FINC 3610: Principles of Business Finance Summer 2003 Professor: Dr. L. Lee Colquitt Office: 313 Lowder Business Building Class Hours: Mon – Fri 8:00 – 9:30 Office Hours: Tues and Thurs 9:45- 10:45 and by appointment Phone: 844-3010 email: [email protected] Required Text: 1) Essentials of Corporate Finance, 3rd Edition, Westerfield and Jordan, McGraw-Hill/Irwin Calculator: A financial calculator is strongly recommended (the HP 10B is around $28 and easy to operate - also, the HP 10B is the calculator that is referenced in class notes and used in the examples in class). Make sure that you buy a financial calculator that handles uneven cash flows (NOT the TI BA35). If you use anything other than the HP 10B, it will be your responsibility to learn how to operate it. If you plan to take FINC 3630 (all Finance majors and IB majors with Finance concentrations), you will be required to have a working knowledge of a financial calculator at the beginning of the course. Course Prerequisites: ACCT 2110 or ACCT 2910 must be completed and Junior Standing (at least) is required. A 2.2 GPA is required for all Business classes 300 level or above. Any students without the stated prerequisites will be required to apply for the needed waiver from the Office of Student Affairs (room 023). Course Objectives: This course will provide students with a basic knowledge of finance and will serve as the foundation for future courses in finance. Among other topics, the student will learn about the time value of money, financial and capital asset investment analysis, financial statement analysis and projection, cost of capital to the firm and working capital management. This will be a very intense and fast-paced course, given that all of the material will be covered in only five weeks. It will be very important that you come to the first class ready to work hard and keep up for five weeks. If you fall behind early, it might be difficult or impossible for you to catch up. Missing just a couple of days could put you in a hole that you might not be able to climb out of.General Class Policies: NO FOOD OR DRINK IS ALLOWED IN THE CLASSROOM. Students are expected to attend class promptly and regularly and are responsible for anything said during class. I expect that I will incorporate prompt attendance into any scale I give on the exams. However, the relationship between prompt attendance and the scale will not likely be a linear one. Under no circumstances will I be able to provide class notes for students who miss lecture. It is advised that you make acquaintances or friends with those in class in order to have access to missed notes or lecture information. Anything said during class time is assumed to have been communicated to the entire class. The lectures will be presented using computerized overheads. The notes posted on the web are not a substitute for lecture, but a supplement to allow you to pay close attention to what is said during class. Students should bring a calculator to each class. Finally, the problem sets will be posted on the calendar of my WebCT link. Check the calendar regularly for updates. I reserve the right to make changes to the syllabus during the term. Grading: Midterm exam #1 30% Midterm exam #1 30% Final exam 40% Total 100% Midterm Exams: There will be two 22 hour evening midterm exams during the term. The exams will have a multiple choice format. The dates of these exams are shown on the schedule. An appropriate reduction in regularly scheduled class time is given to compensate for the rescheduled test period. The dates on these exams will not change and students must arrange all schedules so that they are able to attend the exams (if you have an evening course scheduled for that time, see me). For all exams, the student should bring two #2 pencils with erasers, a blue scan sheet and an Auburn University I.D. Students will be provided a formula sheet for use on each of the exams. Any student with prior knowledge of a university excused absence must arrange to take the exam before the scheduled exam. Students who miss an exam unexpectedly for a university excused absence must contact me BEFORE (via email or phone – I have voicemail) the exam and arrange for a makeup to be taken within one week of the scheduled exam. If you have a university excused absence serious enough for you not to be able to make up the exam within one week, you will be allowed to take a makeup exam given toward the end of the term. A written documentation of the university excuse showing that you were unable to attend the exam is required. University excused absences are documented in The Tiger Cub.Prompt grading and returning of examinations is highly dependent on all students following certain simple procedures. If you arrive to an evening exam after I have given instructions, then you will automatically lose 2 points on the exam. This is to keep me from having to repeat the instructions repeatedly when the exam is given. Points will also be deducted if the few simple rules (given prior to each exam) are not adhered to exactly. Only the answers on the scan sheet will be graded. If you are absent on the class day that an examination is returned (without a university approved excuse), you lose your option to see the exam. You do not lose your option to know what you made on the exam. If you would like to come by the office to see your exam, you must have the grade sheet that was given to you on the day that the exam was returned. Final Exam: The final exam is comprehensive. Like the midterm exams, the final will consist of multiple choice problems only. Be prepared to take the final exam at the regularly scheduled exam time (which is the last day of class). If you are unable to take the final at its regularly scheduled time, your excuse must be cleared through the Dean=s Office. Problem Sets: Students are strongly encouraged to do the homework problems assigned during the term. The answers to the problems assigned will be available either in the text itself or they will be posted on WebCT (if not provided in the text). I WILL NOT collect the problems for grading. However, they will be VERY helpful to you in preparing for the exams. Two suggestions… 1) work each of the problems fully without looking at the answers; 2) do not wait until the day before the test to work the