On successful completion of this course, students will be able to:

1. Conduct valuations based on the discounted cash flow method.
2. Conduct a relative valuation for a company.
3. Recognize conflicts of interest in valuation contexts
4. Critically analyse publically available information about what is occurring in financial markets.
5. Write a business valuation report.

Study guide, lecture notes & Additional readings. Please read study guide and lecture notes in advance of lectures

Text Books (s) not compulsory, either

Pinto, Henry, Robinson and Stowe, Equity Asset Valuation, 2nd Edition, John Wiley & Sons, 2010.
This can be used as a reference book rather than a text.

Damodaran, Aswath ‘Investment Valuation: Tools and techniques for determining the value of any asset’ 2nd edition, 2002, John Wiley & Sons.

Students can use these texts as reference books.

Benninga, Simon Z and O.H Sarig, Corporate Finance: A Valuation Approach, International Edition, 1997, McGraw-Hill.

Lonergan, W., 2000, The Valuation of Business, Shares and Other Equity, 3rd Edition.

Lundholm, R. and R.Sloan. 2007. Equity Valuation and Analysis. 2nd Edition.

Reilly, Frank K. and K.C. Brown, Investment Analysis and Portfolio Management, 7th Edition, 2002.
Additional references

JASSA (The Finsia Journal of Applied Finance) Australian professional/ academic publication

Financial Analysts Journal. US professional/ academic publication

Arzac, E.R., Valuation for Mergers, Buyouts, and Restructuring, 2005, John Wiley & Sons.

Copeland, T., T.Koller and J.Murrin, Valuation: Measuring and Managing the Value of Companies, 3rd Edition, 2000.

Students are required to attend lectures or access to lecture recordings and attend tutorials.

The University expects full-time students (i.e. those taking 12 units per semester) to devote a total of 48 hours per week to their studies. This means that you are expected to commit approximately 9 hours for a three-unit course or 13 hours for a four-unit course, of private study outside of your regular classes. Students in this course are expected to attend all lectures (2 hour) throughout the semester plus one tutorial class (1 hour) each week.

Week Number	Topic Number	Topics	Study Guide	Tute Number
1	1	An introduction to valuation & financial maths	Chp 1
2	2	Understanding financial reports	Chp 2	1
3	2	Understanding financial reports	Chp 2	2
4	3	Discounted cash flow models	Chp 3	3
5	3	Discounted cash flow models	Chp 3	4
6	4	Fundamental analysis and forecasting (Test)	Chp 4
		Mid-semester Break
		Mid-semester Break
7	5	Estimating the discount rate	Chp 5	5
8	6	Market based valuation	Chp 6	6
9	7	Takeovers	Chp 7	7
10	8	Financial distress and cross shareholding	Chp 8	8
11	9	Technical trading	Chp 9	9
12		Other aspects of valuation and  Closing thoughts/ overview	Chp 8	10
13		To be advised

Please consult the Study Guide for appropriate text references on each topic.

Supplementary Reading: For Topic 2: Understanding financial reports, please consult text & notes for Accounting Concepts and Methods (M) and any introductory accounting text. For other topics readings are indicated in the Study Guide for interested students.

Assessment Task	Task Type	Due	Weighting	Learning Outcome
Assignment 1	Group	Week 7	10%	1-5
Assignment 2	Individual	Week 12	20%	1-5
Final Exam	Individual	TBA	70%	1-5
Total			100%

Notes on Assessment
1. To gain a pass for this course, a mark of at least 45% must be obtained on the examination as well as a total of at least 50% overall. Students not achieving the minimum exam mark will be awarded no more than 49.
2. Legible hand-writing and the quality of English expression are considered to be integral parts of the assessment process. Marks may be deducted in the final examination because of poor hand-writing.
3. Assessment marks prior to the final exam will be displayed on the course website. Students are encouraged to check their marks and notify the Lecturer-in-Charge of any discrepancies.
4. Students in this course are permitted to take a DICTIONARY (English) into the examination and calculator. A formula sheet will be provided in the exam (see attached).

Information related to assignment will be provided on 'myuni'.

Details: The assignment is compulsory and is available on the ‘myuni’ or website.  The assignment is non-redeemable.


Details: The assignment is compulsory and is available on the 'myuni' website. The assignment is non-redeemable.
The final exam will be of 2.5 hours duration. A formula sheet will also be provided with the exam paper. A copy will be provided on 'myuni'.




SUBMISSION
Assignments
Assignments are compulsory and will be posted on the ‘myuni’ website.
Electronic submissions must be submitted for Assignment 1.
Hard copies must be submitted for Assignment 2. Electronic submissions will not be accepted without receiving prior permission from the Lecturer in Charge.

PRESENTATION OF ASSIGNMENTS
• Please must retain a copy of all assignments submitted.
• Please attach an ‘Assignment Cover Sheet’, which is signed and dated by you before submission for Assignment 2.
• All group assignments must be attached to a ‘Group Assignment Cover Sheet’, which must be signed and dated by all group members before submission. All team members are expected to contribute approximately equally to a group assignment.


Lecturers can refuse to accept assignments, which do not have a signed acknowledgement of the University’s policy on plagiarism.

ASSIGNMENT GUIDELINES INCLUDING REFERENCING DETAILS
A copy of the Postgraduate Programs: Communication Skills Guide will have been given to you at the beginning of your program. This guide will assist you structure your assignments. A copy of the guide can also be downloaded from http://www.business.adelaide.edu.au/current/mba/download/2009MBACommSkillsGuide.pdf

This publication also provides guidelines on a range of other important communication skills including writing essays and management reports, making oral presentations etc.
In preparing any written piece of assessment for your postgraduate studies it is important to draw on the relevant ‘literature’ to support critical analysis. Also essential is to reference the literature used. Correct referencing is important because it identifies the source of the ideas and arguments that you present, and sometimes the source of the actual words you use, and helps to avoid the problem of plagiarism. (Further information on plagiarism is provided later in this course outline.)
The Harvard system is widely used in the Business School. Guidelines for the use of this style of referencing can be found in the Communication Skills Guide.

Further assistance with referencing is available from the Faculty’s Learning Support Advisors. The contact details are provided on page 6 of the Communication Skills Guide.

LATE ASSIGNMENT SUBMISSION
Students are expected to submit their work by the due date to maintain a fair and equitable system. Extensions will generally only be given for medical or other serious reasons. All requests for extensions must be emailed to the lecturer in charge of the course before the due date. Each request will be assessed on its merits. A late assignment (without prior arrangement) will be penalised by a 20% mark reduction for each day that it is late. Assignments are non-redeemable.

RETURN OF ASSIGNMENTS
Lecturer’s aim to mark and return assignments to students within three (3) weeks of the due date with written feedback. Students are responsible for collecting their marked assignments from their tutorial classes. If assignments are not collected after two (2) weeks, the assignments will be available at the Student Hub for two (2) weeks.