MODIFIED COURSE SYLLABUS

Financial Management – FIN 6301-002 – Spring 2020

THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT DALLAS - Naveen Jindal School of Management

Course Information :
Course Number/Section FIN 6301-002
Course Title Financial Management
Term Spring 2020
Days & Times Was Wednesdays, 4:00 pm – 6:45 pm. Now on-line.

Professor Contact Information:

Professor David J. Springate, Ph.D.
Finance Professor and Director, Center for Finance Strategy & Innovation
Academic Director, Executive MBA Program
Office Phone 972-883-2647
Email Address spring8@utdallas.edu (eLearning email is preferred for the course.)
Office Location JSOM 2.403. Now operating from home.
Office Hours By appointment. We will operate remotely.

Administrator Contact Information:

Administrative Assistant Jeanette Henriques (Please copy on all emails to the professor.)
Office Phone 972-883-5802
Email Address Jeanette.Henriques@utdallas.edu (eLearning email is preferred for the course.)
Office Location JSOM 1.515B

Course Pre-requisite:

You need to be able to work with Excel.

Context and Progression of the Course:

This course is designed to serve a diverse group of students. In the class there are differences in educational
and cultural background. There are also differences in preferred learning styles. For most people, this will be
the first finance course. But some students will have had some earlier academic work in finance. Some of you,
but not all, are studying to be finance professionals. I believe the course design can accommodate all the
foregoing and that we can have an enjoyable, informative and positive experience in this course. It will seve
you well. An understanding of the basics of corporate and investment finance is necessary for all graduate
students. We live in a capitalistic economy and all members of the class intend to operate at the professional,
managerial or executive level. Furthermore, all members need to appreciate the responsibilities of corporate
financial officers.

The most basic responsibility of corporate financial management is managing the cash position. Accordingly,
we will start the course by both developing your ability to forecast cash needs, and developing your
understanding of how cash is tied up/absorbed in a corporation and how it is generated. Relatedly, we will
study measues of financial health: profitability, liquidity, efficiency and debt position.

We will then move to consider the time value of money, discounting, and basic measures of investment worth..
You will learn the Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) approach to project/corporate valuation. We will practice
making some investment decisions and you will become familiar with the concept of present value.

Following this, in the on-line part of the course, we will move to examine how discount rates, opportunity rates
and equity capital costs can best be estimated. There is often a clear cost of corporate debt. No such
Course Syllabus – FIN 6301– Financial Management – Spring 2020– Dr. David Springate Page 1 of 6
published standard for cost of equity capital exists. We will learn about and use the best models to estimate
this cost. To do this, we will spend some time on portfolio theory, measures of risk, and modern finance. We
will then go on to develop the concept of Long-Term Weighted Average Cost of Capital. We will use the
introduced frameworks to improve your ability to use DCF methods of valuation by considering Adjusted
Present Value and Discounted Dividend approaches. This is not a course featuring financial software or
computation techniques, rather it concentrates on the reasoning and use of financial models by business
professionals.

Toward the end of the course, we will turn attention to the capital structure of the corporation and consider
some issues of capital management. The debt vs equity decision, the dividend decision, Initial Public Offerings,
and related issues of financial and corporate strategy will be included.

Learning Objectives/Outcomes:

This course will concentrate on developing your understanding of corporate finance concepts, on using models
helpful in corporate investment, and on developing your understanding of how and why corporations are
financed as they are in today’s economy. It is not a course focused exclusively on formulas or algebra. The
course will be demanding of your time and intellect but it is student-centered. Specifically, we will work together
to:

1. Develop your understanding and ability to forecast corporate cash flows and cash needs.
2. Develop your ability to analyze a company with respect to its financial health
3. Develop your ability to work with present value and the associated time value of money
4. Develop your ability to make economically-sound corporate investment decisions and good corporate
valuations.
5. Develop your understanding of how portfolio theory and considerations of risk and return can yield
usable, valid measures of risk-adjusted discount rates, cost of equity and cost of capital.
6. Develop your ability to make better capital structure decisions involving trade-offs among corporate
goals.
7. Equip you to better present your thoughts, both verbally and in writing. Presentation skills are important.

Conduct of the Course (First Part: Prior to March 15):

We will explore topics though guided class discussion, brief lectures, problems, and my comments to you on
both your written and oral contributions. Each class will start with a discussion of the teaching points in an
assigned problem, assigned case or assigned textbook reading. We will not move through the textbook
chapters in a linear fashion. We will use them in the order that helps us.

I do intend to lecture at times, to go over assigned problems, and to explain assigned readings. Please note a
major point of difference here from some other sections of the course. The central feature of eight of the
classes will be the case discussion. This is by design and intent. The case method represents an effective way
to learn. In managing our case discussions I will will have two aims. The first is to have you discuss debatable
issues to increase your learning of relevant topics and appreciation of the limitations of some models. The
second aim will be to actively engage as many members of the class as possible. Through prior analysis,
listening to others, making rational challenges and responses as appropriate, and deciding what constitutes a
reasonable position, your learning of important concepts and models of finance and valuation will be advanced.
My responsibility is to help and enable this process.

You will need to prepare before class. Although group discussion of cases prior to class is encouraged, you will
participate as an individual most of the time we are together. This course is not structured around group
submissions or group presentations. The cases used have been chosen because they have proved to be
effective teaching media. You can expect to speak frequently in this class. You will be called on.

Course Syllabus – FIN 6301– Financial Management – Spring 2020– Dr. David Springate Page 2 of 6
At the beginning of each case-discussion class you will be expected to have sent in a one or two-page write-up
of the issues you see in the assigned case. This write-up will be used for both evaluation and as an important
component of the feedback process. I will provide you with written comments on it. To achieve all this, you
must submit a paper written by yourself. There will be no comparable submission opportunities for the
assigned problems and readings. Evaluation and grades are discussed below.

Assignments will be posted on e-Learning, the expected method of communication for the course. You will
usually need a computer in class.

Conduct of the Course (Second Part: After March 15):

The second part of the course will be on-line through e-Learing. There will be more emphasis on written
submissions and they will, generally, be longer. A class will roll-out over a longer period than three hours. Case
discussions will become more structured through use of the discussion board. Asynchronous comments will be
expected from each student. Groups large enough for effective on-line discussion boards will be formed. In
addition, class members will be offered the chance to respond to my initial grading comments on cases they
submit.

Required Textbook:

The book below is an excellent text in support of the course’s aims. The book’s content will be discussed as we
progress through the course. We will use some of the problems it contains.

Gabriel Hawawini and Claude Viallet - Finance for Executives : Managing for Value Creation
ISBN: 978-14737-4924-5
2/24/2019 © 2019
6th Edition 760 pages, Cengage.  
https://www.cengage.com/c/finance-for-executives-managing-for-value-creation-6e-hawawini/

 
Required Cases and Notes:

In addition to the book, you will need the 11 required cases and notes listed below. Three have associated
supplementary materials. This material must be purchased from Harvard Business Publishing. The link for the
Harvard course pack is: https://hbsp.harvard.edu/import/685212 .

1. Yates Control Systems: Will the Bank Make the Loan W18307-PDF-ENG
2. WNG Capital LLC UV7263-PDF-ENG
3. Fonderia del Piemonte S.p.A. UV7207-PDF-ENG
4. Finance Reading: Risk and Reurn 1: Stock Returns and Diversification 5220-PDF-ENG
5. Finance Reading: Risk and Return 2: Portfolio Theory 8603-PDF-ENG
6. Finance Reading: Cost of Capital 8293-PDF-ENG
7. Nike: Cost of Capital UV0010-PDF-ENG
8. Finance Reading: Capital Structure Theory 5187-PDF-ENG

9. Hill Country Snack Foods Co. 913517-XLS-ENG

10. Asahi India Glass Limited: Leverage, a Double-edged Sword W15457-PDF-ENG
11. Lululemon Athletica: Pitching an IPO W11256-PDF-ENG
Course Syllabus – FIN 6301– Financial Management – Spring 2020– Dr. David Springate Page 3 of 6
On occasion, readings may be distributed to you via eLearning or handed out in class.

Evaluation and Grades:

There will be six parts to your evaluation and course grade. They fit into three areas.

 You are expected on five occasions to send electronically, prior to class or by assigned time, a
summary of your case assignment findings and recommendations. This must be your own work.
You will get written feedback and a grade on each submission. On two, further occasions, this
expected report will be expanded to five pages.The submissions will, collectively, determine 30% of
the course grade. Half of this grading percentage will be for classroom sessions, half for on-linre
sessions.

 My assessment of your participation in class discussion and on-line class participation/contributions

will determine 25% of the course grade. In the second part of the course, this will include on-line
discussion boards. I will make an assessment each week and keep an ongoing record. Both
frequency of participation and quality of comments are important. A total of 12.5% of the course
grade will be awarded for the first part of the course (to March 15), with 12.5% for the second (on-
line) part. You can ask at any time how you are progressing on this criterion, it will not be posted
weekly.

 Twice during the term there will be an announced Class or CourseTest. The first will count for 25%
of the course grade, the second (on-line test) for 20% The tests will be returned to you, graded.

 In summary:
o Three one or two page submissions, first part of course 15.0%
o Weekly two or five page submissions, second part of course 15.0%
o Assessment: discussion/shared contributions, first part of course 12.5%
o Assessment: discussion/shared contributions, second part of course 12.5%
o First class test 25.0%
o Second course test 20.0%

100%

Grading Notation:

You will receive a letter matching equivalent grade point in each stage of grading. This is the equivalence.

A A- B+ B B- C+ C P F I
4.0 3.67 3.33 3.00 2.67 2.33 2.00 Pass Fail Incomplete

Course Syllabus – FIN 6301– Financial Management – Spring 2020– Dr. David Springate Page 4 of 6
 Assignment Page and Calendar - Financial Management – Spring 2020 - Dr. David Springate
All topics and schedules are subject to change at professor’s discretion
Course Associated
Week Date/Week Topics Class Style/Case
Section Readings
 Class
introductions
 Syllabus
1 January 15 Introduction Discussion  Chapter 1
 Expectations for
the course
 Grading policy
2 January 22  Cash Flows to Discussion/Problems
the Firm
Cash Needs,  Uses of Cash
Ratios and  Sources of Yates Control
 Chapters
Liquidity Cash Systems: Will the
3 January 29 4, 5, 6
Bank Make the
 Ratio Analysis Loan?

4 February 5  Cash Flows at Discussion/Problems

Different Times
Time Value of  Chapter 2
 Usefulness of
5 February 12 Money WNG Capital
Net Present
Value
 Economic Value
Discussion/Problems
Capital  Incremental  Chapters
6 February 19 Fonderia del
Investments Cash Flows 7, 8, 9
Piemonte S.p.A.
 NPV Rule
7 February 26 Class Test
 Stock Returns
8 March 4 Discussion/Problems  Risk and
 Portfolio Theory
Return 1
 Betas and
 Risk and
Risk, Measures of
Return 2
Portfolios, and Risk Discussion of Risk
 Cost of
9 March 11 Cost of Equity  Cost of Equity and Return 2 and
Capital
 Capital Asset Chapter 3
 Chapter 3
Pricing Model
 Adjusted PV
 Cost of
Week of Capital
10 Cost of Capital Nike: Cost of Capital
March 30  Chapters
10, 12
 Debt and Equity Hill Country Snack
11 Week April 6
Choices Foods Co.
 Capital
Capital  Debt Safety Asahi India Glass
12 Week April 13 Flexibility Limited: Leverage, a Structure
Structure and
 Corporate Double-edged Sword Theory
Capital
 Chapters
Management Strategy
 Dividends 11, 13, 14,
Lululemon Athletica:
13 Week April 20 15
 Signalling Pitching an IPO
 IPO’s

Course Syllabus – FIN 6301– Financial Management – Spring 2020– Dr. David Springate Page 5 of 6
 14 Week April 27
Course Test

Course and Instructor Policies:

Class Attendance
Grades depend, in part, on attendance. You are expected to be in class or attend on-line
sessions, as appropriate. Please tell me in advance if you will be missing..

Classroom Citizenship
Participation calls for due respect of classmates and your professor. Do not embarrass
yourself. Come prepared to class with required readings and case preparation completed.
Late Work
All required work should be submitted, even if late. Penalties will apply. Specifically, there will
be scaled grade reduction for late submission of work.

Make-up tests
These are possible only in exceptional circumstances. Ask for my agreement in advance.

Field Trip Policies:

None

Student Conduct & Discipline:

The University of Texas System and The University of Texas at Dallas have rules and regulations for the
orderly and efficient conduct of their business. It is the responsibility of each student and each student
organization to be knowledgeable about the rules and regulations which govern student conduct and activities.
General information on student conduct and discipline is contained at https://go.utdallas.edu/syllabus-policies

Course Syllabus – FIN 6301– Financial Management – Spring 2020– Dr. David Springate Page 6 of 6