BENTLEY UNIVERSITY
Department of Finance
Course Outline
Fall 2017
FI 305
Principles of Accounting and Finance
Alain Chinca, CFA
Time: Monday-Wednesday 5:00-6:20 PM – Room SMI 200
Office Hours: Tuesday 5 to 6:30 PM, Wednesday 2 to 3 PM and Thursday 5 to 6 PM and by Appointment
Office: AAC 270
Phone: 781.891.2445
E-mail: achinca@bentley.edu
Course Description:
This course serves as the gateway to the Finance, Economics & Finance, and Corporate Finance & Accounting majors.
This course will broaden the students’ understanding and competence, particularly the GB112/GB212 sequence. An
overview of financial statements and financial statement analysis is covered first, followed by the basics of debt and
equity valuation and the management of a firm’s assets. Other areas covered will be time value of money, risk and return,
valuation of financial securities, and capital budgeting techniques. We will occasionally discuss current events affecting
the world economy and articles in financial newspapers. Students are encouraged to keep up on current financial markets
and events. An easy way to stay on top of current financial news is by reading Bloomberg news via the terminals
accessible in the trading room.
Textbook:
Fundamentals of Corporate Finance, 11th edition, (Ross, Westerfield and Jordan, 2016), McGraw-Hill/Irwin.
Connect will not be used with the class.
Calculator:
We will use a financial calculator (Texas Instrument BA II Plus (or Plus Professional). Please bring your calculator to all
classes. No other calculators (including Excel) may be employed during quizzes and exams.
Course objectives and learning outcomes:
Knowledge Based
Gain familiarity with accounting convention, definitions, principles, and procedures that affect the use of analytical
tools and techniques in financial statement analysis.
Better understand the basics of the valuation principle as applied to financial decision making.
Effectively use and evaluate different tools available for successful financial planning on a corporate level.
Learn keys statistics and metrics used in the capital markets
Skill Based
Able to relate various objectives of financial statement users to relevant accounting information found in the
financial statements and other types of information.
Able to apply time value of money concepts to estimate the value of various financial assets (e.g., TVM problems,
financial securities).
Able to understand and use the financial tools available in the Trading Room
Understand risk and return tradeoffs, how they relate to valuing financial assets and financial portfolios.
Be able to do understand and explain the behavior of certain asset classes.
Attitude and Value Based
Appreciate the role accounting and finance plays in enhancing and maintaining the firm’s valuation and strategic
and competitive advantage
Understand how and why various capital markets are moving.
Grading:
Exam #1 (Class #9) 20%
Exam #2 (Class #19) 20%
Final Exam (Final Week) 25%
Bloomberg BMC Certificate (Class #8) 05%
FTS Capital Markets Project (Class #28) 10%
Company Research (Class #21) 15%
Class Interest 05%
Total 100%
Class Participation:
You are expected to attend every class. You are allowed only two unexcused absence without penalty. Each additional
unexcused absence will be penalized as follows:
One unexcused absence = 2-point subtraction from final grade. (For example, if you have an 89 final average, your
final grade will be 87).
Two unexcused absences = 4-point subtraction from final grade.
Three unexcused absences = 6-point subtraction from final grade
Four (4) or more unexcused absences will result in automatic failure for the course.
If you experience life-altering circumstances and cannot attend class, seek advice from the Advising Office about
withdrawing from the course.
An absence is excused if:
You are required to participate in an official Bentley University activity (documentation required).
You are under a doctor’s care (documentation required).
You are granted a leave of absence from Bentley University for reasonable cause by an academic dean
(documentation required).
The following are not acceptable excuses:
Examples include: scheduled flights or trips, scheduled non-emergency doctor appointments, job interviews, picking up
relatives at the airport, visiting family, chauffeuring a friend somewhere, etc.
If you will be missing a class, I expect you to notify me via email in advance of the class and provided the appropriate
documentation.
Homework
Homework problems will not be collected but an answer key might be provided and time might be allowed during class to
go over the solutions. Homework problems will prepare students for the exams.
Projects:
There will be three projects required during the semester.
Bloomberg BMC Certificate (due Class #8 and counts for 5% of your grade)
You will be required to go to the Trading Room and do the appropriate work to obtain the certificate. Although the
deadline to submit the certificate is September 25, you can get your certificate anytime between the first class and the due
date. I posted detailed instructions on the course blackboard.
FTS Capital Markets Project due Class #28 and counts for 10% of your grade)
You will be required to use the FTS software to do the project. Detailed instructions and guidelines are on the course
blackboard.
Company Research Project due Class #21 and counts for 15% of your grade)
You will be assigned a company and will need to specific gather data from FactSet (only acceptable source) and analyze
the company based on that information. The final output will be a report explaining why that company should be rated a
buy.
Exams:
The exams will cover materials from the lectures, text, assignments, quizzes, readings and handouts.
There will be three exams in this module (2 mid-terms and 1 final) covering material from the text and information
presented, discussed, or distributed during class meetings. The dates and times of the evaluations are indicated on the class
schedule
Makeup exam/quizzes will be given only in the event that you
(1) inform me at least 24-hours prior to the exam, AND
(2) provide me with a written justification (e.g. a note from the doctor) for not taking the exam at the scheduled time.
Missing an exam without meeting the above requirements will result in a grade of zero for the exam.
THERE ARE NO EXCEPTIONS!
Academic Integrity (No cheating, No Plagiarism)
“Learning is a privilege that demands responsibility. At Bentley, students and faculty are members of an academic
community that support integrity both inside and outside the classroom. The expectation at Bentley is that students will take
advantage of the opportunity for intellectual development and, in doing so, will conduct themselves in a manner consistent
with the standards of academic integrity. When these standards are violated or compromised, individuals and the entire
Bentley community suffer. Students who engage in acts of academic dishonesty not only face university censure but also
may harm their future educational and employment opportunities.”
Students are responsible for familiarizing themselves with and understanding the academic honesty guidelines
presented in the Student Handbook at http://bentley.edu/centers/alliance/academic-integrity. As such, whatever the
assignment, students are encouraged to engage in critical thinking and to use quoted or paraphrased material in ways
that appropriately support of their own ideas. In written or oral work, a student may make fair use of quotations, ideas,
images, etc., that appear in others’ work only if the student gives appropriate credit to the original authors, thinkers,
owners or creators of that work. This includes material found on the Internet and in electronic databases. Student
plagiarism is the deliberate presentation of the writing or thinking of another as the student's own. Failure to maintain
academic integrity will not be tolerated.
Cheating entails the use of unauthorized or prohibited aids in accomplishing assigned academic tasks. Obtaining
unauthorized help for the writing of assignment or the creation of other assigned work are all forms of cheating. A
student who assists another in cheating will be held to the same standard.
Academic dishonesty may also include other acts intended to misrepresent the authorship of academic work or to
undermine the integrity of the classroom or of grades assigned for academic work. Deliberate acts threatening the
integrity of library materials or the smooth operation of laboratories are among possible acts of academic dishonesty.
Student Disability
Bentley University abides by Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990
which stipulate no student shall be denied the benefits of an education solely by reason of a disability. If you have a hidden
or visible disability which may require classroom accommodations, please make an appointment with the Senior Assistant
Director of Disability Services, Stephanie S. Brodeur, within the first 4 weeks of the semester. The Office of Disability
Services is located in the Callahan/University Police Building (POL, 2nd Floor, 781.891.2004). The Senior Assistant
Director of Disability Services is responsible for managing accommodations and services for students with disabilities.
FI 305
Class
Topic(s)
Reading
Chapters
Assignment
1
Course overview
Introduction to Corporate Finance
Chapter 1
2 & 3
Financial statements, cash flows and taxes
Chapter 2
1, 7, 10, 13, 14(a-c), 17, 21(a-b) & 22
(a,b & d)
4 & 5
Analysis of financial statements
Chapter 3
1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 10, 18, 19
(1)
, 22 & 24
6
Short Term Finance and Planning
Chapter 18
5, 6
(2)
, 8, 9, 10 & 11
7 & 8
Long Term Financial Planning and Growth
Bloomberg BMC Certificate Due
Chapter 4
3, 4, 5, 6 & 7
9
Exam #1 (Chapter 1, 2, 3, 4 and 18)
In class, closed book
10, 11,
12 & 13
Time value of money
Chapter 5 &
Chapter 6
5 – 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 8, 9, 10, 12, 14 & 19
6 – 1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 9, 12, 16, 20, 21, 24, 32,
34, 36, 41, 47& 53
14, 15 &
16
Interest Rates & Bond Valuation
Chapter 7
2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 9, 12, 15, 18, 20, 22, 24, 25
& 26
17 & 18
Stock Valuation
Chapter 8
1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 12, 13, 15, 18, 20, 21,
22, 27 & 29
19
Exam #2 (Chapter 5, 6, 7 and 8)
In class, closed book
20 & 21
Risk, Return and the CAPM
Company Research Project
Chapter 13
1, 2, 4, 6, 7, 9, 11, 13, 14, 15 & 20 (a-c)
22& 23
Net Present Value and Other Investment
Criteria
Chapter 9
3, 5, 7, 8, 10, 11, 12, 15, 17 & 19 (only
combination method)
24 & 25
Making Capital Investment Decisions
Chapter 10
1, 2, 4, 7, 9, 14, 19, 24 & 32
26 & 27
Cost of Capital
Chapter 14
1, 3, 5, 6, 9, 10,11, 12, 13, 14 &15
(3)
28
Lessons from Capital Market History
FTS Capital Markets Project
Chapter 12
1, 2, 4, 9, 10, 13, 14 & 15
Final
Week
Final Exam
Comprehensive
In class, closed book
(1) Assume all sales are credit sales
(2) Use average balances
(3) Preferred dividend is $3.50
Note 1: These dates are tentative. If a business obligation forces me to have to cancel a class, it will be made up.
Note 2: Additional documents will be distributed in class or be made available on the course web site and are considered
integral part of the curriculum.
Class
Section 007
M-W 5:00-6:20
Room SMI 200
1
08/28/17
2
08/30/17
3
09/06/17
4
09/11/17
5
09/13/17
6
09/18/17
7
09/20/17
8
09/25/17
9*
09/27/17 rb
10
10/02/17
11
10/04/17
12
10/11/17
13
10/16/17
14
10/18/17
15
10/23/17
16
10/25/17 rb
17
10/30/17
18
11/01/17
19**
11/06/17
20
11/08/17
21
11/13/17
22
11/15/17 rb
23
11/20/17
24
11/27/17
25
11/29/17
26
12/04/17
27
12/06/17
28
12/11/17
Final
12/13/17 1:30 PM
*: Exam #1
**: Exam #2
Rb: rebalance date
