinator with approval from
Program Academic Director and School Academic Committee where appropriate.

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