Online Course Syllabus/Outline

Universe Online/University of Incarnate Word

Course:
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Instructor:
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BFIN 3321 Principles of Financial Management

Fall II 2014
Dr. Brian Wilson
(330) 678-1042
bgwilson@uiwtx.edu
Finance: Application and Theory, Cornett, Adair &
Nofsinger, 2nd Edition, ISBN-13: 978-0-07-353067-3

Optional
You will need access to Microsoft Excel OR a
Material:
financial calculator, for present value calculations.
(More recently, there are some good smart phone apps I use a
free one simply called Financial Calculator (the icon has a blue
background with gold coins).
Also, The Wall Street Journal, Investopedia, as well as
Financial Management, other financial journals as desired.

Course Description
Basic financial concepts employed by management. Emphasis is on the decision making
process followed by corporate financial managers. Topics include the time value of money,
financial planning, capital budgeting, cost of capital. Prerequisites: ACCT 2311, ECON 2301,
and ECON 2302

General Information
Please plan on reading the ANNOUNCEMENTS area a couple of times a week. Each week may
have a general announcement to start, but if I have anything that you all need to know comes
up, I will post it there.
Make sure to read this COURSE OUTLINE carefully. It has answers to a many of your questions.
Print it for future reference and refer to it often for weekly assignment due dates. You are
responsible for knowing what it contains especially all deadlines indicated within it.
The required software for this course is Microsoft Office Professional. If you do not have this
loaded on your computer you can purchase an education discounted copy from UIW.
The software can also be purchased through the UIW Business Office for $10 per copy. Call
210-829-6099 or eapbo@uiwtx.edu.
You must be a member of an academic institution to qualify for purchase. The products offered
on this storefront are not for the general public. You will be requested to provide proof of

academic affiliation prior to your product shipping in order to take advantage of these special
offers. Delivery of this software takes several weeks. Ordering after the course starts will place
you behind in your assignments.

How Course Fits Within Curriculum

This course is designed to:
1) Introduce the student to the theories and practices of financial management. 2)
Teach students how to interpret, evaluate, and analyze financial data and use the
theories to solve practical financial problems in the business world. 3) Topics covered
will include the following: Financial Management overview; the Analysis of Financial
Statements; Forecasting; Risk and Rates of Return; The Time Value of Money; Bond
and Stock Valuation; Capital Budgeting and the Cost of Capital; Cash Flow Analysis;
and Capital Structure and Financial Leverage.

I. Overview and Course Goals

Welcome to Corporate Finance on-line! In this course we will analyze financial and accounting
information and its impact on financial decision-making and profit planning. Some of the topics
will include: financial planning and control tools, leverage and capital structure, investment
banking, dividend policy, corporate restructuring, risk management and international financial
management. Each student will leave the course with an appreciation of corporate finance and
a comprehensive overview of how corporate finance works and how corporate finance affects
every aspect of business. You will work individually and as teams throughout the course. Each
week we'll focus on different situations, issues, or case studies encountered in the workplace
through our online discussions; these are reinforced and expanded by readings in our text.
During Week 1, we will focus on defining finance and describing the major areas and career
opportunities within the industry. We will review basic business organizations and their
strengths and weaknesses. We will look at the activities of the financial manager and wealth
maximization. You will learn about the relationship between financial institutions, markets and
how they affect financial decisions. We will learn about stocks and bonds, rights, preferred
stocks and basic relationships of risk and return. We will review financial statements, taxation,
depreciation, cash flows and we will start applying financial statement analysis to the decision
making process.
During Week 2, we will analyze financial statements. We will calculate and interpret major
liquidity ratios, asset management ratios, debt ratios, profitability ratios, and market value
ratios. We will discuss the differences between time series and cross-sectional ratio analysis
and decide which is most appropriate given an analytical situation. Finally, we will consider
cautions that should be taken when examining financial ratios and financial information in
general.
During Week 3, our activities will help you understand Time Value of Money and how it
affects the decision making process for a financial manager. Analyzing projects will help us

learn key capital budgeting terminology, capital expenditure motives and the steps in the capital
budgeting process.
During Week 4, you will learn the sources of risk to common stock and bond securities, and
how to value them. We will help you understand and explain the common features of different
types of securities for long-term financing.
During Week 5, we will study the types of securities traded in markets. We will identify
different types of financial institutions and the services that each financial institution provides.
We will analyze specific factors that influence interest rates. We offer different theories that
explain the shape of the term structure of interest rates. We will identify the general sources of
risk, and relationships between securities that will achieve diversification in your portfolio. We
will look at the different tools for analysis of return that help us to differentiate between
expected and realized returns.
During Week 6, we will focus on the components of an investors required rate of return, the
difference between required and expected rates or return, and determine what makes up a
stock's price, or stock valuations using simple present value models. You will be able to
differentiate between simple price-weighted, value-weighted, equal-weighted and geometric
average rates of returns on common stock. We will use these valuations to identify financial
goals, and analyze how assets can meet those financial goals. We will determine weighted
average costs of capital, how financial leverage and taxes affect firm value, and the best capital
structure for companies, long-term investment options, and the rationale behind these
decisions. We will focus on the assumptions, concepts, and specific sources of capital
underlying a companys cost of capital.
During Week 7, we will look at techniques and issues in estimating cash flows. We will also
examine the role of capital budgeting techniques (Net Present Value "NPV", Internal Rate of
Return "IRR" and Payback method in the capital budgeting process). We will also analyze the
risk-adjusted techniques in the capital budgeting process and refinements in the evaluation
process.
During Week 8, we emphasize the financing of the firm, in terms of capital structure and
dividend payments. We will identify goals and objectives in corporate finance practices. You
will have a basic understanding of time value of money and risk and returns concerning
financing decisions.

II. Course Objectives

Upon completion of this course, the student should have a working knowledge of theories,
methods and procedures used in analyzing the financial management of a firm as applied to the
liability and stockholders equity sections of the balance sheet.

After you have completed this course, you should be familiar with:

The Effects of Business Taxation

Leverage and Capital Structure
Long-Term debt and Investment Banking Decisions
Common Stock and Dividend Policy
Leasing, Derivatives, Hedging

III. Student Assessment

Student Conduct
The instructor reserves the right to manage a positive learning environment and thus will not
tolerate inappropriate conduct in the course.

See also Academic Honesty below. 1)

Assignments: (Listed on the assignment sheet of this syllabus.)

Assignments are given weekly. Your assignments are to be posted to the gradebook. Any
assignments that are not submitted by the deadline may not be graded. Please try to submit
the weekly assignments before the weekly deadline in order to stay ahead of the game.
Assignments will consist primarily of questions and problems from the end of the
chapters covered. When you submit the assignments, label the file with your last
name and what the assignment is, for example: Smith-HWWK1.doc. You can
submit them in Word, Excel, rtf, or pdf format. They are graded primarily on
completion (80%), but also on accuracy (20%). YOU MUST SHOW YOUR WORK ON
THE HOMEWORK _ JUST PROVIDING AN ANSWER WILL ONLY GIVE YOU PARTIAL
CREDIT.

2) Discussion Postings:
Each week there will be an article to discuss, a video to discuss, and two main discussion
question posted to the Discussion Board. Your participation is required and this is a very
important part of the course grade. The interaction between students and teacher, and
between students themselves, is essential for us to have an interesting online course
experience. This is The Classroom.
The weekly discussion topics will be posted each week no later than Monday.
You are to respond to each initial weekly discussion topic and then review one or two of your
classmates comments and post a reply to these. You should contribute to each weekly article
discussion at least once, each video discussion at least once, and each main discussion question
at least twice during the week: 1) respond early in the week to the initial discussion early in the
week, 2) respond to classmates postings by mid-week, and 3) respond to comments to your
earlier postings at the end of the week. Do not wait until the last day of the week to start
posting. If you simply post at the last minute, you did not really "participate" in the discussion
session. So please post early in the week so other students have a chance to reply to your
comments in a timely manner. You are responsible to read all of the discussion postings and

may see the content from them on the exams. Your final comments and replies for each
weekly discussion participation will all be due each Saturday by midnight (Friday in
Week 8).
I expect active participation by everyone and you will be graded according to the
content of your comments and interaction with your classmates. Your postings
should add something new to the discussion Me too! answers do not earn you
many points.

3) Examinations:
There will be a mid-term examination and a final examination.
Note: No examination will be accepted after the due date.

GRADING:
Assignments: (8 weeks, each worth 40 points): . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32%
Weekly Discussion: (8 Weeks, 40 points each): . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32%
Examinations: (2 exams, each worth 180 points each): . . . . . . . . . 36%
Total: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100%
Grading Scale:
A: 93 100
B+: 87 89
C+: 77 79
A-:90 92
B: 83 86
C: 73 76
F: less than 70
B-: 80 82
C-: 70 72
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION AND CONSIDERATION:

D+: 67 69
D: 63 66
D-: 60 62

Set up a schedule and try to adhere to it.

All assignments and weekly discussion topics are to be turned in by the deadline or
no credit will be given. (If you have to travel or a problem arises please inform me
in a timely manner and I will try to allow for these variables). It is a good idea to
submit assignments during the week and not wait until the last minute for the
weekly submissions in case something comes up. No assignment is accepted after
the weekly deadline.
Online courses are very demanding and time consuming, remember you are
basically covering a semester worth of reading, assignments, and class discussion in
an 8 week time frame. Most of you are working your online courses in to your
weekly work, family, and even leisure schedule. It is a very time intensive
commitment.
The online course format is not self-paced, or open-ended. The course has a
beginning and ending date and assigned deadlines for all the course requirements.
The course is taught in a somewhat informal lecture and discussion methodology.

Open-ended discussion is encouraged and students are invited to ask questions and
raise points for discussion. It is your class.
Your assignments and the remarks you post in the discussion forum reflect your
abilities to articulate your thoughts in writing. Proofread (spelling, grammar, and
content) before you post. Do a thorough job and completely answer assignment
questions. Dont take short-cuts, do a first class job!
The weekly posts to the discussion forum should be well presented and thought
out. Check out the weekly discussion topic each Sunday or Monday, and post your
reply to the discussion topic and comments on other students postings by the
following Friday. I will keep track of your participation, your follow-up to other
comments and the insightfulness that is used in the discussion. I do not expect any
of you to be experts on finance or business topics, especially if your experience in
these fields is limited. I do however; expect you to do the best job you can in your
evaluation of the questions and in your well-expressed comments.
I encourage you all to use outside materials and examples in the weekly
discussions, express some of your own experiences, after all we are talking about
the world of corporate finance and business, its where we live.
The next evening you might review another chapter and begin the weekly
assignment. During the next day at lunch, if you have Internet access you might
check the discussion forum to see the new posts, and make a comment between
enjoying the latest Subway sub.
On weekends, you might finish the assignment for the week and post it to meet the
deadline! Each of you knows what works best given your own schedules. This is
just a suggestion.
I look forward to working with each of you this semester and we will have a positive
and rewarding learning experience together.
Anytime that you need to contact me you can email me at the indicated email
address.

All official university communication will be sent to your UIW Cardinal

Email account. This includes all correspondence you will receive from
your instructor. Please make sure you check your UIW email regularly.

IV. IMPORTANT DROP COURSE INFORMATION

Drop/Withdraw procedure: It is the students responsibility to drop their course(s), there is no
university-initiated drop for non-participation. The last day to drop without being charged
tuition is by 5:00pm (CST) Friday the first week of class. If the drop is submitted after that
Friday, the full tuition is charged and there is no prorated amount. All drops after this deadline
through 5:00pm (CST) Friday of the sixth week of the term will result in a grade of W without
the possibility of a tuition refund.
To drop/withdraw from an online course please visit http://online.uiw.edu/course-dropform and complete the online form. Army students must drop their course(s) through
GoArmyEd and the drop fee will be waived.

V. Recording Policy
Audio or Audio/Video Recordings Prohibited
Students may not record classroom lectures, audio/visual presentations, or discussions.
Students found in violation of this policy may be subject to disciplinary action under the
universitys Code of Student Conduct.
Audio or Audio/Video Recordings Allowed
1. Students may record classroom lectures, audio/visual presentations, or discussions at any time without
the instructors permission.
2. Students may record classroom lectures, audio/visual presentations, or discussions but only with the
instructors permission.
3. Students registered with the Disability Services Office who wish to record classroom lectures, audio/visual
presentations, or discussions must present a signed Letter of Accommodation from the Office of Disability
Services.

For each option (1-3), add the following:

Such recordings are to be used solely for the purposes of individual or group study with other
students
enrolled in this class. They may not be reproduced, shared with those not in the class, or
uploaded to publicly accessible web environments. Students must destroy recordings at the end
of the term in which they are enrolled in the class.
Students found in violation of this policy may be subject to disciplinary action under the
universitys Code of Student Conduct.

VI. ACADEMIC HONESTY

University of the Incarnate Word is strongly committed to the nurturing of academic excellence.
The University expects its students to pursue and maintain truth, honesty, and personal
integrity in their academic work. Academic dishonesty, in any form, constitutes a serious threat
to the freedoms, which define an academic community.

Collaboration with other students is not permitted without explicit permission from the
instructor. This is a form of plagiarism. Roommates and spouses taking the same course
should be particularly careful. If collaboration is authorized you must acknowledge the
collaboration in writing. Your grade will be based in large part on the originality of your ideas
and your written presentation of these ideas. Presenting as one's own the words, ideas, or
expression of another in any form is cheating through plagiarism.
For details on what constitutes academic dishonesty and the consequences of it, see the (UIW)
student handbook for definitions and procedures for investigation of claims of academic
dishonesty.

VII. Disability Accommodations

The University of the Incarnate Word is committed to providing a supportive, challenging,
diverse and integrated environment for all students. In accordance with Section 504 of the
Rehabilitation Act Subpart E and Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the
University ensures accessibility to its programs, services and activities for qualified students with
documented disabilities.
For more information, contact the Student Disability Services Office:
Director, Moiss Torrescano
Academic Counselor, Michelle Beasley
Location Administration Building Room 105
Phone (210) 829-3997
Fax (210) 829-6078
*Information listed above is contact information for Student Disability Services Academic
Counselor, Michelle Beasley.

VIII. Course Schedule (Homework is due by Midnight, Sundays)

Each week you will notice a number in parenthesis. It is the Alternative Learning Equivalencies for this course. It
is an expectation for the minimum amount of time (hours) you will spend on each topic each week. Its primary
purpose is for accreditation.

Week
1

Text
CH 1

Homework

Discussion

Questions 2, 5; p.27

Autobiography Discussion (1)

Video Discussion (1)

CH 2

CH 3

Question 13, p.61

Firm Goals Discussion (2)

Problems 7, 9, 15; pp.62-63

Financial Stmts. Disc. (2)

Questions 2, 4, 7; pp.101-102

Current Event Discussion (1)

Problems 30, 31, 33; pp.106-107

Video Discussion (1)

Ratio Comparison Disc. (2)
Industry Averages Disc. (2)

CH 4

Problems 7, 13, 15,33, & 35;

pp.136-137

CH 5

Problems 1, 3, 5, 7, 11, 15, 21, 39;

Current Event Discussion (1)

Video Discussion (1)
Time Value Discussion (2)

pp. 173-175 Perpetuities Discussion (2)

4

CH 7

Questions 1, 5, 12; pp. 252

Current Event Discussion (1)

Problems 12, 13, 16, 22;

Video Discussion (1)

pp.253-254
CH 8

Questions 1, 9; p.287

BOND RISK Discussion (2)

STOCK VALUE Discussion (2)

Problems 1, 7, 19, 21, 34;

pp. 288-291
Midterm Exam:

Posted near the end of Week 4

Course Schedule (continued)

5

CH 6

CH 9

CH 10

CH 11

Questions 1, 2; p.213

Current Event Discussion (1)

Problems 2, 5, 7; pp. 214-215

Video Discussion (1)

Questions 4, 7, 11; p.318

Term Structure Discussion (2)

Problems 2, 6, 25; pp. 319, 321

Stock Market Risk Disc. (2)

Questions 3, 7, 14; p. 353

Current Event Discussion (1)

Problems 2, 5, 8, 27; pp. 354,356

Video Discussion (1)

Questions 4, 7; p. 387

Efficient Markets Disc. (2)

Problems 3, 9, 11, 13, 17, 25;

Cost of Capital Discussion (2)

pp. 388-390

CH 12

Questions 1, 4, 5; p. 417

Current Event Discussion (1)

Problems 3, 6, 7, 8, 10;

Video Discussion (1)

pp. 417-419
CH 13

Questions 3, 5, 6; pp. 455

NPV Projects Discussion (2)

Opportunity Costs Disc. (2)

Problems 17, 18, 19, 21, 22; p. 458

8

CH 16

CH 17

Final Exam:

Questions 1, 5, 7; p. 557-558

Current Event Discussion (1)

Problems 2, 4, 5; pp. 558-559

Video Discussion (1)

Questions 1, 5, 8; pp. 583-584

Capital Structure Disc. (2)

Problems 5, 11, 15; pp. 584-585

Dividends Discussion (2)

Posted near the beginning of Week 8

HAVE A GREAT SEMESTER!