Financial acumen is an important skill for managers in the complex local and global business environment. The unit takes a multidiscipline approach to develop advanced analytical, planning and decision making skills. This unit proposes a theoretical framework for effective and efficient use of financial statement information for business analysis. It identifies and evaluates the key analytical framework components: financial statement, business strategy, accounting, financial, and prospective. This framework is then applied to a variety of complex decision making contexts including security analysis, credit analysis, corporate financing policies analysis, merger and acquisition analysis, and management communications analysis.

Unit details

Location:
City Flinders
Victoria University Online
VU Sydney
Study level:
Postgraduate
Credit points:
12
Unit code:
BAO5734

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Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, students will be able to:
  1. Apply a structured analytical framework to facilitate the preparation, interpretation and communication of analysts' reports which evaluate past performance and future prospects for sustainable value creation;  
  2. Generate, commission, interpret and/or communicate relevant, reliable and comprehensible performance information on external and internal factors critical to sustainable value creation (such as financial and non-financial key performance indicators (KPIs));  
  3. Review and evaluate the elements that shape value creation and triple bottom-line performance (including competitive environment, strategy, structure and value-creating activities) and translate them to disciplinary and professional practice; and  
  4. Critically reflect as part of an inter-disciplinary team on the broad range of elements that frame corporate values.  

Assessment

Melbourne campuses

Students studying under the VU Block Model.

Assessment type Description Grade
Test Combination of practical and theoretical questions 15%
Assignment Practical exercises (Group) 35%
Report Financial analysis project report (35%) and presentation (15%) 50%

Other locations

Assessment type Description Grade
Assignment Preparation of brief to recommend the most appropriate source of financing 10%
Report Financial ratio analysis 40%
Presentation Recommendation based on analysis to either undertake/not undertake a project 50%

Required reading

Business analysis and valuation: Using financial statements -Text and cases (2nd Asia-Pacific ed.).
Palepu, K.G., Healy, P.M., Wright, S., Bradbury, M., & Lee, P. (2015).
South Melbourne, Victoria: Cengage Learning Australia.

Where to next?

As part of a course

This unit is studied as part of the following courses. Refer to the course page for information on how to apply for the course.

You can choose to study this unit as part of the following courses. Refer to the course page for information on how to structure your course to include this unit.

Course Study as part of
Graduate Diploma in Business Finance - Specialisation

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