S. Ross, R. Westerfield, and B. Jordan (RWJ), 1999, Fundamentals of Corporate Finance (Alternate Edition), Irwin McGraw-Hill.

S. Benninga and O. Sarig (BS), 1997, Corporate Finance: A Valuation Approach, Irwin McGraw-Hill.

Recommended

S. Benninga (B), 1998, Financial Modeling, MIT Press. I highly recommend this book for those students who wish to master Excel.

n Lecture Handouts Packet 2001 ( I've changed 50% of the contents from the previous year)
n C. Liu (L), 1999, How to Use Excel for Financial Modeling Packet

Mini-cases are due in class one week after it is assigned in class at the beginning of class. The mini-cases and the data are located on the my FM website (www.stern.nyu.edu/~cliu/FinMgmt.html) Students are not allowed to email their homework or cases to me (I've had several emailed projects in the past that have contained malicious viruses that eluded both my McAfee and Norton Anti-Virus software). The mini-cases are an individual effort.  If I find that a student did not do his or her own work, the student will receive an F on that case in addition to a one grade reduction for the course.  Rationale: Employers frequently ask students to submit an example(s) of a project done solely by them which demonstrates their analytical ability, their proficiency at financial modeling, and their  effectiveness at written communication. My intent is to provide students with a portfolio of their own work which they can use in the job interview process e.g. submit it to potential employers along with their resumes and cover letters.

Grade Distribution: Grading is based on the class curve rather than the total number of points and adheres to the grading curve set by the Finance department. The professor has no control over this curve. This grade distribution is only an approximation
 

A (A, A-)	20%
B (B+, B, B-)	45%
C (C+, C, C-)	30%
D and F (What you receive if you cheat)	5%

What is Expected of Students:

Œ Students are expected to ask another student for lecture notes or make other arrangements if he or she is unable to attend class e.g., religious holidays.  If an assignment is due on a religious holiday (I try to avoid giving deadlines on these holidays), students can turn in the assignment before but not after the due date.

� No makeup exams are given without a signed medical excuse from a doctor.  I do call the doctor to verify your medical condition. The professor reserves the right to have a single makeup exam.

Ž Students are required to possess a calculator with financial functions.
 

WARNING: This is a labor intensive class. The philosophy that we use is to talk about it, read about it, and then JUST DO IT! No incompletes will be given and no excuses will be accepted.

Week	Date	Day	Topic	Assigned Readings/Assignment
1	1/16-1/18	Tu/Th	Capital Budgeting	NPV and Other Investment Criteria, Ch. 9 (RWJ) How to Use Excel for Financial Modeling (L), pp. 8-47 Exercises (RWJ): Do on calculator AND Excel. Ch. 9, #5,#9, #12,#14,#17,#22  pp. 274-277
2	1/23-1/25	Tu/Th	Capital Budgeting II	Making Capital Investment Decisions, Ch. 10 (RWJ) Exercises (RWJ): Do on calculator AND Excel. Ch. 10, #2-#4, #18, #25, #27,#28 pp. 311-316 Mini-Case: Calculating Free Cash Flow to the Firm(FCFF)
3	1/30-2/01	Tu/Th	Capital Budgeting II (continued)	Project Analysis and Evaluation, Ch. 11 (RWJ) Exercises (RWJ): To be done on Excel. Ch. 11, #5,#6,#20, #21a, #25-#26 pp. 345-349
4	2/06-2/08	Tu/Th	Long Term Financial Planning	Financial Statements, Taxes, and Cash Flow, Ch.2 (RWJ) Working with Financial Statements, Ch. 3 (RWJ) Long Term Financial Planning and Growth, Ch.4 (RWJ) Using Financial Reporting Information, Ch. 2 (BS) Building Pro-Forma Financial Statements, Ch. 4 (BS) Analyzing the Firm's Operations, Ch. 6 (BS) Projecting Financial Performance, Ch. 7 (BS) How to Use Excel for Financial Modeling (L), pp. 80-134 Mini-Case: Forecasting Financial Statements
5	2/13-2/15	Tu/Th	Cost of Equity and Stocks	Stock Valuation, Ch. 8 (RWJ) Return, Risk, and the Security Market Line, Ch. 13 (RWJ) How to Use Excel for Financial Modeling (L), pp. 55-70. Exercises (RWJ): Do on calculator AND Excel. Ch. 8, #4,#8,#10,#12,#13,#15, #22 Ch. 13, #14,#15,#27 Mini-Case: Built Up Beta and Cost of Equity
6	2/20-2/22	Tu/Th	Cost of Equity and Stocks (continued)
7	2/27	Tu	Midterm Exam (Covers material up to and including Week 6)	Bring calculator to class. PV tables will be given out.  Test is closed book. Students are not allowed to refer to their calculator manuals. (Reason: In the past class, students are hidden notes in between the pages of the manual)
8	3/01-3/08	Tu/Th	Cost of Debt and Bonds	Interest Rates and Bond Valuation, Ch. 7 (RWJ) Exercises (RWJ): Do on calculator AND Excel. Ch. 7, #3,#4,#5,#12,#16,#24,#28  pp. 214-216 Mini-Case: Cost of Debt
9	3/13-3/15		Spring Break
10	3/20-3/22	Tu/Th	Cost of Capital and Firm Valuation	Cost of Capital, Ch. 14 (RWJ) Exercises (RWJ): Do on calculator AND Excel. Ch. 14, #3, #5, #6, #9, #15, #20, #23  pp. 442-446 Mini-Case: Valuation of BUD
11	3/27-3/29	Tu/Th	Raising Capital	Raising Capital, Ch. 15 (RWJ) Exercises (RWJ): Do on calculator AND Excel. Ch. 15, #7, #10, #12 pp. 482-484
12	4/03-4/05	Tu/Th	Financial Leverage and Capital Structure	Financial Leverage and Capital Structure, Ch. 16 (RWJ) Exercises (RWJ): Do on calculator AND Excel. Ch. 16, #1, #4, #8, #14,#20 pp. 516-519 Mini-Case: Optimal Capital Structure
13	4/10-4/12	Tu/Th	Capital Structure (continued)
14	4/17-4/19	Tu/Th	Dividend and Dividend Policy	Dividend and Dividend Policy, Ch. 17 (RWJ) Exercises (RWJ): Do on calculator AND Excel. Ch. 17, #1-#3, #6,#14, #17 pp. 549-552
15	4/24-4/26	Tu/Th	Options in Corporate Finance	Options and Corporate Securities, Ch. 23 (RWJ) Exercises (RWJ): Do on calculator AND Excel. Ch. 23, TBA Mini-Case: Options