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MN20547: Strategic financial decisions

[Page last updated: 23 October 2023]

Academic Year: 2023/24
Owning Department/School: School of Management
Credits: 6 [equivalent to 12 CATS credits]
Notional Study Hours: 120
Level: Intermediate (FHEQ level 5)
Period:
Semester 2
Assessment Summary: CW 100%
Assessment Detail:
  • Coursework (CW 100% - Qualifying Mark: 35)
Supplementary Assessment:
Like-for-like reassessment (where allowed by programme regulations)
Requisites: Before taking this module you must take MN10466 OR take MN10668
Learning Outcomes: On completion of this unit students should be able to:
1. Have a solid understanding of strategy formulation and implementation
2. Undertake, and apply, an environment analysis to evaluate the position of an organisation and its product/service offering.
3. Apply the theories learned to make the most efficient use of scarce resources in pursuing new investment opportunities
4. Implement an effective analysis model to analyse organisational strength, weaknesses and potential investment opportunities.
5. Critically evaluate a company's financial standing and its inherent value to new/existing shareholders.
6. Analyse the performance and future prospects of a firm


Aims: The aim of this unit is to introduce students to:
1. Introduce the student to the Fundamentals of Financial Theory
2. Introduce the fundamentals of organisational strategy
3. Applying strategy to financial decision making
4. Introduce the students to financial statement analysis
5. Introduce the rationale behind managing risk and uncertainty through financial analysis when implementing strategic choice
6. Explore the processes, methods and models in company valuations.

Skills: Intellectual skills
* Use appropriate financial analysis and computational techniques to compute financial information which is useful in an analysis context (TFA)
* Evaluate and assess the relative merits of quantitative techniques in interpreting internal management information (TFA)
* Identifying financial information and analytical techniques relevant to a particular purpose (T/A)
* Interpretation of results pertinent to a specified problem/objective (T/A).
Professional/Practical Skills
* Recommend courses of management action based on an assessment of financial implications (T/A);
* Create an awareness of change and drivers of influence within an organisational context.
* Develop an understanding of the theories in strategy, financial analysis and organisational information suitable for interpretation, general distribution and interpretation (T/F/A);
Transferable/Key Skills
* Applying a range of quantitative analysis techniques in a variety of business environments (F) and facilitating substantiation/rationalisation in decision making.
* Critical skills in the application of techniques and the interpretation of results (FA)

Content:
* Alternative approaches to Strategy formulation
* Market/business/product position/environment analysis
* Risk and uncertainty in strategy formulation
* Prospective Analysis
* Forecasting
* Company valuation
* Financial Analysis.

Course availability:

MN20547 is Optional on the following courses:

School of Management
  • UMMN-AFB02 : BSc(Hons) Accounting and Finance (Year 2)
  • UMMN-AKB02 : BSc(Hons) Accounting and Finance with Year long work placement (Year 2)

Notes:

  • This unit catalogue is applicable for the 2023/24 academic year only. Students continuing their studies into 2024/25 and beyond should not assume that this unit will be available in future years in the format displayed here for 2023/24.
  • Courses and units are subject to change in accordance with normal University procedures.
  • Availability of units will be subject to constraints such as staff availability, minimum and maximum group sizes, and timetabling factors as well as a student's ability to meet any pre-requisite rules.
  • Find out more about these and other important University terms and conditions here.