Oxford 5-Day Mini MBA: Mastering Finance

Introduction:

In today's business landscape, understanding the flow of financial resources is crucial for forecasting trends, measuring company performance, and securing funding. Even professionals without a financial background often need to make decisions influenced by modern financial controls. This Oxford 5-day Mini MBA Master in Finance course is designed to equip business practitioners with essential corporate finance skills used by leading firms. This fast-track program is tailored for non-financial professionals who have recently transitioned into financial roles, offering a comprehensive exploration of finance within an organizational context.

Objectives:

By the end of the Oxford 5-day Mini MBA Master in Finance course, participants will be able to:

• Determine the appropriate discount rate for investment appraisal.
• Evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of various financing options.
• Identify key factors in deciding dividend policies.
• Analyze specific financial issues and their scope.
• Utilize financial instruments for effective risk management.
• Understand the significance of correlation in risk management.
• Analyze annual reports to identify key variables, relationships, and trends.
• Engage actively in financial decision-making processes.
• Assess the benefits of different asset classes.
• Integrate risk considerations into capital valuation.
• Apply advanced investment appraisal techniques.
• Critically evaluate essential components of annual reports, including key ratios and correlations.
• Select appropriate risk management tools.
• Perform financial analysis using spreadsheet modeling.

Training Methodology:

• Instructor-led lectures
• Problem-based learning
• Business games
• Small group work

Course Outline:

Unit 1: Understanding the Structure of the Financial Markets

• Overview of primary equity markets: IPOs, market indices, international capital market connections
• Basics of bond markets: Term bonds vs. term deposits, bond classifications
• Over-the-counter vs. exchange markets
• Currency exchange rates trends, carry trade, stock futures
• Futures market introduction
• Foreign exchange market development
• Risk and return relationships

Unit 2: Investment Opportunities Assessment

• Portfolio risk and the Markowitz theory
• Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM)
• Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) analysis and cash flow models
• Identifying growth companies with the Gordon model
• Statistical analysis for dividend payouts
• Debt cost determination
• Case study: Ameritrade
• Significance of capital cost and scenario analysis
• Weighted Average Cost of Capital (WACC)
• Practical use of Internal Rate of Return (IRR) and its limitations
• Net Present Value (NPV) approach and real options

Unit 3: Annual Report

• Balance sheet analysis
• Profit and loss account
• Operating cash flow statement
• Ratio analysis
• Sales estimation and cost of sales methods

Unit 4: The Corporate Financing Decision

• Financial leverage: Capital structure theory (Modigliani and Miller), insolvency prospects, and capital sufficiency
• Dividend decision factors: Clientele effect, tax effect, principal-agent issues
• Market for corporate control

Unit 5: Risk Management

• Managing foreign exchange risk using forward markets, options markets, and zero-cost collars
• Managing commodity price risk with options and futures