Course coordinator
Dr Lin Mi
Course overview
- Study period
- Semester 1, 2025 (24/02/2025 - 21/06/2025)
- Study level
- Undergraduate
- Location
- St Lucia
- Attendance mode
- In Person
- Units
- 2
- Administrative campus
- St Lucia
- Coordinating unit
- Business School
This course provides and in-depth analysis of financial issues confronting most companies. It covers techniques for estimating the cost of capital, theories on capital structure and different methods of raising finance. It introduces behavioural aspects of corporate finance and ethics in the finance profession.
This course addresses seven major topics in corporate finance:
- Cost of capital and project evaluation
- Capital structure
- Corporate valuation
- Raising new capital
- Mergers and acquisitions
- Pay-out policy
- Corporate governance and corporate social responsibility
Course requirements
Assumed background
Before attempting this course, students are advised that it is important to complete the appropriate prerequisite course(s) listed on the front of this course profile. No responsibility will be accepted by the School of Business, the Faculty of Business, Economics and Law or The University of Queensland for poor student performance occurring in courses where the appropriate prerequisite(s) has/have not been completed, for any reason whatsoever.ﾠ
Prerequisites
You'll need to complete the following courses before enrolling in this one:
FINM1415 or 2401 or 2411 or 2412
Incompatible
You can't enrol in this course if you've already completed the following:
FINM3401 or 7402
Restrictions
Not to be studied by BAdvFin&Econ(Hons) students
Course contact
Course staff
Lecturer
Dr Lin Mi
Timetable
The timetable for this course is available on the UQ Public Timetable.
Additional timetable information
Please note: Teaching staff do not have access to the timetabling system to help with class allocation. Therefore, should you need help with your timetable and/or allocation of classes, please ensure you email business.mytimetable@uq.edu.au (mailto:business.mytimetable@uq.edu.au) from your UQ student email account with the following details:
- Full name
- Student ID
- Course Code
Aims and outcomes
This course aims to provide students with a deepﾠunderstanding of the theory that forms the basis of corporateﾠand how this theory can be applied to practice. The skills developed in this course will enable students to determine a firm's cost of capital and its optimal capital structure, to conduct corporate valuation, to evaluate how a firm raises its new capitalﾠand conductsﾠmergerﾠand acquisitionﾠactivities, to analyze aﾠfirm's payout policy, and to understand corporate governance and corporate social responsibility.ﾠ ﾠ
Learning outcomes
After successfully completing this course you should be able to:
LO1.
Determine cost of capital and conduct project valuation
LO2.
Evaluate optimal capital structure
LO3.
Conduct corporate valuation, analyse capital raising decisions and mergers and acquisitions decisions
LO4.
Analyse payout policy and understand corporate governance and corporate social responsibility
LO5.
Work collaboratively as a group in collecting and analyzing financial data
Assessment
Assessment summary
| Category | Assessment task | Weight | Due date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Examination |
In-Semester Exam
|
25% |
In-semester Saturday 29/03/2025 - 12/04/2025
Saturday 29 March or 5 April or 12 April. Will be scheduled by the Examinations. |
| Paper/ Report/ Annotation, Project |
Group Assignment
|
20% |
30/05/2025 2:00 pm |
| Examination |
Final Exam
|
55% |
End of Semester Exam Period 7/06/2025 - 21/06/2025 |
Assessment details
In-Semester Exam
- Identity Verified
- In-person
- Mode
- Written
- Category
- Examination
- Weight
- 25%
- Due date
In-semester Saturday
29/03/2025 - 12/04/2025
Saturday 29 March or 5 April or 12 April. Will be scheduled by the Examinations.
- Other conditions
- Time limited.
- Learning outcomes
- L01, L02
Task description
- The In-Semester Exam covers materials from lectures 1-4 inclusive and will be conducted in person on Saturday 29 March or 5 April or 12 April.
- The exam will contain multiple choice questions.
- More detailed information will be available in the Assessments folder on Blackboard closer to the exam date.
AI Statement:
This assessment task is to be completed in-person. The use of generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools will not be permitted. Any attempted use of Generative AI may constitute student misconduct under the Student Code of Conduct.
Exam details
| Planning time | 10 minutes |
|---|---|
| Duration | 90 minutes |
| Calculator options | (In person) Casio FX82 series only or UQ approved and labelled calculator |
| Open/closed book | Closed Book examination - no written materials permitted |
| Exam platform | Paper based |
| Invigilation | Invigilated in person |
Submission guidelines
Deferral or extension
You may be able to defer this exam.
Group Assignment
- Team or group-based
- Mode
- Written
- Category
- Paper/ Report/ Annotation, Project
- Weight
- 20%
- Due date
30/05/2025 2:00 pm
- Other conditions
- Peer assessed, Peer assessment factor.
- Learning outcomes
- L01, L02, L03, L05
Task description
- You will be required to select a firm and analyse it using the knowledge learnt from this course. You will be asked to estimate the firm's cost of capital, analyse its capital structure, and do corporate valuation.
- You are required to do this assignment in a group of 4 to 5 people. Group members do not need to be registered in the same lecture or tutorial.
- GROUP REGISTRATION: Each group must complete your group registration via Blackboard before starting the assignment. Group registration must be completed by 5PM Friday of Week 4. You can use the Discussion Board on Blackboard to look for group members. If you still have trouble forming your team, please let the teaching staff know as soon as possible. The assignment questions will be made available on Blackboard.
- PEER ASSESSMENT: Peer Assessment will be used to compute your final individual grade on the Group Assignment. Completing the Peer Assessment is mandatory. If you do not submit a Peer Assessment Form, you will receive a score of zero on the assignment. Peer Assessment will be completed on Blackboard, and is integrated into the Blackboard teams. Each team member will allocate 100 points between the members of their team. Justification of your distribution of points is essential if they are to be included in calculation of the final Peer Assessment Factor (PAF). In particular, if the score given to any team member deviates from the average by 10% or more, you must include a written justification. For example, in a team of 4, the average score will be 25. If you give someone 20 out of 25, you are saying that team member only deserves 80% (20/25) of the score on the team project. If everyone on the team gives the same score, then that team member will have a PAF of 0.8 and their project score will be 0.8 times the team score on the team assignment. Therefore, in a team of 4, all scores of 22.5 (27.5) and lower (higher) MUST be justified to count.
AI Statement:
This assessment task evaluates students' abilities, skills and knowledge without the aid of generative Artificial Intelligence (AI). Students are advised that the use of AI technologies to develop responses is strictly prohibited and may constitute student misconduct under the Student Code of Conduct.
Submission guidelines
Deferral or extension
You may be able to apply for an extension.
Late submission
A penalty of 10% of the maximum possible mark will be deducted per 24 hours from time submission is due for up to 7 days. After 7 days, you will receive a mark of 0.
Final Exam
- Identity Verified
- In-person
- Mode
- Written
- Category
- Examination
- Weight
- 55%
- Due date
End of Semester Exam Period
7/06/2025 - 21/06/2025
- Other conditions
- Time limited.
- Learning outcomes
- L01, L02, L03, L04
Task description
- The final exam will be conducted in person. It is a closed book exam.
- It will consist of 5 short-answer questions, each of which has a number of parts.
- Questions will cover the topics taught after the In-Semester Exam.
- Further details about the final exam will be discussed in class and posted to the course Blackboard site.
AI Statement:
This assessment task is to be completed in-person. The use of generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools will not be permitted. Any attempted use of Generative AI may constitute student misconduct under the Student Code of Conduct.
Exam details
| Planning time | 10 minutes |
|---|---|
| Duration | 120 minutes |
| Calculator options | (In person) Casio FX82 series only or UQ approved and labelled calculator |
| Open/closed book | Closed Book examination - no written materials permitted |
| Exam platform | Paper based |
| Invigilation | Invigilated in person |
Submission guidelines
Deferral or extension
You may be able to defer this exam.
Course grading
Full criteria for each grade is available in the Assessment Procedure.
| Grade | Cut off Percent | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 1 (Low Fail) | 0 - 29 |
Absence of evidence of achievement of course learning outcomes. |
| 2 (Fail) | 30 - 46 |
Minimal evidence of achievement of course learning outcomes. |
| 3 (Marginal Fail) | 47 - 49 |
Demonstrated evidence of developing achievement of course learning outcomes |
| 4 (Pass) | 50 - 64 |
Demonstrated evidence of functional achievement of course learning outcomes. |
| 5 (Credit) | 65 - 74 |
Demonstrated evidence of proficient achievement of course learning outcomes. |
| 6 (Distinction) | 75 - 84 |
Demonstrated evidence of advanced achievement of course learning outcomes. |
| 7 (High Distinction) | 85 - 100 |
Demonstrated evidence of exceptional achievement of course learning outcomes. |
Additional course grading information
Grades will be allocated according to University-wide standards of criterion-based assessment.
Supplementary assessment
Supplementary assessment is available for this course.
Learning resources
You'll need the following resources to successfully complete the course. We've indicated below if you need a personal copy of the reading materials or your own item.
Library resources
Find the required and recommended resources for this course on the UQ Library website.
Learning activities
The learning activities for this course are outlined below. Learn more about the learning outcomes that apply to this course.
Filter activity type by
Please select
| Learning period | Activity type | Topic |
|---|---|---|
Week 1 |
Lecture |
Introduction, Review of the Time Value of Money and the Cost of Capital Review of time value of money, cost of capital Learning outcomes: L01, L05 |
Week 2 |
Lecture |
Project Evaluation Learning outcomes: L01, L05 |
Tutorial |
T1: Introduction, Review of the Time Value of Money and the Cost of Capital Review of time value of money, cost of capital Learning outcomes: L01, L05 |
|
Week 3 |
Lecture |
Capital Structure I: Capital Structure in Perfect Capital Markets Capital structure in perfect capital markets Learning outcomes: L02, L05 |
Tutorial |
T2: Project Evaluation Learning outcomes: L01, L05 |
|
Week 4 |
Lecture |
Capital Structure II: Capital Structure with Taxes Capital Structure with debt and taxes Learning outcomes: L02, L05 |
Tutorial |
T3: Capital Structure I: Capital Structure in Perfect Capital Markets Capital structure in perfect capital markets. Learning outcomes: L02, L05 |
|
Week 5 |
Lecture |
Capital Structure III: Capital Structure with Taxes, Financial Distress, Incentives and Information Capital Structure with financial distress, incentives, and information Learning outcomes: L02, L05 |
Tutorial |
T4: Capital Structure II: Capital Structure with Taxes Capital Structure with debt and taxes Learning outcomes: L02, L05 |
|
Week 6 |
Lecture |
Corporate Valuation I Learning outcomes: L03, L05 |
Tutorial |
T5: Capital Structure III: Capital Structure with Taxes, Financial Distress, Incentives and Information Learning outcomes: L02, L05 |
|
Week 7 |
Lecture |
Saturday In-semester Exam No Lecture and Tutorials this week as In-Semester Exam. Please Note: The exact scheduling will be updated when the official Saturday Exam timetable is released. Learning outcomes: L01, L02 |
Tutorial |
No tutorial No Tutorials as In-Semester Exam. Please Note: The exact scheduling will be updated when the official Saturday Exam timetable is released. Learning outcomes: L02, L05 |
|
Week 8 |
Lecture |
Corporate Valuation II Learning outcomes: L03, L05 |
Tutorial |
T6: Corporate Valuation I Learning outcomes: L03, L05 |
|
Mid-sem break |
No student involvement (Breaks, information) |
In-Semester Break |
Week 9 |
Lecture |
Raising Capital Learning outcomes: L03 |
Tutorial |
T7: Corporate Valuation II Learning outcomes: L03, L05 |
|
Week 10 |
Lecture |
Mergers and Acquisitions Learning outcomes: L03 |
Tutorial |
T8: Raising Capital Labour Day Public Holiday - Monday 5 May 2025 - Check Blackboard for announcements about affected classes. Learning outcomes: L03 |
|
Week 11 |
Lecture |
Payout Policy Learning outcomes: L04 |
Tutorial |
T9: Mergers and Acquisitions Learning outcomes: L03 |
|
Week 12 |
Lecture |
Corporate Governance and Social Responsibility Learning outcomes: L04 |
Tutorial |
T10: Payout Policy Learning outcomes: L04 |
|
Week 13 |
Lecture |
Course Review Learning outcomes: L01, L02, L03, L04 |
Tutorial |
T11: Corporate Governance and Social Responsibility Learning outcomes: L04 |
Policies and procedures
University policies and procedures apply to all aspects of student life. As a UQ student, you must comply with University-wide and program-specific requirements, including the:
- Student Code of Conduct Policy
- Student Integrity and Misconduct Policy and Procedure
- Assessment Procedure
- Examinations Procedure
- Reasonable Adjustments - Students Policy and Procedure
Learn more about UQ policies on my.UQ and the Policy and Procedure Library.