Course description

Finance 1 introduces the main concepts and methods used in financial decision-making. The course develops students’ understanding of the time value of money, securities, risk and return, cost of capital and capital budgeting.

Learning outcomes

After completing the course, students should be able to:

• explain the role of finance in organisations;
• calculate present and future values;
• apply discounting and compounding;
• value basic financial securities;
• explain the relationship between risk and return;
• calculate and interpret the cost of capital;
• apply basic capital-budgeting methods; and
• evaluate simple financial decisions.

Course content

• Foundations of finance
• Financial planning
• Time value of money
• Present and future value
• Market value of securities
• Risk and return
• Cost of capital
• Capital budgeting
• Financial decision-making

Teaching and learning methods

The course combines lectures, worked examples, calculation exercises, group assignments and practical financial cases.

Assessment