Undergraduate Course: Financial Modelling with Excel (BUST10025)
Course Outline
| School | Business School |
College | College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 10 (Year 4 Undergraduate) |
Availability | Available to all students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | The course is aimed at students in their final year of study taking MA Business Management or Business joint degrees. The course extends the core theory introduced in Principles of Finance by emphasizing its practical application to strategic financial decisions and potential financial problems. |
| Course description |
The course covers the following main topics: construction and examination of the characteristics of distributions of returns; calculation of the variance co-variance matrix and its application to select portfolios; test of market efficiency using simple tests; developing, constructing and running event studies; estimating betas and calculating a firm's cost of capital; calculating the value of an option using the Black-Scholes model; applying Monte Carlo methods to financial problems; using and developing spreadsheet based solutions to financial problems; using Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) techniques.
SYLLABUS
Introduction - basic financial calculations in Excel;
Portfolio models;
Market efficiency;
Event studies;
Bonds;
Option pricing models;
Monte Carlo methods;
Corporate finance models.
STUDENT LEARNING EXPERIENCE
Financial Modelling with Excel is intended to give students the opportunity to widen and deepen their knowledge of financial theory and practice by explaining how financial models and techniques may be implemented. Students are expected to use Excel to model a number of common applications including the construction of portfolios, tests of market efficiency, estimation of risk measures, performance measurement and the valuation of options. By the end of the course students should have a much clearer understanding of finance concepts as well as an extended knowledge of the spreadsheet package.
|
Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | Visiting students must have at least 4 Business courses at grade B or above. This MUST INCLUDE at least one Finance course at intermediate level. This course cannot be taken alongside BUST08003 Principles of Finance; BUST08029 Introduction to Financial Markets; or BUST08030 Introduction to Corporate Finance. We will only consider University/College level courses. |
| High Demand Course? |
Yes |
Course Delivery Information
| Not being delivered |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Construct and examine the characteristics of distributions of returns, calculate the variance co-variance matrix and use it to select optional portfolios.
- Develop, construct and run an event study analysis of the abnormal returns.
- Estimate betas and calculate a firm's cost of capital.
- Calculate the value of an option using Black Scholes and the binomial model, and apply Monte Carlo methods to option pricing.
- Develop a spreadsheet-based equity valuation model.
|
Reading List
Core text: Benninga, S., 2008, Financial Modeling, The MIT Press, Third Edition.
Additional recommended text: J & S: Jackson M. and Staunton M., 2001, Advanced Modelling in Finance using Excel and VBA, John Wiley and Sons Ltd.
Additional recommended text (for revision of the finance topics): B & M: Brealey R.A. and Myers S., 2003, Principles of Corporate Finance, Seventh Edition, McGraw Hill. |
Additional Information
| Course URL |
http://www.bus.ed.ac.uk/programmes/ugpc.html |
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Financial Modelling is designed to be interesting and practical. The multitude of skills that students will acquire in this course will enhance their marketability to potential employers in the field of finance. The course is intended to give students the opportunity to widen and deepen their knowledge of financial theory by explaining how financial models and techniques may be implemented. |
| Keywords | FME |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Tatiana Rodionova
Tel: (0131 6)50 3789
Email: |
Course secretary | Mr Matthis Hervieux
Tel: (0131 6)50 8336
Email: |
|
|
University Homepage