THE GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY
SCHOOL OF BUSINESS
FINA 3001 – INTERMEDIATE FINANCE
COURSE SYLLABUS
Professor: Ayla Kayhan, Ph.D.
Fall 2025
Office: Zoom
E-mail: akayhan@gwu.edu
Class: Tuesday/Thursday 4.45pm – 6pm
Room: TOMP 306
Office hours: on demand
Course Description
This is an intermediate financial management course, placed between BADM 3501 and FINA 4001 and it
will include topics covered in BADM3501 at deeper levels. We will review corporate finance topics,
including security issuance, valuation, capital-structure, incentives and corporate control, and risk
management as well as more contemporary topics such as climate change, generative AI and
cryptocurrency as it relates to corporate finance. The goal is to educate students to make informed
corporate decisions and develop critical thinking in analyzing financial decisions facing modern
corporations.
Class meetings will consist of lectures, discussions, and interactive group learning. Students are expected
to actively participate in class and are responsible for their own performance. To do well in the class, you
must develop your skills with repetitive practice. In other words, reading the book and coming to every
class, but doing nothing else will not serve you well. If you want to excel, you must also practice working
and solving problems repeatedly. Understanding something you read is not the same as being able to
solve a problem quickly under pressure.
The instructor’s role is to provide a set of expectations, assist in learning the material, and administer the
graded work. Students are expected to have the self-discipline required to develop and practice skills on
their own. For a student with sufficient understanding of the background knowledge in economics,
statistics, and finance, six hours of preparation outside of class should be done in preparation for the
weekly material.
Prerequisites: BADM 3501.
Required Course Material
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4.
Richard Brealey, Stewart Myers, Franklin Allen and Alex Edmans, Principles of Corporate Finance,
14th Edition, register for Connect through Blackboard
The book is packaged with McGraw Hill Connect which you must have to access all graded
assignments. The service also gives you access to on-line practice materials, self-quiz and study
tools and more to help you succeed. Assignments can be assessed from the Blackboard course
page. The most economical option is to rent an ebook with Connect (the combined package of the
ebook and Connect is called Connect Plus) directly from McGraw Hill.
Lecture notes and other reading materials will be posted on Blackboard.
Financial calculator
Laptop/tablet: the exams will be done on that device in class through Blackboard. Charge your
batteries before exams.
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Supplemental Course Material: The Wall Street Journal and Financial Times
Grading
Blackboard will be used to administer the homework, the exams, and store lecture notes as well as other
class relevant materials. Blackboard will not be used to keep track of grades. I will get all grades straight
from Connect. If Blackboard shows an incorrect grade, ignore it.
There will be two midterm tests each worth 25% of your grade. Final exam, which will be comprehensive,
will be worth 30% of your grade. The other 20% will be based on the homework and smart book
(interactive) assignments. There will be 10 assignments, and I will drop your lowest score. You are
allowed two attempts on each homework. Only your highest score on a homework assignment counts. If
you get a 90 on a homework and do it again and get 80, only the 90 counts. If you miss a test the makeup
will involve putting additional weight on the final exam.
Note that your grade will not reflect how hard you have worked but how much you have learned. Your
performance on the tests will depend on both accuracy and speed. There is no extra credit. Be prepared
to compensate for a poor performance by doing better the next time. If the exam turns out to be overly
difficult the grades will be curved accordingly. The exams are closed book, but you will have access to a
formula sheet (which you will submit after the exam). The exams will be difficult and time constrained.
You will not have time to look up every formula and definition. You need to know the material.
The course grade will be calculated as follows:
Midterm 1
25%
Midterm 2
25%
Final
30%
Homework
15%
Smart Book (interactive)
5%
Grading Scale
100-95 A
94-90 A89-86 B+
85-81 B
80-78 B77-74 C+
73-70 C
69-65 C65<
F
Academic Integrity Code:
Academic integrity is an essential part of the educational process, and all members of the GW community
take these matters very seriously. As the instructor of record for this course, my role is to provide clear
expectations and uphold them in all assessments. Violations of academic integrity occur when students
fail to cite research sources properly, engage in unauthorized collaboration, falsify data, and otherwise
violate the Code of Academic Integrity. If you have any questions about whether academic practices or
resources are permitted, you should ask me for clarification. If you are reported for an academic integrity
violation, you should contact Conflict Education and Student Accountability (CESA), formerly known as
Student Rights and Responsibilities (SRR), to learn more about your rights and options in the process.
Consequences can range from failure of assignment to expulsion from the University and may include a
transcript notation. For more information, refer to the CESA website at students.gwu.edu/codeacademic-integrity or contact CESA by email cesa@gwu.edu or phone 202-994-6757.
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Tentative Class Schedule:
Week
Week of
Topic
1
Aug 28
Course Syllabus & Introduction
2
Sep 4
Time Value of Money / Bond Valuation
3
Sep 11
Stock Valuation
4
Sep 18
Risk & Return
5
Sep 25
CAPM and Market Efficieny
6
Oct 2
Midterm 1
Oct 9
Fall Break
7
Oct 16
Capital Budgeting
8
Oct 23
Cost of Capital
9
Oct 30
Capital Structure
10
Nov 6
Agency Problems
11
Nov 13
Midterm 2
12
Nov 20
Security Issuance & Payout Policy
Nov 27
Thanksgiving
13
Dec 4
Climate Finance & Contemporary Topics
14
Dec 11
Make-up day
TBD
Final
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