STRATEGIC FINANCE

The course Strategic Finance (“Finanza strategia”) is one of the basic formative activities in the Course of Studies in Economics and Finance. The objective of the course is to give to students the fundamental principles of corporate finance, but also tools to apply these principles in practice. The course focus on investments and company valuation, and on value creation, both internally and externally.
The objective is to form students that will know how to apply theoretical models in reality, to provide them with the necessary tools to aspire to job positions such as the Chief Financial Officer of a company, or the financial analyst working for investment banks or consulting companies, or also the risk manager.

Attending and actively participating to classes, studying the textbook and the other suggested materials, including the real cases used during the course, will allow students to:
1. Knowledge and comprehension
• acquire advanced knowledge of fundamental models of financial reporting and corporate finance and know how to apply them in practice, to comprehend how to value investments and corporations, and how to create value both internally and externally.

2. Ability to apply knowledge and comprehension
• master the techniques to determine firm expected cash flows and to calculate the cost of capital to discount cash flows
• comprehend how to create value internally and externally
• apply methods and tools acquired during the course to interpret the dynamics of corporate finance

3. Judgment ability
• critically evaluate company valuations like a financial analyst
• evaluate the sustainability of the firm structure and its equilibrium
• evaluate the effects of different internal and external strategies that the firm may choose

The main prerequisite is knowledge of basic corporate finance.

- Corporate valuation: absolute methods (DCF) and relative methods (market multiples)
- Value creation using internal and external methods
- Valuation and Growth

The textbook that will be used as main reference for the course will be announced during the first week of classes among the following three books:
1. Damodaran, A. and Roggi, O. Finanza aziendale. Applicazioni per il management, 4 edition (2015), Maggioli Editore.
2. Damodaran, A. and Roggi, O. Elementi di finanza aziendale e risk management. La gestione d'impresa tra valore e rischio, 2016, Maggioli Editore.
3. Damodaran, A. Valutazione delle aziende, 2013, Maggioli editore.

Slide and additional material will be provided by the teacher.

The exam is a written exam and lasts 60 minutes. The exam consists of multiple choices questions and essay questions, possibly including exercises. The instructor will evaluate the possibility of giving to attending students the possibility to integrate and/or substitute the exam producing and eventually presenting a group project work consisting in writing a company valuation report on a listed company. The decision will be announced during the course.

The course in mainly organized in frontal classes. Classes combine fundamental principles of the subject with their practical application through exercises and real cases. All the material discussed in class will be available to students in Moodle.

Italian

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