Applied Statistics and Empirical Methods (Core)
In order to make informed decisions under uncertainty, managers must learn to analyze and understand data concerning relevant variables and relationships and to make inferences and predictions on the basis of such data. This course will develop tools for interpreting data and making predictions. In doing so, it will provide an appropriate foundation in statistics for managerial decision making and for subsequent EMFA courses.
Financial Accounting and Analysis (IFRS/US-GAAP) (Core)
Financial statements are one of the main sources of information for investors and creditors because they help investors and creditors to make better economic and managerial decisions. Therefore, a sophisticated financial statement analysis is a central pre-requisite to value business investments. The goal of this course is to enhance understanding of IAS/IFRS-financial statements in order to facilitate improved decision making. Presenting real-world-cases, classes will make clear the possibilities as well as the boundaries for financial statements analysis.
Corporate Finance and Valuation (Core)
This course examines important issues in corporate finance from the perspective of financial managers who are responsible for increasing shareholder value by making significant investment and financing decisions. Thus, the course is designed around two building blocks: “valuation” and “optimal financing”. On the one hand we will ask how to evaluate projects, while on the other hand we will ask how to finance projects. In addition, we will investigate how the stock market reacts to investment and financing decisions.
Controlling and Strategic Management Accounting (Core)
Beginning with an in-depth look into cost variance analysis (CVA), this course discusses the advantages and disadvantages of several different methods of CVA, addressing the question, ‘What kind of cost variance should undergo a costly analysis?’ In the context of deliberately-caused cost variances, students are introduced to the fundamental concepts of information economics. Using mainly concepts from information economics, the rest of the course analyzes numerous coordination issues such as truthful reporting of information, incentive schemes, budgeting, capital allocation in a multi-division firm and transfer pricing.
Competitive Analysis (Core)
This course develops game theory techniques and applies those techniques in order to study strategic interactions among competing firms. The course provides students with analytical tools that are essential in order to understand quantitatively how strategic decisions of an individual firm shape the structure of its industry. Two central themes of the course are the dynamic (inter-temporal) trade-offs and the credibility of strategic commitments, and interaction in environments of uncertainty and asymmetric information.
Group Financial Statements and Analysis (Core)
Consolidated financial statements (consolidated balance sheets, consolidated income statements, consolidated cash flow statements) that comprise the parent and the subsidiaries under her control are the prime information instruments for capital markets. This course will be based on the latest IFRS and US GAAP regulations and emerging practices within each region. The presentations and discussions will focus on the implications of the accounting rules for the analysis of group financial statements using financial reports of major international companies.
Global Economic Environment (Core)
Economics is the Lingua Franca of business. This is a course in applied macroeconomics. Its goal is to develop a solid understanding of the external, economy-wide factors that affect the performance and management of firms in today's international economy. This involves learning and applying economic models of real output, economic growth, unemployment, inflation, interest rates, exchange rates, the balance of payments, fiscal policies, the banking system, and financial markets.
Capital Market and Financing Decisions (Core)
Capital markets are important means to raise debt and equity capital as well as to hedge risks. In this course, instruction will cover: a) capital raising by private equity funds and by means of an IPO, b) markets for futures and options work, and c) fixed income markets.
Taxation of Business Enterprises (Concentration)
Taxation refers to the legal structure of enterprises. The differentiation between incorporated and unincorporated companies predetermines the tax law and therefore leads to different tax burdens. This course will cover the current taxes on revenues of partnerships, the framework of corporate income tax, and the differences in the tax burden of medium-sized business due to their different legal structures.
Derivatives and Financial Engineering (Concentration)
This course covers the pricing of derivative instruments like options, futures, swaps, and exotic contracts. The basics of arbitrage pricing are introduced in discrete models. Here the main results of martingale based pricing are derived. After an introduction to continuous-time option pricing theory, the Black-Scholes model is discussed in detail, followed by a section on risk management for derivative positions. Additional topics are the pricing of interest rate derivatives and numerical methods like Monte Carlo simulation and finite difference approaches.
Corporate and Capital Market Law (Concentration)
This course will provide a comprehensive overview of fundamental concepts of company law corporate finance and capital markets regulation in an international perspective and address current issues in all of these areas. The material used in this course includes German, European and U.S. statutes and regulations, case law, academic writing and, where appropriate, contract forms and prospectuses.
Global Asset Allocation (Concentration)
Institutional investors such as banks, investments companies, insurance companies or pension funds are the focus of this course. These financial institutions have to invest the money they collect within the scope of their business activity into appropriate portfolios consisting of financial instruments such as shares, bonds, real estate, options, futures, and swaps. This course discusses how financial institutions reflect their risk and return aspects as well as legal settings.
Corporate Governance and Auditing (Concentration)
This course deals with national and international standards on auditing within the framework of the various standards on auditing, objectives, planning, audit procedures, audit conclusions and reporting, and risk assessment. The course is a combination of theory and application.
Mergers & Acquisitions (Concentration)
The course considers various aspects of doing M&A and focuses in particular on strategic reasoning, management challenges as well as accounting and regulatory aspects. The course will draw on a number of theoretical concepts including the time value of money, appropriate consideration of risk, as well as agency-incentive problems.
Integrated Risk Management (Concentration)
Risk management is an integral part of today’s business and enters all corporate areas such as capital structure, investment policy, corporate strategy, and organizational structure. The course presents a comprehensive approach to risk management, integrating the different corporate areas and risk management as well as the different risk management strategies and products. State of the art approaches to measure market, credit and operational risk are applied to real world cases to cover aspects such as risk adjusted pricing of structured products and asset backed securities and credit derivatives.
Integrative Capstone Project
This final course builds on all prior courses and forms a synthesis of acquired skills and knowledge by working on a real world problem. Students work in small groups and develop their own analysis and recommendations. They are charged with analyzing organizations' strategic challenges, evaluating alternative strategic options and recommending effective plans of action. The course includes the publication of a written report and a presentation to the class.
