FINC425 Governance Issues in Finance

Overview

An introduction to the finance literatures relating to internal and external governance mechanisms and their effectiveness across publicly listed firms.

FINC 425 is a fourth-year paper for postgraduate students interested in examining governance issues in Finance. The primary objective of the paper is to provide students with an understanding of the different internal and external governance mechanisms of a firm and their effectiveness from the perspective of a publicly listed company.

About this paper

Prerequisite

FINC 303

Notes

With approval from the Head of Department, the normal prerequisite may be waived for students with an equivalent level of knowledge.

Eligibility

FINC 425 students must meet entry-level requirements for the MFinc or a similar postgraduate programme.

Contact

Accountancy and Finance Department: accountancyfinance@otago.ac.nz

Teaching staff

Paper Co-ordinator: Dr Helen Roberts
Office: Otago Business School, CO 3.42
Email: helen.roberts@otago.ac.nz

Paper Structure

Assessment:

• Two memorandums that students are required to address by preparing written responses (7.5% each)
• In class presentations (15%)
• Research proposal/literature review (20%)
• Final exam (50%)

Teaching Arrangements

Two 2-hour lectures per week

Textbooks

References for all the required readings for FINC 425 have been placed on eReserve. You can also use the e-journal lists on the central library website to locate journal articles from the reading list.

Graduate Attributes Emphasised

Global perspective, Interdisciplinary perspective, Lifelong learning, Scholarship, Communication, Critical thinking, Information literacy, Research, Self-motivation.
View more information about Otago's graduate attributes.

Learning Outcomes

Students who successfully complete this paper should be able to:

1. Understand the firm and firm governance
2. Appreciate the importance and differences between internal and external corporate governance structures
3. Examine and assess the effectiveness of different governance mechanisms within publicly listed firms and public organisations
4. Explain how different forms of innovation (technological; organisation structures, processes and procedures; and business models) as well as the firm's dynamic ability to adapt and employ complementary assets help firms to create and capture value
5. Understand and explain why management control systems are important parts of the organisation designs and governance structures used for completing transactions within and between firms
6. Understand and explain why economic institutions and their ownership and governance structures differ across countries
7. Evaluate CEO pay structures and their incentive effects
8. Explain how to evaluate the relationship between governance and performance
9. Identify a series of available governance metrics, and assess their efficacy

Timetable

Overview

An introduction to the finance literatures relating to internal and external governance mechanisms and their effectiveness across publicly listed firms.

FINC 425 is a fourth-year paper for postgraduate students interested in examining governance issues in Finance. The primary objective of the paper is to provide students with an understanding of the different internal and external governance mechanisms of a firm and their effectiveness from the perspective of a publicly listed company.

About this paper

Prerequisite

FINC 303

Notes

With approval from the Head of Department, the normal prerequisite may be waived for students with an equivalent level of knowledge.

Eligibility

FINC 425 students must meet entry-level requirements for the MFinc or a similar postgraduate programme.

Contact

Accountancy and Finance Department: accountancyfinance@otago.ac.nz

Teaching staff

Paper Co-ordinator: Dr Helen Roberts
Office: Otago Business School, CO 3.42
Email: helen.roberts@otago.ac.nz

Paper Structure

Assessment:

• Two memorandums that students are required to address by preparing written responses (7.5% each)
• In class presentations (15%)
• Research proposal/literature review (20%)
• Final exam (50%)

Teaching Arrangements

Two 2-hour lectures per week.

Textbooks

References for all the required readings for FINC 425 have been placed on eReserve. You can also use the e-journal lists on the central library website to locate journal articles from the reading list.

Graduate Attributes Emphasised

Global perspective, Interdisciplinary perspective, Lifelong learning, Scholarship, Communication, Critical thinking, Information literacy, Research, Self-motivation.
View more information about Otago's graduate attributes.

Learning Outcomes

Students who successfully complete this paper should be able to:

1. Understand the firm and firm governance
2. Appreciate the importance and differences between internal and external corporate governance structures
3. Examine and assess the effectiveness of different governance mechanisms within publicly listed firms and public organisations
4. Explain how different forms of innovation (technological; organisation structures, processes and procedures; and business models) as well as the firm's dynamic ability to adapt and employ complementary assets help firms to create and capture value
5. Understand and explain why management control systems are important parts of the organisation designs and governance structures used for completing transactions within and between firms
6. Understand and explain why economic institutions and their ownership and governance structures differ across countries
7. Evaluate CEO pay structures and their incentive effects
8. Explain how to evaluate the relationship between governance and performance
9. Identify a series of available governance metrics, and assess their efficacy

Timetable