The finance department offers a two course sequence to provide you with the fundamental foundation for your career and for advanced courses. The fundamental courses are Finance 1 and Finance 2. Accelerated Corporate Finance combines this two quarter sequence into a single quarter for students that are sufficiently prepared.
Finance 1 [FINC430]. This course (or Accelerated Corporate Finance - FINC440) is required. Finance 1 covers managers’ and investors’ most fundamental finance decision: how to value a project or an asset. Managers must determine the value of building a factory, entering a new market, or purchasing an entire firm when deciding in which projects to invest. Similarly, individuals must assess the value of financial securities to decide how to invest their wealth. Using a combination of lectures and business cases, Finance 1 teaches the principal methods for valuing projects or assets: discounted cash flow, multiples, and possibly real options. These valuation tools lay the foundation for all work in capital markets and corporate finance.
Finance 2 [FINC431]. Finance 2 covers the basic financial knowledge needed to run a firm—whether the firm is a multi-billion dollar international conglomerate or a three-person entrepreneurial start up. Using a combination of lectures, numerical examples, and business cases, we will examine how firms fund their projects (capital structure), how they manage the risks that arise (risk management), and how they allocate the return on their investments (payout policy). This course is designed both for managers who will initially specialize in a different functional area (e.g., marketing, operations) and for managers who will be directly involved in making or analyzing these decisions (e.g., future senior executives, general managers, investment bankers, consultants, securities analysts, money managers, and investment advisors). Finance 1 is a pre-requisite.
Accelerated Corporate Finance [FINC440]. Accelerated Corporate Finance combines the material from Finance 1 and Finance 2 in an intensive one-quarter course. Given the pace of the course, students are expected to be prepared to put in the extra effort in class and outside of class. Basic finance knowledge (discounting) and accounting is assumed. Students must pass the Introductory Finance Placement Exam (ACF qualifying exam) to be able to take FINC440. FINC440 is offered only in the Fall on the Evanston Campus. Check the course schedule for when it is offered in Chicago.