Corporate Finance

This is a compressed corporate finance class, but I will try to cover the entire subject matter in 3 days. I know that this sounds intimidating, especially if you have never taken a corporate finance class before. However, trust me, it is doable. In fact, read this before you go on.

Before you begin

• Syllabus for the class
• Pre-reading on tools you need for finance (if you feel you need to get up to speed)
  • Time Value of Money (or Do you really trust your financial calculator?)
  • Accounting (Boring, but necessary.. I guess)
  • Statistics (Your stat professor was right.. This stuff is useful..)
• Lecture Note packet
• Webcasts of classes (Will show up as classes get done)

In Class

Session	Readings & Problem Sets	Project Update	Practice Quizzes
1,2,3 (Management Objectives & Hurdle Rates)	Readings: Chapters 1,2,3,4 Problem Sets: Management Objectives (Download solutions in pdf file) Risk, Return and Hurdle Rates (Download solutions in pdf file)	Parts I-II Review Regression	Practice Quiz 1a (covers sessions 1 & 2) Download solution	Watch review webcast
			Practice Quiz 1b (covers session 3) Download solution	Watch review webcast
4 (Measuring Investment Returns)	Readings: Chapters 5,6 Problem Sets: Measuring Investment Returns (Download solutions in pdf file)	Parts III Estimate your cost of capital and return spread	Practice Quiz 2 (covers session 4) Download solution	Watch review webcast
4,5 (Capital Structure)	Readings: Chapters 7,8,9 Problem Sets: Capital Structure: The Choices (Download solutions in pdf file) Capital Structure: The Optimal Mix (Download solutions in pdf file)	Parts IV-VI Compute your optimal capital structure and constrained optimal capital structure	Practice Quiz 3 (covers session 4) Download solution
6 (Dividend Policy and Valuation)	Readings: Chapters 10,11,12 Problem Sets: Dividend Policy: Framework for Analysis (Download solutions in pdf file)	Parts VII-IX Review your company's dividend policy	Practice Quiz (covers sessions 4 & 5) Download solution (pdf)
		Bonus round Value your company	Practice Final Exam (You don't have one but take this if you want to check whether you get the big picture)

Side Readings

1. Into the Abyss: What if nothing is risk free?
2. Equity Risk Premium: The 2012 Edition
3. Innovative Financing and Capital Structure
4. Beyond Dividends: Alternative Ways of returning "value" to stockholders
5. To Hedge or not to Hedge: A Big Picture View of Risks
6. Valuing Acquisitions
7. Valuing young and start-up businesses
8. Valuing distressed businesses

The Project

• Project Description. Describes what the project is about and the questions that need to be answered.
• Project Workbook: This is your handy, must-not-miss, indispensable guide to analyzing your company.
• Number Checking: You can check to see whether you are hopelessly off on your numbers (and why) by going to this spreadsheet.
• FAQ: These are some of the issues that have turned up in prior iterations. Check to see if your question is answered here.
• Sample Project Write-Up: My project write up for Disney. Use it as a rough guide but not as the only or even the best template for your own write up.

For examples from the applied corporate finance book as well as solutions, try the supporting sites. The latest edition of the book, which ties in most closely with the notes is the third edition:

However, if you have the second editiion, it should be close: