Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Course information:
Meetings: Tuesdays, 7:159:55 pm
Location: Sawyer 132
Catalogue description: Students examine techniques and decision-making rules for the
evaluation and selection of long-term investment projects by corporations and the interaction of
investment and financing decisions.
Prerequisite: FIN 808 (General Theory in Corporate Finance)
Additional course description: This course provides students with the necessary tools,
techniques, and models to address capital budgeting problems in finance. Capital budgeting is
about finding or creating and analyzing long-term investment projects. Students will be exposed
to different project valuation models that are used by financial managers to make effective valuemaximizing decisions. Teaching is oriented towards case studies and discussion of readings. Case
studies should enable students to apply various capital budgeting techniques in a business setting
and readings should provide students with understanding of those techniques and current
developments in the related areas.
Credit hours: 3
This course follows the Federal Governments Credit Hour definition: An amount of work
represented in intended learning outcomes and verified by evidence of student achievement that is
an institutional established equivalence that reasonably approximates no less than: (1) One hour
of classroom or direct faculty instruction and a minimum of two hours of out of class student
work each week for approximately fifteen weeks for one semester or trimester hour of credit, or
ten to twelve weeks for one quarter hour of credit, or the equivalent amount of work over a
different amount of time; or (2) At least an equivalent amount of work as required in paragraph
(1) of this definition for other academic activities as established by the institution including
laboratory work, internships, practica, studio work, and other academic work leading to the award
of credit hours.
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Textbook/course materials:
1. Textbook. Capital Budgeting and Long-Term Financing Decisions, by N. Seitz and M.
Ellison, Thomson South Western, 4th edition, 2005. The textbook is available at the
university bookstore.
2. A set of five Harvard Business School and Darden School of Business cases. The casebook
can be purchased at https://create.mheducation.com/shop/. You can search by title (Capital
Budgeting), ISBN (9781308437033), author (Karen Simonyan), or State/School
(Massachusetts/Suffolk University). The casebook has 50 pages and costs $15.96. Click Add
to Cart. Click Checkout (top, right) and then again on the shopping cart review page.
Create an account or sign in (if you already have an account with McGraw/Hill). Enter billing
information, verify order information, and place order. Your receipt and bookshelf will appear
and you can access your eBook.
3. Financial calculator. You will need a financial calculator for this course which calculates
NPV, IRR, YTM, and other concepts in finance. You will need the calculator to work on cases
and for the exam. Suggested brands of calculators are:
a. Texas Instruments BA II Plus
b. Hewlett-Packard HP-10B
c. Sharp EL-733A
You can also use TI-83 or TI-83 Plus scientific calculators which have embedded time value
of money functions. You can read instructions on how to use these (and other) calculators on
the following webpage http://www.tvmcalcs.com/calculators/ti83/ti83_page1.
4. Lecture notes, additional readings and other course material, as well as class announcements,
news, and information to be shared will be posted on the Blackboard before class. Please
print lecture notes out and bring them with you to class so it will be easier for you to follow
the lectures.
Grading/Evaluation: Letter grades will be assigned at the end of the semester using the
following guideline.
A
95 100
A90 95
B+
85 90
B
80 85
B75 80
C+
70 75
C
65 70
F
<65
There will be no make-up exam 1or extra work for credit. The exam will be closed book and
closed notes.
Please, submit case reports on due dates; late reports will not receive full points. The grades
for late submittals will be reduced by 15% for each day the report is past due.
Your class participation grade will be affected by your attendance. If you miss three or more
classes for no valid reason, your class participation grade will be reduced to zero.
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In the event that the university cancels classes, such as for severe weather, students will be
expected to continue with readings as originally scheduled. Any assignments scheduled
during those missed classes will be due at the next class meeting unless other instructions are
posted on Blackboard.
If you miss a class, it is your responsibility to determine what you have missed (ask your
classmates) including any administrative announcements that may have been made.
You are expected to be present at the indicated time and date for the exams. Please let me
know if you expect to arrive late, leave early, or miss a class.
Please show respect for your fellow classmates by limiting extraneous discussions to outside
of the classroom and turning off cell phones (or muting their ring-tones).
General notes: This is a case based class. Case studies are designed to prepare students for real
life business situations. Many cases are complex and sometimes you will be frustrated with the
lack of information, data, and the lack of your understating of a particular topic. Some cases may
not have right or wrong solution and this ambiguity will add more to your frustration. Sometimes
you will be frustrated with the behavior of your group-mates. These are all problems that you are
likely to encounter in real life situations.
But remember, even the best consultants have to do a lot of research and go through a lot of
frustration when confronted with unfamiliar situations.
Identify the problem first, then decide how the knowledge and analytical tools that you possess
can be used to solve the problem. Next design a plan of action and develop a solution. Sometimes
you have to choose among many alternative solutions, sometimes you have to make many
assumptions. As long as your assumptions and solutions are reasonable and make sense and you
can defend your position and persuade others that you are correct then you will be all set!
The Wall Street Journal: You are encouraged to subscribe to and read the Wall Street Journal.
Reading WSJ will give you an access to financial news and will reinforce the absorption of class
material.
The Center for Learning and Academic Success (CLAS): CLAS offers academic
coaching and tutoring in math, writing and English, and many other CAS and SBS courses.
Students may join study groups, participate in drop-in services, or make appointments with tutors
and academic coaches to reinforce course content, develop writing, and strengthen effective study
habits. For a complete review of free services, workshops and online resources go to
www.suffolk.edu/CLAS, call 617.573.8235, email clas@suffolk.edu or visit CLAS on the 2nd
Level of Sawyer Library at 73 Tremont Street.
Accommodations for Students with Disabilities: If you anticipate issues with the format or
requirements of this course, please meet with meI would like to discuss ways to ensure your
full participation in my classroom. If you determine that you need formal, disability-related
accommodations, it is very important that you register with the Office of Disability Services
(located at 73 Tremont Street, 7th floor, 617.994.6820, disabilityservices@suffolk.edu,
http://www.suffolk.edu/campuslife/1316.php) and notify me of your eligibility for reasonable
accommodations. We can then plan how best to implement your accommodations.
Course Withdrawal Deadlines: February 10 is the last day students can withdraw from a
course without receiving a grade of W. The course will be completely removed from the student's
transcript. Students may do this online via MySuffolk. March 19 is the last day students can
withdraw from a course without receiving a grade of F. They will receive a W on their transcript
instead. Students may do this online via MySuffolk. After March 19, students may not withdraw
from courses unless they have serious extenuating circumstances and documentation. Students
should email the Student Affairs Office to request a late course withdrawal.