Kazakhstan Institute of Management, Economics and Strategic Research
Bang College of Business (BCB)
Spring Semester 2014
Course Syllabus for: FIN3121 Principles of Finance
1. Basic Information
Course Code and Title: FIN3121 Principles of Finance
Course Meeting Time and Place:
Course Credit: Three (3) credits
Instructor Information: Maya Katenova, PFM
Office: Room # 339 Dostyk (Administrative) Building
Phone: 2704440 (2018)
E-mail: mayak@kimep.kz
Prerequisite: ACC2101
2. Instructor Availability
Office Hours:
3. Instructional Resources
Required Textbook
-
Brooks, Raymond. 2010. Financial management: core concepts. 1st ed, The Prentice Hall series in finance.
Boston: Prentice Hall.
Cases and Additional Readings: Listed in Course Schedule below, available on L-Drive, etc.
4. Course Description/Overview
Financial Management is an introductory course to the field of finance with a broad scope and emphasis on
general principles. The course focuses on the tools based approach to present key concept of finance with
personal and business related examples. The course will present basics of financial system, time value of
money and discounting, financial performance analysis, basics of capital budgeting, stock and bond valuation,
and introduction to corporate finance.
Learning objectives
At the end of the course, students should be able to do the following:
KNOWLEDGE & Skills
1. Understand fundamental concepts and basic tools of finance
2. Valuing stock and bonds and understand risk and return
3. Understand Capital Budgeting decisions
4. Evaluate financial performance of a company
1
5. Understand Optimal Capital structure
6. Understand company`s dividend policy, stock repurchase etc.
7. Understand basic principles of International Financial Management
APPLICATION ABILITIES:
Students will be able to get basic knowledge of finance with application to other courses in
finance, as well as personal and business situation.
VALUES AND ATTITUDES:
Students practice
 KIMEP Core Values
 Academic honesty
 Respect for peers and instructors
6. Teaching Methodology
The format of the course is basically lectures but also includes the following:

Homework assignments, case studies, and discussions
7. Assessment Scheme
Continuous Assessment
 Tests No. 1-2
Final Assessment
TOTAL
Tutorial tests will follow the tests given on Lecture sessions
60%
60%
40%
100%
ASSESSMENT IN DETAIL
Tests & Examination:
Exam will contain theoretical questions, and quantitative problems. Cell phones are not allowed during an exam.
Formula sheet can be used by students during an exams or quizzes. Formula sheet should contain only formulas.
Class participation:
Guideline to lectures:
Come to the class prepared, reading the chapter before the class. Be ready to answer the questions
from the lecture as well as case questions related to chapter in the text reading.
It is extremely important that students prepare for the class, especially for the tutorial classes.
To emphasize the importance of class participation frequency and quality of students’ contribution
will make up 15% of the grade. Evaluating the frequency and quality of a student’s contribution to
class relative to other students is the instructor’s discretion.
Bonuses:
10 points will be given as bonuses to students for class participation. Bonuses are limited to 10 points
maximum.
8. Grading Scale
Letter grades for the course will follow the same standards as specified in the Catalog. See the
following table for grading scale:
2
Letter grade
A+
A
AB+
B
BC+
C
CD+
D
DF
Numerical scale or
percentile
90-100
85-89
80-84
77-79
73-76
70-72
67-69
63-66
60-62
57-59
53-56
50-52
Below 50
9. Course Policies and Instructor’s expectations of students
Students must attend the classes but there will be no formal attendance for lectures.
Academic honesty: We have a zero tolerance policy for academic dishonesty. Check the catalog for
details.
Cell phones: should be turned off at the beginning of the class, or put it on vibrate or silent mode (in
case of emergency).
Information dissemination: Information regarding this course and assignments will be given by the
instructor during the class or can be found on the L-drive.
Enrollment in the course constitutes an agreement with the terms and requirements in this syllabus.
10. Period-by-period Schedule (Tentative)
Weeks
1
2
Topics or activities
Course syllabus presentation
Readings (Brooks)
Chapter 3, 4
3
The Time Value of Money
Interest rates
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
Quiz No. 1
Valuing Bonds
Valuing Stock
Risk and return
Quiz No 2
Financial Statements
Capital Budgeting Decision Models
Cash Flow Estimations
The cost of capital
Quiz No. 3
Capital Structure
15
16
17
Dividends, dividends policy and stock splits
Chapter 5
Final Exam
3
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 2, 14
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
4