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2014/2015  KAN-CFSMO1115U  Corporate Governance and Finance

English Title
Corporate Governance and Finance

Course information
Language English
Course ECTS 7.5 ECTS
Type Mandatory
Level Full Degree Master
Duration One Semester
Course period Spring
Timetable Course schedule will be posted at calendar.cbs.dk
Study board
Study Board for MSc in Economics and Business Administration
Course coordinator
  • Robert Spliid - Department of International Economics and Management (INT)
  • Steffen Brenner - Department of International Economics and Management (INT)
Main academic disciplines
  • Economics, macro economics and managerial economics
Last updated on 09-01-2015
Learning objectives
The aim of this course is to gain an in-depth understanding of corporate governance and how corporate governance interacts with corporate finance to influence corporate performance. The course will introduce the students to corporate governance issues and teach them to analyse how different corporate governance mechanisms – like ownership and board structure, legal systems and incentives – contribute to the solution of agency problems and thereby influence corporate economic performance. Using this framework the course will then study the impact of corporate governance on corporate performance depending on company specific factors. The course will enable students to undertake a corporate governance review of an individual company including an assessment of how ownership, board structure, managerial incentives and system characteristics influence company performance.

More specifically students will (within the practical limitations of a single course):
  • Identify and analyse corporate governance (agency) problems.
  • Assess how corporate governance shapes corporate finance including capital structure, investment decisions and capital costs.
  • Analyse how the corporate governance of a particular company is likely to influence its economic performance.
Examination
Corporate Governance and Finance:
Exam ECTS 7,5
Examination form Home assignment - written product
Individual or group exam Individual
Size of written product Max. 5 pages
Assignment type Written assignment
Duration 48 hours to prepare
Grading scale 7-step scale
Examiner(s) One internal examiner
Exam period Spring Term
Make-up exam/re-exam
Same examination form as the ordinary exam
Description of the exam procedure

Individual written 48-hour take home case analysis covering topics taught in the course (max. 5 standard pages).
Course content and structure

The course develops agency theory as an analytical framework for analyzing corporate governance issues. For example shareholder value maximization can be implemented through contestable ownership and removal of takeover barriers, independent boards, stock option programs and legal protection of minority investors. Corporate governance in turn has implications for financial objectives, for example risk preferences or attention to stakeholders.  The course will cover agency and other governance theories, alternative governance mechanisms, international corporate governance, corporate governance codes, ownership structure, boards and executive compensation.
 
Teaching methods
Lectures and case discussions.
Expected literature

Thomsen, Steen and Conyon, Martin (2011). Corporate Governance: Mechanisms and Systems. McGraw Hill. London.
Last updated on 09-01-2015