Course coordinator
Dr Leo Luong
Course overview
- Study period
- Semester 2, 2025 (28/07/2025 - 22/11/2025)
- 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
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 Leo Luong
Tutor
Mrs Ann Le
Ms Sabina Yesmine
Mr Minh Le
Mr Joshua Lee
Mr Bingwen Wang
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 deep understanding of the theory that forms the basis of corporate and 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 capital and conducts merger and acquisition activities, to analyse a firm's payout policy, and to understand corporate governance and corporate social responsibility.
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 6/09/2025 - 20/09/2025 |
| Computer Code, Paper/ Report/ Annotation, Project |
Group Assignment
|
25% |
8/10/2025 8:30 am |
| Examination |
Final Exam
|
50% |
End of Semester Exam Period 8/11/2025 - 22/11/2025 |
Assessment details
In-Semester Exam
- Identity Verified
- In-person
- Mode
- Written
- Category
- Examination
- Weight
- 25%
- Due date
In-semester Saturday
6/09/2025 - 20/09/2025
- Other conditions
- Time limited, Secure.
- 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 6th, 13 or 20 September. The Exam will consist of multiple-choice questions.
- Further information will be made available 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
- Computer Code, Paper/ Report/ Annotation, Project
- Weight
- 25%
- Due date
8/10/2025 8:30 am
- Other conditions
- Peer assessed, Peer assessment factor.
- Learning outcomes
- L01, L02, L03, L05
Task description
- You will be required to select and analyse a company using the knowledge learnt from this course. You will be asked to estimate the company's cost of capital, analyse its capital structure, and conduct corporate valuation.
- You are required to complete this assignment in a group of 4 - 5 members. Group members do not need to be from the same lecture or tutorial.
Group registration: It is important that you sign up for your group via Blackboard before starting the assignment. Group sign-up must be completed by 5PM Friday of Week 3 (August 15). You can use the Blackboard discussion board 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: Buddycheck Peer Evaluation will be used to compute your final individual grade on the Group Assignment. Completing the Peer Assessment is mandatory and failing to do so will result in a score of zero on the assignment. This policy is strictly applied.
Peer Assessment will be completed on Blackboard and 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:
Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Translation (MT) are emerging tools that may support students in completing this assessment task. Students may appropriately use AI and/or MT in completing this assessment task. Students must clearly reference any use of AI or MT in each instance.
A failure to reference generative AI or MT use may constitute student misconduct under the Student Code of Conduct.
Submission guidelines
The assignment will be submitted electronically via a submission link on Blackboard.
Submission by email will not be accepted under any circumstances and will not be marked.
Deferral or extension
You may be able to apply for an extension.
The maximum extension allowed is 14 days. Extensions are given in multiples of 24 hours.
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.
Late submission within the first 7 periods of 24 hours (or part thereof): A penalty of 10% per 24 hours of the maximum possible mark.
Late submission more than 7 periods of 24 hours: A penalty of 100%, i.e., zero mark.
Final Exam
- Identity Verified
- In-person
- Mode
- Written
- Category
- Examination
- Weight
- 50%
- Due date
End of Semester Exam Period
8/11/2025 - 22/11/2025
- Other conditions
- Time limited, Secure.
- Learning outcomes
- L01, L02, L03, L04
Task description
The final exam will be conducted in person. It is a closed book exam consisting of short-answer and problem-solving questions. The exam will cover only the topics not covered in the in-semester exam. Further information about the exam will be released on Blackboard in the final week.
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 and cost of capital Learning outcomes: L01, L05 |
Week 2 |
Lecture |
Project Evaluation Investment decision rules, fundamentals of capital budgeting, real options Learning outcomes: L01, L05 |
Tutorial |
T1: Introduction, Review of the Time Value of Money and the 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 NOTE: EKKA public holiday, Wednesday, 13 August. If your class falls on this date, please attend other classes running that same week. Please check Blackboard for further announcements. Learning outcomes: L02, L05 |
Tutorial |
T2: Project Evaluation Learning outcomes: L01, L05 |
|
Week 4 |
Lecture |
Capital Structure II: Capital Structure with Taxes Capital structure in imperfect capital markets: Debt and taxes Learning outcomes: L02, L05 |
Tutorial |
T3: Capital Structure I: 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 in imperfect capital markets: Financial distress, incentives, and information Learning outcomes: L02, L05 |
Tutorial |
T4: Capital Structure II: Capital Structure with Taxes Learning outcomes: L02, L05 |
|
Week 6 |
Lecture |
Saturday In-semester Exam There will be no teaching activities during the in-semester exam week. NOTE: The exact exam scheduling will be updated once the University releases the official Saturday exam timetable. Learning outcomes: L01, L02 |
Tutorial |
No tutorial Learning outcomes: L02, L05 |
|
Week 7 |
Lecture |
Corporate Valuation I Capital budgeting, approaches to corporate valuation, assumptions Learning outcomes: L03, L05 |
Tutorial |
T5: Capital Structure III: Capital Structure with Taxes, Financial Distress, Incentives and Information Learning outcomes: L02, L05 |
|
Week 8 |
Lecture |
Corporate Valuation II Case study of corporate valuation, valuation multiples, business plans and earnings forecast Learning outcomes: L03, L05 |
Tutorial |
T6: Corporate Valuation I Learning outcomes: L03, L05 |
|
Week 9 |
Lecture |
Raising Capital Equity capital raising, initial public offering, seasoned equity offering Learning outcomes: L03 |
Tutorial |
T7: Corporate Valuation II Learning outcomes: L03, L05 |
|
Mid Sem break |
No student involvement (Breaks, information) |
In-Semester Break Mid-semester break. There will be no teaching activities in this week. |
Week 10 |
Lecture |
Mergers and Acquisitions Mergers and acquisitions, takeover process, takeover defenses, and valuation NOTE: King's Birthday public holiday, Monday, 6 October. If your class falls on this date, please attend other classes running that same week. Please check Blackboard for further announcements. Learning outcomes: L03 |
Tutorial |
T8: Raising Capital Learning outcomes: L03 |
|
Week 11 |
Lecture |
Payout Policy Payout policy in perfect & imperfect capital markets, signalling theory Learning outcomes: L04 |
Tutorial |
T9: Mergers and Acquisitions Learning outcomes: L03 |
|
Week 12 |
Lecture |
Corporate Governance and Social Responsibility Corporate governance, shareholder theory, stakeholder theory, corporate ethics, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Learning outcomes: L04 |
Tutorial |
T10: Payout Policy Learning outcomes: L04 |
|
Week 13 |
Lecture |
Course Review Final review, final exam brief information 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 for Students Policy and Procedure
Learn more about UQ policies on my.UQ and the Policy and Procedure Library.