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2020/2021  KAN-CCMVV4061U  Cases in Corporate Finance

English Title
Cases in Corporate Finance

Course information
Language English
Course ECTS 7.5 ECTS
Type Elective
Level Full Degree Master
Duration One Semester
Start time of the course Autumn
Timetable Course schedule will be posted at calendar.cbs.dk
Max. participants 50
Study board
Study Board for MSc in Economics and Business Administration
Course coordinator
  • Claus Parum - Department of Finance (FI)
Main academic disciplines
  • Finance
Teaching methods
  • Blended learning
Last updated on 09-12-2020

Relevant links
Learning objectives
The aim of the course is that students - after having been active students in the course Cases in Corporate Finance - are able to
  • Combine and apply insight from Corporate Finance to solve Corporate Finance problems through accurate and correct calculations.
  • Show and explain all relevant calculations to solve a given problem.
  • State the assumptions behind the theories / methods / models used in solving the cases.
  • Independently combine and logically structure the corporate finance vocabulary / theories / methods / models / regulatory/institutional/practical knowledge, and empirical evidence to solve corporate finance cases.
Course prerequisites
It is expected that the students have passed a Master of Science level course in Corporate Finance at CBS or at another business school / university.
Prerequisites for registering for the exam (activities during the teaching period)
Number of compulsory activities which must be approved (see s. 13 of the Programme Regulations): 2
Compulsory home assignments
Students will be divided into groups by the teacher.

Each student needs - as part of a group - to hand-in a copy of the group presentation to the teacher before the group presentation starts in class (further information is provided below).

The teacher will evaluate the hand-in on a pass / fail basis.

The student needs to have a pass for registering for the oral exam.

If a student for some reason does not pass this compulsory assignment in the first round, the student will be offered a second chance (but not necessarily as part of a group) to hand-in a presentation of a case chosen by the teacher. Again, the teacher will evaluate the hand-in on a pass / fail basis. The student needs to have a pass for registering for the oral exam.

Oral presentations etc.
The student needs to be part of the student's group presentation in class.

This compulsory presentation will be evaluated on a pass / fail basis by the teacher.

The student needs to have a pass for registering for the oral exam.

If a student for some reason is not part of the student's group presentation in class in the first round, the student will be given a second chance to present parts of the presentation the student has handed in. This compulsory presentation will be evaluated on a pass / fail basis by the teacher. The student needs to have a pass for registering for the oral exam.
Examination
Cases in Corporate Finance:
Exam ECTS 7,5
Examination form Oral exam
Individual or group exam Individual exam
Duration 30 min. per student, including examiners' discussion of grade, and informing plus explaining the grade
Preparation time With the listed preparation time: 30 Minutes
Grading scale 7-point grading scale
Examiner(s) Internal examiner and second internal examiner
Exam period Winter
Aids Limited aids, see the list below:
The student is allowed to bring to the preparation room
  • Any calculator
  • In paper format: Books (including translation dictionaries), compendiums and notes
The student is also allowed to bring simple writing and drawing utensils (non-digital). Students are not allowed to communicate with others during the preparation time.
Make-up exam/re-exam
Same examination form as the ordinary exam
The student needs to have passed the compulsory hand-in and passed the presentation of the compulsory hand-in before taking the re-exam. If the student has passed both before the ordinary exam, the student may sign up for the re-exam.
Description of the exam procedure

After the student enters the exam room (online meeting in MS Teams), the student will choose an exam question at random and the exam question will be uploaded to the chat function in MS Teams.

 

The questions for the oral exam will be based on the cases in the syllabus.

 

The student will be start the preparation, where the student after approximately 25 minutes will be told that their preparation is finished and the examiner will enter the exam room for the oral exam. 

 

Students are not allowed to switch off their camera at any time. Switching off the camera would imply that the exam is finished, just as leaving the room.

During preparation-time, students are not allowed to mute the microphone, muting the microphone is perceived as an attempt to communicate with other people.

During preparation-time, students can use a calculator, cases on paper, and notes on paper for preparation.
New notes / two slides however, must be electronically created to be presented during the exam. Students are allowed to use their computers to create the slides however cannot otherwise use the computer in the preparation.

During exam, students are not allowed to make use of any other material except the two slides they have produced during the preparation time.
Course content, structure and pedagogical approach

The course Cases in Corporate Finance focuses on solving real-life complex Corporate Finance problems.

 

Real-life cases are analyzed to identify the relevant information for managerial decision making. Based on the relevant information, students apply theories, models, tools, and empirical evidence from Corporate Finance to develop suggestions and potential solutions for actual decision making in Corporate Finance. 

 

The cases focus on various core areas within the field of corporate finance, e.g. cash flow estimation, cost of capital, capital budgeting, payout policy, capital structure, valuation, M&A. 

 

When the course starts, students are divided into nine groups, and each group will be allocated one case from the syllabus which it is responsible for presenting in class. 

The teacher uploads a number of questions for each case in the syllabus which the in-class discussions needs to answer. 

 

Students are encouraged and expected to work in groups while trying to provide solutions for the case questions. 

 

The teaching will be organized in eleven sessions of three hours each adding up to 33 class hours.

 

In the first two sessions the teacher is resonsible for presenting two cases and acting as a facilitator to create class discussions that aims at providing the relevant information, theory, models, tools, and empirical evidence to develop suggestions and potential solutions to the questions for the cases, the teacher has uploaded on Canvas. 

 

In the following nine sessions, the nine groups will perform a similar job, i.e. present a case and facilitate class discussions to provide the relevant information, theory, models, tools, and empirical evidence to develop suggestions and potential solutions to the questions for the cases, the teacher has uploaded on Canvas. 

 

The students in the non-presenting groups are expected to be willing and able to participate as active students in the in-class discussions.

 
Description of the teaching methods
The course is taught with an emphasis on case discussions in class.

Students are expected to spend a substantial amount of time preparing for the case discussions in class by reading and answering the relevant questions for each case uploaded on Canvas.

Students are expected to participate actively in class discussions.

Students are expected to present a case in class as part of a group.
Feedback during the teaching period
It is important that the presenting group is willing and able to present the case and act as a facilitator in the in-class discussions.

To help the presenting group to perfom a four step procedure will be provided (continuous feedback).

First, each group will be offered a meeting with the teacher, where the group will present the first version of the ideas of how to present the case in class and make sure there will be a thourough in-class discussion of various ways of providing solutions to the case questions. The teacher will give feedback on the first version of the presentation.

Second, the group will be offered a second meeting with the teacher where the group and the teacher can discuss the group's suggested changes in the presentation based on the feedback from the teacher during the first meeting.

Third, the group will present the case in class and facilitate in-class discussions. During the presentation and in-class discussions the group members of the presenting group will get feedback from students in the other groups regarding identifying relevant information and which theory, models, and tools to use to provide solutions for the case questions.

Fourth, after the presentation in class and the in-class discussion, the presenting group will be offered a (short) meeting with the teacher where the teacher will give feedback on his perception of the presentation and in-class discussions.

Students are encouraged and expected to work in groups throughout the course, i.e. both when presenting their case and when being active students in class when other students present their case. This will provide excellent opportunities for non-presenting students to get continuous feedback on their solutions to the cases from other students during the in-class discussions.

Students receive direct feedback after the oral exam.
Student workload
Teaching 33 hours
Preparation of student group presentation 25 hours
Preparation for in-class discussions 138 hours
Exam preparation 10 hours
Expected literature

Various cases (predominantly from Harvard Business School) and some additional material (e.g. selected articles or chapters from textbooks). 

 

 
Last updated on 09-12-2020