The objective of the course is to teach students how to approach and solve the fundamental financial problems facing all businesses and to provide tools for analyzing firm's strategic decisions based on financial tools. Students will be able to evaluate alternatives of investments and to decide whether or not investing money on any of them, according to the most common financial techniques. They also will be able to evaluate the costs and the effects of different strategies of financing.

Knowledge and understanding: The student - through participation in lectures and practical activities of the course - will develop the ability to answer two fundamental questions: what investments should a company make and how it should get the money to finance these investments with the aim to maximize firm value. Applying knowledge and understanding: The student will be able to evaluate, even critically, risk assessment techniques, the valuation of stocks and bonds, financing decisions and capital budgeting decisions. Making judgements: The students will acquire the ability to formulate their own financial valuation based on the theoretical knowledge learned and the experiences shared by the teacher in the classroom. Communication skills: At the end of the course the student will be able to master, with adequate terminological precision, the lexicon of corporate finance. By participating in the various activities of the course - lessons with classroom discussions, written tests, exercises - the student will learn to put these communication skills into practice in different contexts. Learning skills: The knowledge acquired during the course will allow the student to autonomously understand and interpret the valuation methodologies and adapt them to the specific reference context. The student will develop a solid knowledge of the fundamental aspects of the subject that will allow him/her to continue to deepen the topics addressed, even independently.

1. The role of Corporate Finance 2. Financial Valuation a. Time value of money: present value and opportunity cost of capital b. Bond and stock valuation c. Investment decisions 3. Risk and capital budgeting a. Risk and return b. Risk and capital budgeting 4. Income distribution and financial structure a. Income distribution policies b. Does Debt Policy Matter? c. How much should a corporation borrow? 5. Financial decisions and investment valuation

Brealey R. A, Myers S.C., Sandri S., Principi di finanza aziendale, 9 Ed, McGraw-Hill, Milano, 2024.

Traditional lecture Class exercises

The student's evaluation will be determined through a final written examination. Through this test, knowledge and comprehension skills and competencies will be assessed. Final exam will be composed of a mix of open questions, multiple choice questions and exercises, through which the student will have to show to know theoretical concepts, to know how to apply them to real world cases, thus demonstrating that he/she has acquired a good study method and the ability to learn, both necessary to continue autonomously the study of the subject matter. The number of questions within each typology will be decided by the instructor during the course and it will be communicated to students before the exam. In order to pass the exam, it is necessary that the student gets at least the grade of 18/30. The correct answer to all multiple choice questions, the demonstration of an excellent knowledge in open questions and the correct resolution of exercises leads to getting 30/30 with the possible awarding of cum laude.

Project presentation