THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA AT GREENSBORO

BRYAN SCHOOL OF BUSINESS AND ECONOMICS

Department of Accounting and Finance
FIN 315-01: Business Finance I
Spring 2017
Section 01: Tuesdays 6:00 to 8:50 SOEB 120
Section 02: Tuesdays and Thursdays 3:30 to 4:45 Bryan 160

I.

Instructor

James A. Milanese
Bryan School Room 385
334-4864
E-mail: [email protected]

Office Hours: Tuesdays and Thursdays 1:00 to 2:00

II. Required Materials
Text: Lawrence J. Gitman, Principles of Managerial Finance, Brief Seventh Edition. Pearson
Publishing. 2014. ISBN: 9780133546408
Please note, I will not being using the Pearson MyFinanceLab as a part of this class.
Important Requirement: We will not be using financial calculators in the class. All students
are required to have either a laptop computer of tablet with Excel.
III. Course Objectives:
FIN 315 is a common body of knowledge course for students pursuing a degree in business or
economics. Upon the completion of the course students should be able to do the following:
1.
2.
3.
4.

Discuss the interrelated areas of finance, the role of finance within an organization,
forms of the business organization, agency problems, and the factors that influence the
stock price.
Explain the information provided by the income statement, balance sheet, statement of
cash flows and how modifications of accounting data can be used for making corporate
and stock valuation decisions.
Describe the nature of ratio analysis, the groups and types of ratios, the DuPont system,
and quantitative and non-quantitative factors in evaluating a companys performance.
Identify the steps in the financial planning process.

5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.

11.

IV.

Describe the different financial markets, financial market instruments, the components
and factors influencing the interest rate, the yield curve, and explanations for the shape
of the yield curve.
Define risk, return, diversifiable risk, market risk, and explain how to measure and apply
required risk and return in the context of an individual stock and a stock portfolio.
Demonstrate how to find the present and future values of lump sums and annuities, solve
for the time or interest rate in TVM problems, calculate periodic and effective interest
rates, and construct a loan amortization schedule.
List the main classifications and characteristics of bond, calculate bond price and various
bond yields, and explain the importance of bond ratings and criteria for rating bonds.
Identify important stock ownership rights and terms, how to value common and
preferred stock, and understand stock market information in the newspaper and market
efficiency.
Explain the concept of a firms weighted average cost of capital, define and calculate the
component costs of capital using alternative approaches, calculate the weighted average
cost of capital, and identify situations when the use of the composite WACC is not
appropriate.
Explain capital budgeting and steps in the capital budgeting project, methods to evaluate
project financial viability, NPV profiles, the problem of multiple IRRs.

Final Grade Determination

Quiz 1
Quiz 2
Business Ethics Quiz
Exam 1
Exam 2
Exam 3
Cumulative Final Exam Section 01
Cumulative Final Exam Section 02

January 31
March 28
April 18
February 14
March 7
April 11
May 9 (7:00 10:00)
May 9 (3:30 6:30)

5%
5%
5%
20%
20%
20%
25%
25%

Note: NO make-up exams or quizzes will be given. If you miss one or more of the mid-term
exams or quizzes, and can provide documentation of a valid excuse, the weight of those exams
and/or quizzes will be added to the final exam. If documentation cannot be provided, or the
reason the exam or quiz is missed is not valid, a grade of zero will be assigned. For the most
part, a valid excuse will be defined as illness, a death in the family or legal obligation (such as
jury duty).
A special note about the Business Ethics Quiz: Like quizzes one and two, the Business Ethics
Quiz will be administered in-class. However, it will be graded differently. There are only two
possible grades on the Business Ethics: 100 if you completed it or 0 if you do not.
Each exam will be provided to the student for review after grading. Students may not keep the
exams. All exams must be returned to the instructor the same class period they are reviewed

and must not leave the classroom. Failure to return an exam to the instructor will result in a
grade of zero for that exam.
Anyone arriving late for an exam or quiz will only be permitted to take the exam or quiz at the
discretion of the instructor. A student arriving significantly late, without a valid excuse, will not
be permitted to take the exam or quiz and will receive a zero.
Your final grade will be based on the following scale:
92 or Higher
90 91.9
88 89.9
82 87.9

A
AB+
B

80 81.9
78 79.9
72 77.9
70 71.9

BC+
C
C-

68 69.9
62 67.9
60 61.9
Below 60

D+
D
DF

The instructor reserves the right to adjust the students final grade by a maximum of onehalf point. This adjustment will only be made for students with regular class attendance and
participation.

V.

Topics to be Covered (In This Order)

Chapter 1 The Role of Managerial Finance

Chapter 2 The Financial Market Environment
Chapter 3 Financial Statements and Ratio Analysis
Chapter 4 Cash Flow and Financial Planning
Chapter 5 Time Value of money
Chapter 8 Risk and Return
Chapter 6 Interest Rates and Bond Valuation
Chapter 7 Stock Valuation
Chapter 10 Capital Budgeting Techniques
Chapter 9 The Cost of Capital
Important: All material in the assigned chapters is fair game for test questions, even if not
covered in class lectures. In addition, unless specifically told otherwise, students are responsible
for all lecture material, even if not covered in the text readings.

VI.

Students With Disabilities:

All students with a disability requesting special services must go through the Office of
Disabilities Services. If you are requesting special accommodations, please bring your paper
work from Disability Services directly to me the first week of class. All such information will be
help in confidence. The web link to this office is http://ods.dept.uncg.edu/services/ .

VII. Student Conduct

Students are expected to conduct themselves in a professional manner at all times. This means,
but is not limited to:

Arriving for class on time

Doing absolutely nothing during class that is disruptive or detracts from the learning
experience of others

Remaining in class for its duration

Any student disrupting this class will be asked to leave. If the conduct continues, the instructors
reserve the right to drop the student from the class.
For an overview of specific University and Bryan School policies, please see the following
links:
http://studentconduct.uncg.edu/policy/code/
www.uncg.edu/bae/faculty_student_guidelines.pdf

VIII. Honor Policy

All graded material for this class is subject to the UNCG Academic Honor Policy. If you are not
familiar with this policy, please use the following link:
http://www.uncg.edu/reg/Policy/HonorPolicy.html

IX.

Prerequisites

ACC 201 or ACC 218, ECO 201 and ECO 202

X.

The Bryan School of Business and Economics Mission Statement

In the Bryan School of Business and Economics, we create and disseminate knowledge about the
theory and practice of business. In addition to our courses and research, we accomplish this
through hands-on projects, global experiences, and outreach to the community. Our work
produces principled leaders and exceptional problem solvers who have a global perspective, an
innovative mindset, a broad understanding of sustainability, and a commitment to improve the
organizations in which they work and the communities in which they live.
Student Learning Goals
Each program within the Bryan school has separate learning goals as listed with the degree
program. The essential components of a professional education in business (excluding the B.S.

and B.A. in Economics, the B.S. in Consumer, Apparel, and Retail Studies and the B.A. in
Sustainable Tourism and Hospitality) include common courses for breadth and opportunities for
advanced work for depth in the various business disciplines. These core business programs share
the following common learning goals:
1. Students will implement the various steps of the critical thinking process, supported by
the appropriate use of analytical and quantitative techniques, to formulate
recommendations for subsequent decision making.
2. Students will apply appropriate ethical standards when making recommendations for
business decision making.
3. Students will evaluate business decisions in the context of sustainability goals, balancing
environmental, social, and economic needs, conditions, and potential decision impacts.
4. Students will formulate appropriate strategies, in the context of global issues and forces,
to improve business performance in the world economy.
5. Students will explain the roles of innovation and innovation management in achieving
successful business strategies, decisions, and performance.
6. Students will be able to plan, schedule, contribute to, and lead projects.
Impact of this Course on the Program Student Learning Goals
Upon successful completion of Business Finance I (FIN 315), students will meet various
components of the Critical Decision-Making (#1) Student Learning Goals. Additionally,
students will be exposed to elements of financial global issues supporting Student Learning Goal
#4.