BYU MARRIOTT SCHOOL
ADV. FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT (FIN 401)
WINTER 2025
MEETING TIMES
Section 1, MW, 9:30-10:45, 180 TNRB
Section 2, MW, 12:30-1:45, 184 TNRB
Section 3, MW, 2:00-3:15, 184 TNRB
INSTRUCTOR
Mark Johnson - [email protected]
687 TNRB
OFFICE HOURS
I hold office hours on Tuesday from 1:00-2:00 and Friday 9:00-10:00 in TNRB 687. Office hours are a great way
for you to get individual help in understanding the course material, review assignments and exams, or talk to me
about anything else going on in your life (faith, interviews, grad school plans, etc.). These hours are dedicated to
helping you in any way I can so please take advantage of them.
TEACHING ASSISTANTS
Olivia Hopkin - [email protected] Hours: Fri 10am-12pm
Quaid Knell - [email protected] Hours: Tues/Th 5pm-6pm
Myle Larsen - [email protected] Hours: Tues/Th 2:30pm-3:30pm
Chris Markusen [email protected] Hours: Wed 6:30pm-7:30pm, Th 3:30pm-4:30pm
Anna Oldroyd - [email protected] Hours: Tues 6pm-7pm, Th 9am-10am
Nick Powell - [email protected] Hours: Mon 2pm-3pm, Th 11am-12pm
MATERIALS
1. Analysis for Financial Management 13th edition, Higgins (Optional)
2. Packet of cases and readings
3. Laptop computer with Excel
LEARNING OUTCOMES
1. You will understand how to provide financing for a corporation. This includes being able to forecast the
company’s needs for funds and being able to choose effectively from among many different sources of funds.
2. You will understand how to select the best use for funds that the corporation has. This includes being able to
assess how much cash is generated from a project and being able to assess the risk involved with different
investments.
3. You will be able to use spreadsheet models effectively to help make financing and investment decisions.
4. You will improve your ability to work effectively in a group.
5. You will improve your ability to communicate your ideas orally and in writing.
LEARNING ASSESSMENT
1. Problem sets. Problem sets have one main purpose: to prepare you for the exams. Most weeks there will be 1-2
problem sets assigned. These will be available on Learning Suite. Problem sets will all be submitted on Learning
Suite. They will be graded largely for completeness. If you turn in the problem set and show all your work, you will
receive full credit. You will be marked down if the problem set is incomplete, if you don’t show your work, or if it
is apparent that you didn’t make an honest effort to do the work well. Do not use any solutions or worked out
problems from other students to assist you with problem sets or any other assignments in this class. You may
work in groups on the problem sets if you’d like, but you must hand in an individual assignment that reflects your
own work (i.e., you may not copy another’s work and hand it in.) Full solutions to each problem set will be posted
on Learning Suite after it is turned in. No late problem sets will be accepted for any reason. Opportunities will
pe provided to drop up to two problem set grades—details will be discussed in class.
2. Case Analyses. There will be five major case studies during the semester. These are contained in the course
packet. You must work in a group on the case studies and submit one analysis from your group. For these cases
your analyses should address the assigned questions for the case (available on Learning Suite). They should be no
more than 3 pages in length, and you may also attach up to 3 pages of exhibits. Your analysis must be typed and
submitted to Learning Suite before the due date. They will be graded on the quality of your analysis. The cases are
a large part of the course and require a substantial time commitment. High-quality work is expected on the analysis
you hand in. Each member of the group should be familiar with the entire analysis. We will have an
interactive discussion of each case in class. If you are called on to discuss the case, you will be expected to
understand the case and all parts of your group’s analysis. Using resources like generative AI (e.g. chat GPT),
former students’ work, or solutions available online is unacceptable. These cases are intended to strengthen your
critical thinking skills and using these resources will defeat the purpose of the assignment.
The cases are, by design, less structured than the rest of the course work. The purpose of this is to develop the
problem solving and analysis skills that are so important for a successful career in finance (or other fields, for that
matter). You should make carefully-considered assumptions and perform sensitivity analysis to determine the
impact of those assumptions. You should not attempt to press me or the TA’s for more information or for
confirmation that you have made the “right” assumptions. For most cases there is more than one reasonable
answer. You should explain not only what you did but why you did it, which is often more important.
3. Exams. There will be two midterm exams and one final exam. The midterm and final exams will be taken in
the testing center. The final exam will only be available for the first three days of the final exam testing period. Be
aware that the exams will have a time limit. Questions may be taken from any of the material we cover, including
all assigned chapters and supplemental readings, all class discussions, problem sets, computer labs, and the cases.
The best preparation for the exams is to stay on top of the reading, problem sets, and cases throughout the
semester and to be an engaged participant during class.
4. Participation. Active participation is an important element of your learning in the class. You will be evaluated
on two major components of participation. The first is class participation. You are expected to come to class
prepared, which includes having read the assigned readings before class. You should participate actively in the
classroom discussion, answering questions I ask or asking questions you have from your preparation. I may call on
students randomly to summarize topics from readings or problem sets. The second component is group
participation. You are expected to pull your own weight on group work. Near the end of the semester everyone
will have the opportunity to evaluate their group members’ contributions.
GRADING PROCEDURES
1. Your grade will be based upon the above requirements according to the following allocations:
Participation in class and in groups 10%
Problem sets 10%
Case analyses 25%
Midterm 1 15%
Midterm 2 15%
Final exam 25%
2. Letter grades at the end of the semester will be determined based on the fraction of total points earned. You will
receive (at a minimum) the corresponding letter grade according to the grade scale found on Learning Suite.
Depending on the distribution of grades, the instructor reserves the right to curve grades. Grades will never be
curved down.
COURSE SCHEDULE
The following schedule is tentative and will change based on the progression of the class. Any changes will appear
on Learning Suite.
Finance 401, Winter 2025
COURSE OUTLINE
DATE TOPIC STUDY BEFORE CLASS
8-Jan Wed Introduction to Corporate Finance
13-Jan Mon Understanding Financial Performance Metrics Higgins Ch. 1, p. 16-17; Ch. 2, p. 37-69
15-Jan Wed Financial Forecasting Higgins Ch. 3, p. 79-101 (computers required)
20-Jan Mon No Class - Martin Luther King
22-Jan Wed Managing Growth & Market Value vs. Book Value Higgins Ch. 4, p. 111-132
27-Jan Mon Jones Case Market_vs_book_values.pdf
29-Jan Wed Financial Instruments Higgins Ch. 5, p. 141-155
3-Feb Mon Equity Markets Higgins Ch. 5, p. 155-170
5-Feb Wed Leverage and M&M Higgins Ch. 6, p. 193-207
10-Feb Mon Capital Structure: Tradeoff Theory Higgins Ch. 6, p. 208-213, 223-226
12-Feb Wed Capital Structure: Pecking Order and Agency Theory Higgins Ch. 6, p. 213-223
17-Feb Mon No Class - Presidents' Day
19-Feb Wed UST Case
24-Feb Mon Firm Cost of Capital/Exam review
26-Feb Wed Midterm 1 in Testing Center
3-Mar Mon Firm Cost of Capital Higgins Ch. 8, p. 285-294
5-Mar Wed Project Cost of Capital
10-Mar Mon Cost of Capital using Excel (computers required)
12-Mar Wed Marriott Case
17-Mar Mon Discounted Cash Flow Analysis Higgins Ch. 7, p. 246-269
19-Mar Wed Project Valuation (computers required)
24-Mar Mon Dixon Corporation Case
26-Mar Wed Monte Carlo Simulation/Exam review (computers required)
31-Mar Mon Midterm 2 in Testing Center
2-Apr Wed Guest Lecture
7-Apr Mon Company Valuation - DCF Higgins Ch. 9, p. 337-351, 356-368
9-Apr Wed Company Valuation - Comparables Higgins Ch. 9, p. 351-356
14-Apr Mon Tottenham Hotspur plc
16-Apr Wed Review and Wrap Up
OTHER CLASS POLICIES
1. You may appeal your grade on any exam or assignment. Because there is no way to avoid some subjectivity in
grading, where judgment is involved appeals are limited to cases where 3 or more points are at stake. Appeals must
be submitted in writing within a week of when the assignment/exam is returned. The entire assignment/exam will
then be re-graded, taking into account your written comments. This may result in a higher or lower score than the
original score.
2. Computers must be closed during class if we are not working on a computer assignment.
3. All other Marriott School policies regarding honesty, sexual harassment, disabilities, diversity, technology, and
cell phones (see http://marriottschool.byu.edu/policies/classroom/ for a statement of these policies) apply and are
enforced in this class.
