West Virginia University

College of Business and Economics

FIN 470 Advanced Finance, Spring 2006

Class meetings: MWF, 9:30-10:20 a.m., 240 B&E

Instructor: Alex Kurov

Office: 219 B&E

Office phone: (304) 293-7892

E-mail: alkurov@mail.wvu.edu

Office hours: MWF, 11:30 a.m.-12:20 p.m., or by appointment.

Course Description: This course serves as your final course in corporate finance theory and practice and builds on the concepts mastered in introductory and intermediate finance courses. The course is designed to provide in-depth discussion and hands on application of key concepts. Students will be responsible for five group projects focusing on a set of publicly traded firms. The group projects will emphasize application of the theoretical topics, as well as communication skills. Familiarity with Excel is assumed.

 Materials:

Required text: Corporate Finance: Theory and Practice, 2001, 2nd edition by Aswath Damodaran, Wiley Publishers, ISBN: 0471-283320.

As a supplement to the text, there is a website that provides additional material: http://www.wiley.com/college/fin/damodaran283320/wave_s.html

The Wall Street Journal or other financial newspapers are highly recommended. I expect you to keep informed of events related to the topics we discuss in class. Articles can be assigned as required reading from time to time.

WebCT: I will use WebCT Vista (http://vista.wvu.edu) throughout the course to post announcements, classroom handouts and other class materials.

Grading: Your grade for the course will be determined as follows:

Your lowest midterm exam score will count for 6% and the other two midterm exam scores will each count for 14%.

No make-up exams will be given except in extraordinary circumstances (suitable documentation will be required). You must contact me in advance if you are unable to be in class when an exam is scheduled.

Your final grade will be determined using the following scale: A: 90-100; B: 80-89; C: 70-79; D: 60-69; F: below 60. I may curve the grades at the end of the semester if I find it necessary.

Attendance and Reading the Textbook: I expect you to come to class prepared for active participation. To improve your understanding in class, read the relevant chapter prior to class. Your goal in reading must be true understanding of the material, not memorization.

Homework Assignments: Homework assignments will be posted on WebCT and should be completed, but do not need to be turned in. Solutions to the end of chapter questions will be available on WebCT. Solving homework problems will help you to prepare for exams.

Team Projects:

The class will be divided into groups of three students each. Each group is responsible for completing four Real Companies, Real Time (RCRT) exercises and the final project. You may choose the people you would like to work with.

All groups must turn in a written report for each project on the due date at the beginning of class. Each project will be presented in class by one group on the due date. All group members must participate in the class presentation. Each of the other groups is required to briefly discuss one or two interesting things they learned about their firms while working on this RCRT exercise. I also encourage all students to participate in the discussion by asking questions of the presenting group.

Your grade for each project will be based on the project report, as well as your presentation. At the end of the semester each group member will complete a peer evaluation form. The peer evaluations will be incorporated into your grade.

By Wednesday, January 18, you must submit the following:

• A list of all members of your group.

• A specific industry and firms within that industry that you will examine (see below).

• A list of three presentations out of the four RCRT exercises, in your order of preference.

Each group will pick an industry and two or three firms within that industry. Using only two firms may seem easier, but it may limit your analysis due to unavailable information. Firms that cannot be chosen include Boeing, Home Depot, Disney, and any other firms that are discussed in depth in the text. It is recommended that you choose relatively large publicly traded U.S. firms, because it will be easier to find the financial information. Keep in mind that conglomerates (like General Electric, for example) can be hard to analyze. Also remember that banks and other financial firms have capital structures that are very different from capital structures of non-financial firms.

Once you have chosen the firms you will study, you need to obtain their most recent (2004) financial statements (annual report, 10K, etc.) Annual filings are usually available at corporate web sites. Other detailed statements can be obtained from the SEC’s EDGAR database: http://www.sec.gov/edgar.shtml. You can also use Data Links, Data Sets and other resources provided on the textbook’s website under Project Resources. Let me know if you are having trouble finding necessary information.

You must use the same firms for all RCRT exercises and complete each assignment for each firm. In your report, compare and contrast the firms and present the results as a whole, rather than individual parts.

Additional guidelines for the RCRT exercises are provided in a separate document.

The final project report will include all of the previously completed RCRT exercises for your firms. The new material will be firm valuation. Each group will present their final project report.

Academic Dishonesty: Academic dishonesty in any form will not be tolerated.

Course Outline (tentative)

The midterm exams are tentatively scheduled for February 6, March 1, and April 12. The midterm exam dates will be confirmed at least a week in advance of the exam. The final exam is scheduled for 8:00 a.m. on May 4. 

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