COURSE SYLLABUS
Intermediate Financial Management
FINC 319
Winter 2015
Instructor:
Office:
Office Hours:
Class Time:
Office Phone:
E-mail:
Qin Lian, Ph.D.
Room 215
MWF 8:30 am-11:00 am, Tu 9:00 am-11:30 am or by appointment
MWF 11:00 am-12:15 pm @ Room 112
(318) 257- 3593
qlian@latech.edu
Course Objectives
This course is a capstone finance course. We will address many important issues facing
corporate managers, including 1) capital budgeting analysis; 2) cost of capital and capital
structure analysis; 3) corporate payout policy; and 4) working capital management. The
primary goal for this class is to solidify your understanding of basic finance and broaden
your understanding of applying the basic finance concepts in practices.
Course Webpage: Moodle
Prerequisites: FINC 318.
Textbook: Essentials of Corporate Finance by Ross, Westerfield & Jordan – 8th edition.
Reading materials (Recommended): Wall Street Journal
Required Materials
A pocket financial calculator (of your choice, such as Hewlett-Packard HP-17, HP-10,
HP-19 or the Texas Instruments BA-II Plus) is required. Some instructions for financial
calculators are available at http://www.tvmcalcs.com/calculator_index. There will be no
sharing of calculators in the course. Please bring your calculator to each class.
Course Policies
1. Attendance & Participation
Students are expected to attend class on time and actively participate in class by asking
and answering questions. Please refrain from behavior that distracts other students
(answering cell phones, text messaging, any other cell phone using, etc.). Attendance
will be taken each class period as required by Board of Regents policy. Arriving 15
minutes late or longer, as well as leaving more than 15 minutes early, counts as one
absence. When you miss class, ask a classmate (not me) to debrief you. You are
responsible for all missed material.
2. Homework
Homework is assigned through McGraw-Hill’s Connect. All homework on Connect
closes 15 minutes before the class on due date. There will be approximately one graded
Syllabus for Intermediate Financial Management, FINC319, Winter 2015
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homework assignment for each chapter. You can try practice homework unlimited times
with no time limit before the due time. You will receive the answers and solutions right
away. You have three attempts for the graded homework. I will keep the highest score as
your grade for each graded homework. No late homework will be accepted regardless of
reasons. One of your lowest scores for homework will be dropped to calculate your
homework grade.
This course requires a paid access to McGraw-Hill’s Connect.
Your Connect code can be purchased one of several ways:
1. As part of the package with your text purchased from the bookstore
2. If you buy a used book, you can purchase Connect online at the course homepage:
3. If you purchase Connect online, you will have the option of purchasing Connect or
ConnectPlus. ConnectPlus includes an interactive eBook, while Connect does not.
4. NOTE: You can register in Connect and have access without a code for a limited time
period (typically three weeks).
How to register for Connect
1. Go to your Connect home page:
http://connect.mcgraw-hill.com/class/qinlian_winter_2015_finc319
2. Click on the "Register Now" link on the student menu found on your instructor's
course homepage.
3. Enter your email address
TIP: If you already have a McGraw-Hill account, you will be asked for your
password and will not be required to create a new account.
4. Enter a registration code or choose Buy Online to purchase access online
5. Follow the on-screen directions
6. When registration is complete, click on Go to Connect Now
7. You are now ready to use Connect
3. Quizzes
Quizzes will cover all material assigned and/or covered since the previous regular
quiz/exam. Failure to attend class the day of an in-class quiz will result in a zero for that
quiz. There will be no make-up quizzes. I will not answer questions or emails
regarding the date of quizzes.
4. Exams
There will be three close-book exams. Missed exams will receive a 0. Exams must be
taken at the scheduled time unless extreme circumstances. The student must receive
approval from the instructor before the regularly scheduled exam.
5. Assignments
You need to prepare a short summary of a news article (e.g., from WSJ, Economist,
Business Week, and etc). The news article is about the financial and business decision of
a company of your choice. The financial and business decision should be related to topics
covered in this course, such as a company’s cost of capital, capital structure decision,
capital budgeting decision, dividend policy, investment policy, and etc. (see tentative
Syllabus for Intermediate Financial Management, FINC319, Winter 2015
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course outline for more information). You will discuss it in class. The discussion should
be no more than 5 minutes. Your summary must be typed and turned in to me on the day
you present it. Also send me the link of the original article and briefly state your choice
of company and its chosen policy in the class day (9:00 p.m. CST) before your
presentation date. Failure to do it will affect your overall grade for the assignment.
Note for summary:
(a) Provide a condensed version of a longer article for the purpose of attracting the
reader to read the complete document.
(b) Give the overall, big picture and a few important details.
(c) Do not copy sentences from different sections of the article to mix together.
(d) Do not simply summarize each section without overall sense of the article.
(e) Summarize the article in your own words.
(f) Do not add your own opinions about the topic in the summary. However, you are
welcome to add your thoughts and comments in a separate paragraph.
Format for the assignment:
Last Name: (e.g., Lian)
First Name: (e.g., Qin) Term: (Fall 2011)
Article Title: (e.g., The Great American Bond Bubble)
Source: (e.g., August 18, 2010, pg. A‐17)
Summary:
Discussion: (optional)
6. Students with Disabilities
Students with disabilities who believe that they may need accommodations in this class
are encouraged to share these concerns and requests with the instructor as soon as
possible.
7. Basis for Assigning Course Grades
Activity
Point
1. Exam 1
100 pts.
2. Exam 2
100 pts.
3. Exam 3
100 pts.
4. Attendance & Participation
20 pts.
5. Assignment
10 pts.
6. Homework average
50 pts.
7. Quiz average
20 pts.
TOTAL………………………………
400 pts.
The following percentage grading scale will be used to determine your course grade:
 Grade cutoffs for A, B, C, D are 360, 320, 280, and 240 respectively.
 Grades are rounded to the nearest percent (i.e. 239.5 rounds to 240 while 239.4
rounds to 239)
Note: I may give a maximum of 5 points for participation based on my observation of
your understanding of class materials and in-class participation. I do not email grades and
I do not give out grades over the telephone.
Syllabus for Intermediate Financial Management, FINC319, Winter 2015
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8. Appeals Process
You may dispute exam/quiz items that you missed by giving me a typewritten appeal
within one week of exam/quiz returns. In your appeal, include your name, the exam/quiz
and the question you are referring to, and indicate the answer you chose and why you
think that answer was as good or better than the one I chose as correct. After one week
has passed, I will not address previous quizzes and exams.
9. Campus Emergency Policies
In case of a campus-wide disaster that requires campus closure for an extended period,
the remaining course will be delivered through the online communication and
instructional tools available in the campus Moodle course management system. The
faulty member will make all the materials required to continue coursework available at
the Moodle site.
10. Other policies
 Each student is responsible for checking on course website on weekly basis.
 No provision for make-up exams and extra credits. I make an extra effort to
treat each student with the same consideration.
 Cheating is not tolerated. Failure to follow the instructions given by the
instructor during a test will result in a failing grade on the course. Further
discipline measures may be pursued through the college. This is not simply
something you do in a class, but an indication of your overall character.
Course Outline
Module I. Risk and Return ~ Chapters 10, 11
 Market efficiency
 Diversification
Module II. Capital Budgeting ~ Chapters 8, 9
 Decision Criteria
 Project Analysis
Module III. Capital Structure ~ Chapters 12, 13, 15
 Cost of Capital
 Capital Structure
 Raising Capital
Module IV. Payout Policy and Other Topic~ Chapters 14, 16, 17
 Dividend Policy
 Short-term Finance and Planning
 Cash and Liquidity Management
Exam 1 (Dec 19, 2014, in class, chapters 10, 11, 8)
Exam 2 (Jan 30, 2015, in class, chapters 9, 12, 13, 15)
Final Exam (Feb 27, 2015, in class, chapters 14, 16, 17)
* Please note this is a tentative syllabus and changes may be necessary as the quarter
unfolds. All changes will be announced in class.
Syllabus for Intermediate Financial Management, FINC319, Winter 2015
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