Compass

The Bachelor of Commerce 2014 Guide

Contents
About FMAA ............................................................................................................................................... 4 Preface .......................................................................................................................................................... 5 Getting the most from your Commerce degree ......................................................................................... 9 Compulsory subjects....................................................................................................................................11 ACCT1101 Accounting for Decision Making ......................................................................................11 ACCT2101 Financial Reporting ........................................................................................................... 12 ACCT2102 Principles of Management Accounting ........................................................................... 13 ECON1010 Introductory Microeconomics ......................................................................................... 14 ECON1020 Introductory Macroeconomics ........................................................................................ 15 ECON1310 Quantitative Economic & Business Analysis A ............................................................. 17 ECON1320 -- Quantitative Economic & Business Analysis B............................................................. 18 FINM2401 Financial Management ..................................................................................................... 19 LAWS1100 Business Law ................................................................................................................... 20 MGTS1201 Introduction to Computer Based Information Systems ................................................ 21 MGTS1301 Introduction to Management ........................................................................................... 22 MKTG1501 Foundations of Marketing ............................................................................................... 23 Accounting Major ...................................................................................................................................... 24 ACCT3101 Auditing and Public Practice ........................................................................................... 24 ACCT3102 External Reporting Issues ................................................................................................ 25 ACCT3103 Accounting for Corporate Structures ............................................................................. 26 ACCT3104 Principles of Management Accounting .......................................................................... 28 ACCT3105 (awaiting response) ............................................................................................................ 29 LAWS3100 Corporations Law .............................................................................................................30 LAWS3101 Income Tax Law ............................................................................................................... 31 Business Information Systems Major ....................................................................................................... 33 ACCT3201 Business Information Systems ........................................................................................ 33 INFS3222 Systems Analysis and Design ............................................................................................34 MGTS2202 Data and Information Management ...............................................................................36 MGTS3203 Database Management in Business .................................................................................38 MGTS3207 Managing the Virtual Organisation .............................................................................. 40 MGTS3208 Managing Information Systems and Services ............................................................... 41 Finance Major ............................................................................................................................................ 42 2

ECON2200 Management of Financial Institutions .......................................................................... 42 ECON2300 Introductory Econometrics .............................................................................................43 ECON3210 Financial Markets and Institutions .................................................................................45 FINM3401 Corporate Finance ............................................................................................................ 46 FINM3402 Investments and Portfolio Management ........................................................................ 48 FINM3403 International Financial Management ............................................................................. 49 FINM3404 Banking and Lending Decisions ......................................................................................50 FINM3405 Derivatives and Risk Management .................................................................................. 51

About FMAA
The Financial Management Association of Australia was established in 1990 at The University of Melbourne. With the continuing support of Gold and Founding Sponsor, the Macquarie Group, the FMAA actively promotes the career awareness of students and facilitates involvement in business-related activities. At UQ, The FMAA is an incorporated student society affiliated with the UQ Union. At UQ we run a number of events including:

Down-to-Business Luncheon 21 March Corporate Cocktails 15 May Mid-tier Accounting Event 19 March (TBA) Professional Services Evening 14 August International Students Careers Forum - TBA First Year Event/ Intern Speaker Night - TBA And firm-specific events such as barbeques and innovation cafs - TBA

Competitions such as:

The UBS Investment Banking Challenge End of Semester 1 (TBA) FMAA Management Consulting Competition Start of Semester 2 (TBA) DCM Blue Lake Share Trading - TBA The CFA Analyst Competition - TBA

In addition, we have started a Peer Mentoring program to make the transition into your first year at UQ easier. For more details on this program, including how to register, head to our Facebook page or website. Nationally, we benefit from strong connections with other universities and a broad variety of sponsors. In 1994 the University of Sydney branch opened, followed by the University of Queensland in 1995, the University of New South Wales in 2009 and Monash University in 2012. Today we have about 4,500 members nationally, making us the largest professionally-focused student organisation in Australia.

Contacts: www.fmaa.com.au facebook.com/fmaabrisbane President: Melissa Chan Email: melissa.chan@fmaa.com.au

2014 GOLD SPONSOR

FINANCIAL SERVICES

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Contributors
Special thanks to the following people for their fantastic reviews:
Andrew Lee Ash Joseph Ben Ngo Bryton Chin Fiona Blanch Harry Sullivan Jackson Chen Jacob Casson Jessica Fernandez Johnny Black Joseph Rich Kane Bennett Karim Moummar Rodriguez Kate Williams Katija Lusic Katrina Byrne Laura McKennariey Leong Ooi Martin Rose Matt Smith Melissa Chan Paddy McCann Pippa Leahy Rajat Mathew Samir Bhagat Talisia Conway Tanushree Venaik And extra thanks go to Joel Van Veluwen for his invaluable contribution to the Business Information Systems reviews. Compass publication team Daniel Claes Daniel Mouat Filip Milosavlijevic Hugo Visscher Joseph Rich

Preface
Studying Commerce at UQ can be a highly rewarding, albeit daunting, experience. With up to a thousand students in introductory courses, it can be particularly difficult to navigate your way around campus and receive advice on how best to approach your degree. It is our hope that this guide will make it easier to find out information that until now has mostly been spread by word of mouth. If things go as planned, it will be easier to pick courses and youll be more prepared when it comes time for assessment. Offering more detailed advice on the order in which to attempt courses is more difficult given the variety of dual degree combinations students may be studying. Broadly speaking, you should arrange courses so that you complete prerequisites and recommended courses first, and if we believe a subject will assist you in studying another we have done our best to make a note. If youre unsure of your commitment to Commerce you should also see what courses overlap with Business Management and Economics (there are many) and attempt these courses first: it will make changing later much easier. Some students like to save introductory courses for later in their degree to balance out tougher thirdyear ones and this is a strategy you may wish to pursue. Choosing a major can also be particularly difficult but after having done the first three accounting courses, the one introductory finance course and an introduction to computer-based information systems it should be much easier. If youre in doubt, you have the ability to complete a dual major, although it must be noted that this requires all six of your Commerce electives. You should also think about which career you would like, be it in a professional services firm, a bank or a consulting firm, as this will influence your choice of major. Attending FMAA events to hear from these companies first hand is particularly insightful. Lastly, we would like to wholeheartedly thank everyone who submitted course reviews and encourage you to submit as many reviews as you can in the future: your invaluable gems of wisdom will be of great benefit to your fellow students.

Daniel Mouat Publications Director

Getting the most from your Commerce degree

By Dr Karen Alpert, Lecturer To get the most from your time at university it is helpful to keep in mind one of Ste phen Coveys 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Begin with the end in mind. If youre lucky enough to know what career you want after graduation, then it is easy to select a degree program and major that furthers that goal. If, as is more likely, you dont know what you want to do when you grow up, then the first goal of your university education is to learn more about your alternatives. The first year of your Commerce degree will expose you to a variety of areas of business; take advantage of this opportunity and choose an area that interests you. Either way, it is important that you choose a degree and major because you find it interesting rather than because you think it is expected of you. Make sure you enjoy the journey. Good grades are nice, but the real value of an education comes from being able to apply what youve learned to your career and your life. Treat your university studies as a full time job with a full-time load of 4 courses, you should expect to spend an average of 10 hours per course per week including classroom time. Time management and keeping up with your course work are key factors in achieving good grades. This doesnt mean you need to spend every waking hour with your textbooks! As with any job, work/life balance is important. Make time for fun and relaxation; a clear mind will be more productive when it comes time to study. Likewise, make sure you get enough sleep, as sleep deprivation can make study seem impossible. Study smart! Keep up with course readings and tutorial work. If you dont understand something in the textbook or lecture then clear it up quickly. Re-read it, or listen to a lecture recording once or twice, but ask for help if you still dont understand. If you have friends in the class, ask them to explain (and be willing to do the same for them sometimes you learn best by explaining to others what youve learned). Many students find it helpful to set up a study group where they can help each other with course material. And dont be afraid to ask your tutor or lecturer for clarification (after youve read the assigned readings). Teaching staff set regular times when they are available for drop in consultation with students. My experience is that students rarely show up to these sessions except in the week before assessment is due; you should take advantage of this opportunity. If youve done the reading, your lecturer or tutor wont think that your question is stupid; in fact, one of the most rewarding aspects of teaching is helping a student to understand something they initially found difficult. Likewise, one of the most rewarding aspects of learning is when you finally figure out something you found difficult or confusing. Exams and assignments are a chance for you to demonstrate what youve learned. Study by revising your lecture notes and tutorial work. Once you feel confident, try taking a prior exam (or practice exam) under exam-like conditions. If there are no practice exams, you can even make up mock exams from tutorial questions. This will help you identify any areas that you need to focus your study on. Dont memorise the answers to prior exams you will not see exactly the same questions on your exam. Focus on understanding the underlying concepts. When you get to the exam be sure to manage your time wisely; allocate time to each question and move on once youve reached the time limit. Read each question carefully and make sure you answer the question on the exam paper, rather than the question you remember from tutorials or the practice exam. If you have time at the end of the exam, you can go back and polish any incomplete answers. The goal of any student at university is to complete their degree and move on to a career. There are several things you can do at university to enhance your prospects in the job market. First of all, keep up with the real-world in your chosen area of business. Commerce is a real-world discipline and 9

many of the concepts you learn in class will be applicable to the articles you read in the business press. A familiarity with current trends and business personalities in your area will be helpful during the interview process. Additionally, you should be on the lookout for opportunities to enhance your rsum. There are student competitions, volunteer opportunities, and summer internships that can help you stand out from the crowd. Student clubs and societies offer a chance to network with fellow students who may one day be clients, colleagues or contacts in your working life. Above all, have fun. Your years at university are a special time in your life. Enjoy all the university has to offer.

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Compulsory subjects
ACCT1101 Accounting for Decision Making
Course Details Offered: Semester 1 & 2 Prerequisites: None. Assessment: Group Assignment Mid-Semester Exam Final Exam Contact hours: 2L 2T Course coordinator: Robert Ferguson 25% 25% 50% Overview This course is an introduction into accounting practices used by individuals and businesses when making economic decisions. The focus of this course is recording, reading and interpreting financial documents such as a balance sheets and income statements. Advantages The workshops are really good as they go through exam-style questions. The course content is well-structured and the past exams mirror what is on the final. The group assignments procedural nature means obtaining good marks is a matter of commitment, although it is fairly time consuming. Students who have previously had accounting experience will learn to use and interpret documents key for businesses, raising their financial literacy. If you did accounting at high school, youll have an advantage in this course as much of the material will repeat key concepts. Disadvantages While students who have taken accounting courses in high school will have an academic advantage, they may find much of the material repetitive. The group assignment can be challenging for those who dont know their group or who havent done a group assignment before. Tips Attending the workshops can be useful in staying on top of the content. Ensure that each individual group member checks the entire assignment because it forms a large portion of the assessment and a mistake can be easily missed. Past exams are also useful in preparing for the final exam as it will give an idea of what students can expect to see and how questions will be presented. Take care when picking your group; if you know people doing the course with whom you would work well, team up with them. If you dont know your group, forming a Facebook group can help organise tasks and check on members progress.

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ACCT2101 Financial Reporting

Course Details Offered: Semester 1 & 2 Prerequisites: ACCT1101 Assessment: Quiz in Lecture Mid-Semester Exam Final Exam Contact hours: 2L 2T Course coordinator: Dr Michael Turner 10% 35% 55% Overview ACCT2101 focuses on interpretation and preparation of financial statements, such as cash flow statements, income statements and balance sheets. The course also looks at the regulatory framework for financial reporting. Advantages The course is useful for general business awareness; no matter what field you end up in, understanding key financial statements is essential. The tutorials complemented lectures well with little disparity between the two. The inclusion of a 10% quiz early in the semester ensured you had the fundamentals of debits and credits down and were able to proceed with the rest of the course. Disadvantages The final exam has been found by students in past years to be relatively difficult. A large portion of the final exams in 2013 was taken up by a cash flow statement, a relatively difficult financial statement introduced late in the course. Tips The statements you have to write up on the final exam will often need to be corrected and changed, so bringing whiteout, or using a pencil and rubber for the creation of statements in the exam will save lots of stress. Its also important not to be lulled into a false sense of security after the 10% quiz: if you have a solid mastery of basic concepts you will do well in this but success in later, more complex parts of the course is not guaranteed without focused study.

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ACCT2102 Principles of Management Accounting

Course Details Offered: Semester 1 & 2 Prerequisites: ACCT1101 ACCT2101 Assessment: Hand-in Reports (Best 2 of 3) Mid-Semester Exam Final Exam Contact hours: 2L 2T Course coordinator: Dr Robyn King Overview The focus of this course is on accounting systems used for decision making, including resource allocation and performance evaluation. Previously called Cost accounting, the first half of the course looks at different methods of recording costs within businesses, such as variable costing, cost-volume-profit analysis, activity based costing and job costing. The second half of the course looks at master budgeting and management control. Advantages 10% 35% 55% The assessable content in the subject is made clear, and tutorial questions are representative of what is on the exam. The assessable quizzes throughout the course keep the student on track and allow them to collect a good portion of marks before the exam. Quizzes could be attempted five times with the best mark being counted! In the course there is a good mixture of conceptual theory and calculation questions throughout the subject. Disadvantages There is a large amount of lecture content to process. At times the lecture material was dry and many students did not find it engaging. Tutorials can be challenging because of the high volume of additional material covered. However, attendance is extremely beneficial towards success on the final. Tips Tutorials are very helpful for this subject; the tutorial questions more closely resemble the examination questions than lecture examples. Supplementary sheets of questions are provided and often their answers are only available within class. Ten percent of assessment is in the form of hand in reports. Putting lots of work into these will make obtaining your desired grade easier.

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ECON1010 Introductory Microeconomics

Course Details Offered: Semester 1 & 2 Prerequisites: None. Assessment: Mid-Semester Exam Final Exam Contact hours: 2L 1T 1P Course coordinator: Prof. Flavio Menezes 35% 65% Overview ECON1010 provides a student with a background to what economics means and what thinking like an economist involves. It covers fundamental concepts like supply and demand as well as exploring broader microeconomic concepts as they affect individuals, companies and governments. Advantages This course provides a basis for many core economic concepts which are relevant for business, politics and smart decision making. The lecturer provides a clear view of what is required of students and the content that is necessary to understand for the exam. Questions given at the end of lectures are useful in testing your knowledge of the content and its strongly recommended that you stay to the end of the lecture for these theyre quite representative of exam content. Furthermore, answers to previous midsemester examinations are given, which is useful in preparing for the exam. Disadvantages At times the lecture material was dry and many students did not find it engaging. Some students who have done high school economics may find some of the material repetitive; that said, theres still plenty to extend you. Many students have, in the past, been surprised by the large role maths plays in the course. Consequently, aspects of the course may be challenging for students who havent done Maths B. Tips Staying through to the very end of the lecture to complete questions offered at that point can be very helpful in reinforcing key concepts and identifying possible areas of misunderstanding. Preparing a summary of content covered every two weeks is a good way in keeping on top of the material. This should include practicing drawing and labeling graphs taught in lectures and tutorials. To become comfortable in answering questions in the exam, previous exams are a good way to prepare. Furthermore, tutorial questions are often of a similar difficulty to the exam and can be useful in your preparation. PASS sessions are recommended because you receive a summary sheet of the weeks content in addition to revising theory and problem questions.

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ECON1020 Introductory Macroeconomics

Course Details Offered: Semester 1 & 2 Prerequisites: None. Assessment: Mid-Semester Exam Final Exam Contact hours: 2L 1T 1P Course coordinator: Dr James Laurenceson Overview This course like, ECON1010, covers fundamental economic concepts but focuses on macroeconomic issues, presenting an overview of such topics as: GDP growth, government spending, inflation and recessions. The course can lead students to have more informed decisions regarding political economics and macroeconomic fluctuations. Advantages 35/50% 65/50% The majority of students find ECON1020 to be a very engaging course which is helped by the lecturers and other course leaders keeping the content relevant with current political and economic examples. Lecturers revisit material and emphasise that which is important for assessment. PASS is available for ECON1020 and students have found it a very useful tool for staying on top of and understanding the course. Disadvantages The course moves through topics relatively quickly at the end of the semester, which can lead students to fall behind. Lectures sometimes dont go into enough detail for assessment which is why buying and reading the textbook is highly recommended. Studying this course before ECON1010 is a little bit tricky because concepts like supply and demand are taken to be assumed knowledge. Tips Ensure that you understand the major concepts clearly: you should be able to explain the economic ideas introduced in a clear and concise manner. Practicing explaining key ideas can be useful in preparing for the shortresponse section. Attempting past exams is a good way of practicing for the multiple choice section of the exam. Revisit key lectures on ECHO360 to hammer down key ideas presented.

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PASS sessions are recommended because you receive a summary sheet of the weeks content in addition to revising theory and problem questions. If youre completing this course before, or at the same time as, ECON1010, reading the first four chapters of the textbook is recommended because they cover the main points of assumed knowledge from ECON1010.

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ECON1310 Quantitative Economic & Business Analysis A

Course Details Offered: Semester 1 & 2 Prerequisites: None. Assessment: CML Quizzes (Best 5 of 6) Mid-Semester Exam Final Exam Contact hours: 2L 1T 1P Course coordinator: Dr Bryan Morgan Overview This course is an introduction to business statistics spanning hypothesis testing via various methods, descriptive statistics and important probability concepts. Advantages Lots of consultation sessions with approachable and helpful tutors were provided every week. Lectures and their recordings were also useful, with the lecturer, after teaching the theory, immediately going through a question to explain how it could be applied in the real world . Many past final and midsemester exams were also provided which were very similar to the actual exams we had to sit. The marking scheme was also available so it allowed students to understand how points were allocated. The CML quizzes, tutorial questions and the exams reflected the course content very well with the quizzes providing good feedback. With all the materials provided it was relatively easy to predict the sort of questions that might come up. Disadvantages Tutorial questions and lectures were at times very repetitive which meant it could be difficult to remain interested in the course. However, this meant students received more practice and by the end of the tutorial all of the students were comfortable with the material. Tips If you attend lectures, tutorials and PASS and work through the CML quizzes with your friends to understand all the questions that may be asked you will be very well prepared. Reading the textbook was less useful and didnt help as much as the aforementioned resources. Do the past exam questions for both the mid-semester and final, as the questions are representative of actual assessment. If you go to PASS you will get summary sheets which aid preparation for both the mid-semester and final exams.

20% 25% 55%

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ECON1320 Quantitative Economic & Business Analysis B

Course Details Offered: Semester 2 Prerequisites: None. Assessment: Quizzes (Best 4 of 5) Mid-Semester Exam Final Exam Contact hours: 2L 2T Course coordinator: Dr Temesgen Kifle Overview An introductory statistics course that advances some of the concepts learnt in ECON1310 (Stats A). Concepts such as hypothesis testing and different types of probability distribution were covered, with many of the learning tasks Excel-based. Advantages 15% 35% 55% Additional tutorial questions with answers were provided which allowed students to master the weeks content. Consultation sessions were frequent and tutors were happy to answer questions relating to CMLs. The course was extremely well structured and the workload manageable. PASS was extremely helpful for its summary sheets, enthusiastic leaders and coverage of key concepts. Exams were easier than tutorials and lectures so if you were comfortable doing the latter two during study you would be fine for exams. Disadvantages The lecturer could have used the visualiser to work through problems more rather than reading through the solutions on the slides. The advantage of having the solutions on the slides, however, is that revision was much easier to do. The high number of tutors required for the course meant many were inexperienced and took a while to become comfortable in front of a class. Tips If you attend lectures, tutorials and PASS and work through the CML quizzes with your friends to understand all the questions that may be asked you will be very well prepared. Reading the textbook was not essential given the high detail present on lecture slides. . Do the past exam questions for both the mid-semester and final, as the questions are representative of assessment. If you go to PASS you will get summary sheets which aid preparation for both the mid-semester and final exams.

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FINM2401 Financial Management

Course Details Offered: Semester 1 & 2 Prerequisites: None. Assessment: CML Quizzes (Best 5 of 6) Mid-Semester Exam Final Exam Contact hours: 2L 2T Course coordinator: A/Prof. Karen Benson Overview A good introduction to finance, especially for those interested in pursuing a finance major. The course teaches a lot of useful skills regarding the future and present values of cash flows and annuities as well as looking at portfolio construction strategies. The course is perhaps the most difficult compulsory course. Advantages 15% 25% 60% Tutorials were useful, with a good variety of questions that were indicative of the final. Quizzes provided useful feedback and could be used to secure 10% of a students final grade. The lecturer was very good: she put a lot of thought and effort into producing slides that were the primary source of learning and revision material. She gave comprehensive examples in lectures and gave detailed explanations of theoretical concepts. The tutorials built on the lectures with deeper and more challenging questions. However, the usefulness of tutorials depended on which tutor you had. Disadvantages A copy of the textbook was required to access the tutorial questions, which were not made available by the lecturer. However, the book was often of limited use when trying to gain a better understanding of many concepts, especially those taught earlier in the course. It was, however, useful for the more theoretical concepts in the last couple of lectures. The mid-semester exam was multi-choice, which gave little scope for detailed feedback. However, the marks were returned within three days, and there was an exam viewing session held soon after. Tips Reading the textbook is recommended for providing additional breadth of knowledge. Going to tutorials was especially important to be able to do well on the challenging final exam. Switching tutors early on is recommended if you dont like your tutors style. Ensuring a reasonable understanding of each weeks' content was important as many of the later lectures built on lectures in earlier weeks. Being able to relate various concepts covered in lectures to events and announcements covered in the press was a good way to develop interest and enthusiasm in this course. 19

LAWS1100 Business Law

Course Details Offered: Semester 1 & 2 Prerequisites: None. Assessment: Tutorial Participation Mid-Semester Exam Final Exam Contact hours: 2L 1T Course coordinator: Katherine Curnow Overview The course gives an overview of the law as it applies to business, covering areas like the legal system, torts, contracts and the laws associated with running, opening and closing a business. Advantages The lectures were detailed, well planned and easily accessible. Because of the broad nature of the course, the most interesting aspects of the law were taught with the drier parts being left out. Disadvantages A high value placed on tutorial participation can be challenging for more timid students. However, preparing answers to the relevant problems should ensure students manage to obtain top marks. The material can often seem easy; however, the problem questions from tutorials and the textbook should be thoroughly practiced if a student expects to do well on the final. Tips For the mid-semester, practice the end-of-chapter textbook questions beforehand as many of the MCQ's come from that textbook. Having the actual textbook beside you while doing the online exam will also help. The final exam was open book which meant preparing answers and familiarising yourself with the layout of your textbook made it easier to do well.

10% 30% 40%

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MGTS1201 Introduction to Computer Based Information Systems

Course Details Offered: Semester 1 & 2 Overview Students learn how businesses rely on different aspects of information systems to function and interact with their clients. The course content was split into three components: basic management theory, information system theory and Excel-based skills. Microsoft Excel is used heavily, with students able to gain an understanding of some of its more advanced functions. Advantages 20% 20% 60% Tutorials were extremely helpful in understanding the practical applications of the theories taught in lectures. There were two parts to the tutorials: one to reinforce lecture theory and the other for doing Excel exercises. The second half of the lecture would often feature demonstrations on using Excel for the assignment, meaning that diligent students, or ones who watch lectures online, were easily able to complete the assignment to a high standard. Disadvantages Tutorials were long, at 2 hours each, and many tutors spent considerable time rehashing the lecture content in their own words. This was repetitive, and not always helpful. Lectures were drawn out and slow, and this contributed to the high absentee rate. A breakdown of results for the final exam was never published. Tips Make sure you learn how to write the Excel functions taught in class correctly by hand (rather than simply relying on the computer program to pick up errors and autocorrect) because this is what exams assessed. Lecture slides contained the majority of course content and should be prioritized above the textbook for study. The assignment solution was completed in the lectures (so attend or watch online those lectures). The final exam was a little more challenging but expectations were clear.

Prerequisites: None.
Assessment: Individual Assignment Mid-Semester Exam Final Exam

Contact hours: 2L 2T Course coordinator: Dr Peter Clutterbuck

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MGTS1301 Introduction to Management

Course Details Offered: Semester 1 & 2 Prerequisites: None. Assessment: Tutorials (Best 3 of 5) Group Exercise Assignment Final Exam Contact hours: 2L 1T Course coordinator: Dr April Wright Overview A basic introduction to management theory is given in this course, ranging across ethics, rationality, strategic frameworks, organisational change and innovation. Advantages Tutorials consist of a case study application of the previous weeks lecture, a novel format which may appeal to more vocal students. As they rely heavily on completing work within groups, it would help to know people in your class. Assessment requirements were made very clear while assessment feedback from tutorials is provided in the following week. Disadvantages Tutorials are assessed which means you have to attend. Further, consistent participation is necessary to obtain full marks which means being familiar with the previous weeks lecture is important. Tips The textbook goes into more detail than the lectures so its recommended students stay on top of readings. As 15% of assessment is tutorial-based and 10% group based, picking a group you can work well with is important. If you have friends doing the course, try and coordinate to be in the same class.

15% 10% 25% 50%

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MKTG1501 Foundations of Marketing

Course Details Offered: Semester 1 & 2 Prerequisites: None. Assessment: Group Assignment Group Presentation Final Exam Overview The course examines very basic marketing and consumer behaviour theories. This course has a lot of overlap with other courses in terms of theory like Porters five forces. Advantages The use of quizzes in lectures for practice MCQs was good. Example exams were useful although many people complain of the lack of preparation material for the final. An assignment guide was provided, and provided that you work methodically through the guide you could do well. Disadvantages Contact hours: 2L 1T Course coordinator: Dr Owen Seamons Lectures and tutorials seemed disjointed at times. Tutorials that did not involve assessment often seemed to consist of discussions about marketing that werent always relevant to course content. Tips Make sure you have a good group for your assignment, particularly if you're in the later years of your degree. Plan your schedule with friends to ensure a good group, given the assignment is roughly 50% of the assessment. The textbook is dense and strays far from the essential lecture material. If you decide not to attend lectures, make sure you don't try to cram the day before the final.

30% 20% 50%

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Accounting Major
ACCT3101 Auditing and Public Practice
Course Details Offered: Semester 1 & 2 Overview Topics covered included: financial information; demand & supply; the audit profession and audit process; evidence, program planning, statistical sampling; examinations; analysis of organisation; internal control, testing of transactions, balances and allocations; the computer; reports; and responsibilities of an auditor. 10% 40% 50% Advantages Although the content can be dry, the course is useful for understanding how a company is audited. Most students find the tutorials covered much of the course content so attending tutorials is of great benefit. This course is particularly useful if a student is considering a career in auditing. Disadvantages The questions practiced in the tutorials do not fully reflect the questions in the exam, so preparing for a wide range of questions is recommended. Some students found the content dry. Tips It is useful to complete tutorial questions before attending class to thoroughly understand the processes involved in different types of questions. It is similarly beneficial to attempt lecture examples before the lecturer explains them. Exam questions are theory-based so preparation requires a lot of memorisation and well-reasoned answers. Terminology seemed to be lecturerspecific so use outside resources with caution. Content from the mid-semester was revisited on the final, so make sure you keep revising it.

Prerequisites: ACCT2101
Assessment: Assignment Mid-Semester Exam Final Exam Contact hours: 2L 1T Course coordinator: Debbie Jeffery

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ACCT3102 External Reporting Issues

Course Details: Offered: Semester 1 & 2 Prerequisites: ACCT2101 Assessment: Assignment Mid-Semester Exam Final Exam Contact hours: 2L 2T Overview The course looked at the role of accounting information in financial contracts, accounting for shareholders' equity, revenues as well as expenses. Assets and liabilities were discussed with applications to leases, extractive industries and income tax. Advantages 25% 30% 45% For students looking to pursue a career in accounting, or for those wishing to be very knowledgeable on the topic, this course offers invaluable content. While the course covers very specific content, these are most likely to be the most applicable in the work place. The lecture slides in this course are very useful resources. The slides include example problems and possible variations of topic content. They also comprise of a step-by-step breakdown of the process for each accounting treatment. A large portion of learning comes solely from the lecture slides. The final exam seemed fairly predictable and reasonable for the preparation content provided. Disadvantages Tutorials do little to build on course content. The questions are overly long which makes it difficult to cover all of the questions in the tutorial time. The marking rubric of the Case Study Assignment is confusing, so time should be spent reading the criteria to fully appreciate what the marker is looking for. Feedback on the Case Study assignment has been light in the past, so it may be necessary to organise a meeting with the lecturer to receive useful comments. Tips The topics covered in lectures can be difficult to follow so pre-lecture preparation is recommended. In preparation for the exam, re-visit lecture examples and supplement this practice with tutorial problems for difficult topics as necessary. The course is a combination of theoretical and practical content, so it is necessary to develop a strong understanding of the concepts, but also be able to carry out the appropriate accounting processes. 25

Course coordinator: Dr Jac Birt

ACCT3103 Accounting for Corporate Structures

Overview Accounting for corporate group structures, joint ventures, equity accounting & foreign operations. More specifically, students learn about the consolidation process for Groups, starting from the Group's separate books of account to the final reported Group accounts. Students were also taught about operating segments, liquidation and foreign currency issues. Advantages Assessment: Assignment (Individual) Group Assignment Mid-Semester Exam Final Exam Marking criteria for the individual and group components of the assignment are made very clear, making it easy to score available marks for each component. The lecture slides of the course are very extensive and provide highly detailed examples of accounting processes. The tutorial questions provide students with a wide variety of possible accounting scenarios. While not all scenarios can be tested, it helps students who wish to understand more about a particular topic. Disadvantages Course coordinator: Mr Paul Woollard The course has been known to be repetitive and uninteresting. In the past, feedback for both the assignment and mid-semester exam has been unhelpful and delayed. It is recommended that students seek feedback from their tutors and at consultation throughout the semester. Tips Lecture concepts are difficult to grasp without prior reading so lecture preparation is recommended. Tutorials are generally in line with the content from lectures and help to consolidate the concepts covered in lectures. The textbook for this course is useful for practicing questions and is basically a requirement for the tutorials. Under every assessable topic, make sure you are familiar with and understand all accounting scenarios that could occur and how to record them. Practice doing every non-theory tutorial question, as many times as possible, and read through all worked lecture examples. Understand how each accounting process is different and how they fit into the consolidation process as a whole. This is important because concepts are interconnected and it is easy to confuse certain journal entries with others. 26

Course Details: Offered: Semester 1 & 2

Prerequisites: ACCT2101

8% 12% 30% 50%

Contact hours: 2L 2T

The lecturer hinted at particular questions to focus on and practice - however for the final exam, it is still vital to have been exposed to all accounting scenarios.

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ACCT3104 Principles of Management Accounting

Course Details: Offered: Semester 1 & 2 Prerequisites: ACCT2102 Assessment: Quizzes (10) Mid-Semester Exam Final Exam Contact hours: 2L 2T 10% 35% 55% Overview The course teaches accounting information relevant for planning, control and performance evaluation decisions by management in business and nonbusiness organisations, alternative analyses and systems as well as conceptual issues with their behavioural implications. Advantages The course content was interesting and went in depth on several accounting issues discussed in earlier accounting courses. Content was very procedural with an expectation of rote learning steps in the preparation of specific financial statements and data. Course resources were useful. The majority of the content was contained in lecture slides. Memorisation of lecture slide material and an ability to complete the tutorial material was sufficient in this course. Mid semester assessment reflected the course content. Mid semester grades were also provided in a timely manner and exam viewing was simple. Disadvantages Lectures and tutorials were helpful; however, the lecturer was not particularly engaging. There was some repetition between the two, and as the course content focused on the very mechanical preparation of cost-accounting documentation, this made the lectures and tutorials dull. The final exam was too long, too mechanical and included too much content from the mid semester exam. The lecturer's ability to communicate the course content was, at times, unsatisfactory. Tips Memorise tutorial questions and answers. If you understand the procedure for tutorial questions, the final exam is not too difficult.

Course coordinator: Dr Hermann Frick

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ACCT3105
Course Details: Offered: Semester 1 Prerequisites: ACCT3104 Assessment: Tutorial Exercises Assignment 1 Assignment 2 Presentation Final Exam Contact hours: 2L 2T Course coordinator: Professor Donald Anderson 10% 10% 10% 15% 55% Overview Accounting information relevant for planning, control & performance evaluation decisions by management in business and non-business organisations; alternative analyses and systems; conceptual issues and behavioural implications.

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LAWS3100 Corporations Law

Course Details: Offered: Semester 1 & 2 Prerequisites: COMM1202 or LAWS1001 or LAWS1100 or LAWS1101 Not to be taken by LLB or LLB Dual students Assessment: Tutorial Participation Mid-Semester Exam Final Exam Contact hours: 2L 1T Course coordinator: Susan Mendes Overview The course covers the law relating to commercial companies; in particular, legal personality, directors' duties, shareholders' rights, liquidations, takeovers and comparisons with partnership structure. Advantages It is a great course if you are wishing to become a member and/or executive on a board. Although it can be repetitive at times, you will learn about directors duties and the particular regulations companies must follow. The tutorials are a very helpful resource for learning the course content. In the past, mid-semester exam results have been returned within a few days and exam viewing sessions have been made available the following week. Disadvantages To get the answers to the tutorial questions, you must attend the tutorial. In the past the lecturers attendance at her consultation has been inconsistent (i.e. sometimes she would not turn up to the allocated time). The lecture slides were very detailed but also confusing at times. Tips The course content was clearly reflected in the assessment pieces, however the structure of the final exam caught many students off-guard. Some students found it difficult to complete all of the sections of the final exam. It is therefore recommended that you write out responses to practice exam questions to test and improve your time management skills. Do the tutorial questions prior to the tutorial, so that you can quickly and easily follow the tutorial. Don't place too much emphasis revising the legislation provided. The textbook is very helpful.

10% 40% 50%

30

LAWS3101 Income Tax Law

Course Details: Offered: Semester 1 & 2 Prerequisites: COMM1202 or LAWS1000 or LAWS1100 Not to be taken by LLB or LLB Dual students Assessment: Tutorial Participation (5 of 10) Mid-Semester Exam Final Exam Contact hours: 2L 1T Course coordinator: Mr Ross Kirkwood Overview This course is an introductory level examination of the basic principles of taxation law in Australia, with particular emphasis on the topics required by professional accounting bodies for accreditation purposes. Advantages While the course can sometimes be boring, the usefulness of the content to both your professional and personal lives makes it a very relevant subject. It is recommended that students take the time to actually learn the content as it is easier to absorb at university than on the job with the pressures of deadlines. The course resources were generally well structured, engaging, and timely. Lecture notes (that are basically summaries of the textbook) are provided in addition to the lecture slides. Mid-semester grades were posted very promptly and the marking criteria was clearly outlined. Tutorial questions often involved real-world scenarios, helping to provide context and relevance to the course content. Assessment reflects the course content well. The mid-semester and final exams have both been open-book in the past. Application of content was therefore more heavily weighted than simply cramming stale content. Disadvantages There were few to none noted disadvantages for this subject. Instead, there was much praise. Tips Exam questions were challenging but not significantly more so than tutorial questions or provided exam preparation materials. Go through tutorial questions and past exam questions and practice them as if you are under exam conditions. This has been the best way to gauge how your study is going and if you're prepared. The textbook is very useful for the mid-semester and final exams. Previous students have indicated that they have referred back to the book when working in accounting firms and they have also used it to assist them in their CA studies.

10% 30% 60%

31

Students are forced to keep up to date with the course due to tutorial participation marks. This course is recommended for students aspiring to work in small to medium firms or tax.

32

Business Information Systems Major

ACCT3201 Business Information Systems
Course Details Offered: Semester 1 Prerequisites: ACCT2101 Assessment: Individual Assignment Mid-Semester Exam Final Exam Contact hours: 2L 2T Course coordinator: Dr Alastair Robb Overview This course exposes students to some of the more practical elements of business information systems. Students learn how to use MYOB accounting software (including a major project and assessable quizzes based on MYOB performance). Further, students learn and apply Business Process Management Notation in order to design and notate business processes. The course also covers theoretical and case studies based on actual information systems that are used to drive decision-making and represent the real world. 20% 20% 60% Advantages Lecture attendance was not that useful but was necessary to get the edge on the theory in exams; not attending the lectures meant missing out on key materials. Tutorials were useful and covered theory, BPMN, and some MYOB skills. MYOB for the assessment was intended to be self-taugh. Disadvantages There was some level of disconnect between lectures and tutorials. Tips Learn MYOB independently and start your assignment early for substantial assignment marks. Attend lectures in order to fully understand the materials; the lecture slides don't cover much detail. Stay on top the theory because it can really catch up with you.

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INFS3222 Systems Analysis and Design

Course Details Offered: Semester 1 Prerequisites: INFS2233 Assessment: Individual Assignment Group Assignment Mid-Semester Exam Final Exam Contact hours: 3L 1T Course coordinator: Dr Sophie Cockcroft Overview This course engages students in the IT/IS side of business information systems. Students will learn a lot of about requirements gathering, planning, and systems analysis and design. Skills developed include diagramming skills such as Enterprise Architect, VISIO as well as project management methodologies. These skills are applied in a major project that involves the use of project management skills, coupled with the logical and conceptual design of an information system Advantages This course had fairly comprehensive slides that covered the textbook material. The available materials extended on core knowledge. Everything was fairly timely and the contact with the lecturer was notably good Lectures built on theory in the textbook and discussed concepts that would then be applied at the tutorials. The balance between the tutorials and lecture material was appropriate and time was left in the labs to sort out the major assignment. The lecture material was a clear indication of the potential examinable topics. Further, the lecturer released the short answer topic themes in order to refine our study. In the case of the final exam we knew exactly what diagrammatic and conceptual design skills were necessary for success. Similarly, for the mid semester exam we were given relevant lectures in order to focus our study. This course had sample questions - mini exams and answers Disadvantages Students with a background in IT, systems analysis or databasing will note there is a significant overlap in content. These students may find the course boring, but should be able to achieve good marks as a result. Tips Depending on how quick you are with learning software you can knock of the first assignment out quickly and get to work on the major assignment. The skills developed here are important in both MGTS3203 and MGTS3207, so learn BPMN, ERD and DFD diagrams with the knowledge that you'll need it later. Databasing skills such as normalisation are important in MGTS3203.

10% 20% 20% 50%

34

The textbook and any databasing materials can be very helpful to clarify your understanding of the material.

35

MGTS2202 Data and Information Management

Course Details Offered: Semester 2 Prerequisites: None Assessment: Group Assignment Mid-Semester Exam Final Exam Contact hours: 2L 2T Overview Data and information management is a follow on from Computer Information Systems (MGTS1201). This course introduces students to a variety of theoretical topics central to data science and information systems including decision support systems, data and text mining, business intelligence and group support systems. Students are also engaged in a major project that involves the collection, exploration, cleaning, analysis and presentation of data. This course teaches students the basics of the software package SAS. Advantages This course had a cheap course reader that would supplement the theory. The lecturer also provided comprehensive slides and support. The full tutorial materials were available at the start of semester so students could walk through tutorials in advance and focus on their projects The lectures went through the theory but attendance wasn't paramount, especially given that all lectures were recorded. There was very little connection between lecture and tutorial in this course as the tutorials focus just on the SAS data mining, cleaning and presentation necessary for the assignment. As in INFS3222, we were given focus topics, relevant readings for the exam and the lecturer dropped hints in the lecture. This course provides chances to connect to the industry - big 4 guest lecturers and SAS intern placement program. Take advantage of these. Disadvantages The tutorial and the exam have less in common, just same basic connection regarding data extraction, cleaning and mining. Students with experience in this found the course somewhat tedious. Tips The tutorials are "go at your own pace" so get ahead in order to start your data mining assignment. This course provides chances to connect to the industry big 4 guest lecturers and SAS intern placement program. Take advantage of these. Read the assignment specification, the modelling (more complex) component of the assignment is only a small component, don't forget the business case and presentation (visualisation) of the results. Knowledge and 36

20% 20% 60%

Course coordinator: Dr Sophie Cockcroft

theory are very important for MGTS3207 and MGTS3208 - so take good notes.

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MGTS3203 Database Management in Business

Course Details Offered: Semester 2 Prerequisites: MGTS1201 and INFS Course (#2) Assessment: In-Class Quizzes Group Assignment Final Exam Contact hours: 2L 2T 21% 24% 55% Overview Database management in business is arguably one of the most technically demanding courses in the Business Information Systems major, but also one of the most practical. Students explore and develop their skills in writing Structured Query Language (SQL) and build on the systems planning and development skills they gained in INFS3222. The major assignment is based on a full system development and implementation and involves several significant milestones. Project management, writing and applying SQL and learning about database theory and best practice database design are some of the key skills developed in this course. Advantages Theres one key database textbook and fairly comprehensive slides. If you didn't attend tutorials or all lectures you are very likely to miss out on key learning materials. Not many of the tutorials were posted on Blackboard, before or after the tutorial took place. If you chased this up with the lecturer he was happy to catch you up and supplement you with additional material. This course represents a great example of the right balance between lecture and tutorial material. Lectures fed right into tutorials and theoretical concepts explored in the lectures were applied practically in the two-hour tutorial materials. The basic question frameworks were provided and skills required for success come from lecture and tutorial attendance and participation. Further, those who performed well in the assignments were likely to find this knowledge useful in the final exam. Without a mid-semester exam, just quizzes and assignments, this course was easier to prepare for. Disadvantages Students with advanced computer and database knowledge found this course repetitive. The group project was difficult to coordinate with large group sizes (up to 8 members). Tips Lectures aren't recorded so attendance is important for success. You should not miss any tutorials as you learn and apply your SQL programming skills. The group project requires strong project management skills and good levels of team work (it has up to 8 members). Use websites such as SQLZOO to 38

Course coordinator: Dr Sophie Cockcroft

develop your skills further. Revise INFS3222 materials to understand databasing and use textbooks to solidify your database knowledge.

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MGTS3207 Managing the Virtual Organisation

Course Details Offered: Semester 2 Prerequisites: MGTS2202, INFS2244 Assessment: Group Assignment Mid-Semester Exam Final Exam Contact hours: 2L 1T Course coordinator: A/Prof Marta Indulska Overview Managing the Virtual Organisation represents the most managerial focussed course in the BIS major. This course covers a large amount of virtual management theory and primarily teaches students about the key issues arising in management literature. This course involves a project that covers a virtualisation business case and encourages students ability to write business cases. Business Process Management Notation is also reiterated and allows students to further their skills. Some technical issues, i.e. internet protocols, transmission and XBRL are covered. Advantages The materials in this course were notably timely and were all very extensive. Tutorials could usually be answered with the lecture slides and meaningful discussions took place during the tutorial sessions. Each lecture was based on relevant literature that was provided as additional learning material. The lectures provided a good commentary on the key management issues in virtual organisations and the content was logically discussed in the tutorials. Attendance to both lectures and tutorials allowed students to fully prepare for short answers in exams. The lecturer released slides showing the key lectures and relevant topics to know and both the mid-semester and final were relatively easy to predict. Disadvantages The course content was quite broad so knowing what to study, even with given topics was a harder task. Tips Read the readings as they will enhance your knowledge. Start the assignment early and submit the optional milestones for feedback

25% 25% 50%

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MGTS3208 Managing Information Systems and Services

Course Details Offered: Semester 2 Overview Managing Information Systems and Services is perhaps the broadest theory based course covered in the BIS major. This course covers a very large variety of topics from IT security and cyber defence, data analytics to IT strategy and governance. Students take the role of a CIO (Chief Information Officer) and have to write a brief board paper. The broadness of the topics, coupled with guest lecturers makes this course pretty insightful, albeit somewhat repetitive. Advantages The lecture slides were based on the generic slide decks from the textbook. You could get by without the textbook, and knowledge was supplemented with additional links and articles. The lectures were filled with anecdotes, commentary and often deviated from the content in the slides. This provided an interesting perspective but wasn't necessarily well aligned with the tutorial or even the examinable materials. The tutorials were useful and interactive but were not necessarily required for success in the course. Disadvantages Due to the nature of this course (high content levels), predicting and linking lectures and tutorials to exams was far more difficult. The mid-semester MCQs were fairly manageable but the final exam was more challenging. Tips The lecturer gives feedback so submit your assignment when you can. Keep up with the content and integrate related topics - as you'll need to do this in the exam. Read current materials to clarify your knowledge - such as CIO or BRW.

Prerequisites: MGTS2202, INFS2244

Assessment: Group Assignment Mid-Semester Exam Final Exam Contact hours: 2L 1P Course coordinator: Dr Jon Heales 20% 30% 50%

41

Finance Major
ECON2200 Management of Financial Institutions
Note: this course is only available with the Finance Major for students who started a BCom before 2012. Students are unable to study this course with ECOn3210 as part of a Finance major. Course Details Offered: Semester 2 Prerequisites: ECON1010 Assessment: Online Tests Mid-Semester Exam Final Exam Contact hours: 2L 2W Course coordinator: Dr Frederique Bracoud Overview The course content is very engaging, covering a wide variety of fundamental financial and economic concepts such as bonds, shares and monetary policy. Aspects of modern banking theory and of financial institutions management are also examined. Advantages 20% 30% 50% The lecture materials and assigned reading aligned very well with the tutorial questions, enabling a full understanding of each topic. The lecturer was excellent in providing students with a wealth of resources: PowerPoint slides provided a good summary of the textbook, saving a lot of time compared to doing extra reading while practice online quizzes so there is immediate feedback available when practicing for multiple choice questions. This course is generally easier than its counterpart, ECON3210, and students should bear this in mind when choosing between them. Disadvantages You wont be able to do this course unless you started your BCom prior to 2012. This course was highly rated by students with few to no listed disadvantages. Tips Taking this course early in your degree (if you can) would be beneficial. The course provides the much needed ground work to understand many of the higher level concepts in the electives. Secondly, its recommended that students take advantage of resources available online. Your result is largely dictated by the time spent using the resources available, so doing the readings and keeping up to date with the course content is essential.

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ECON2300 Introductory Econometrics

Overview The course is generally considered to be one of the most practically applicable statistics courses offered in the Bachelor of Commerce, and for the most part, it lives up to that reputation. Econometrics is best viewed as 'Statistics C' - it continues on very much from Statistics A (ECON1310) and Statistics B (ECON1320) by examining several statistical tests and concepts like dummy variables. In particular, certain course content in ECON1320 is repeated in ECON2300. The content is engaging, and is, surprisingly, presented in such a way that you can to an extent see how it would be used in the real world. Advantages 20% 30% 50% The course is extremely well structured, and the course resources complement that structure well. Each week is divided into a different statistical 'test', which is taught in the lecture and practiced in tutorials. The assessment style follows closely to what is completed in tutorials. A deep understanding of the content is certainly required to do well in exams. Disadvantages The Semester 2, 2013 course was potentially an anomaly in terms of assessment. Students generally did poorly in the mid-semester exam, with approximately 50% of the course failing the assessment piece. Multiple-choice questions in particular were poorly done. The lecturer recognised that this was partly due to an overly-difficult exam, and as a result the final exam was adjusted to make it easier for students. Overall however, the assessment style closely follows what is completed in tutorials. The lectures could be quite boring - the lecturer was passionate and was a good teacher; however, sometimes he talked about theory in great detail and it wouldn't feature in the tutorials at all. In this regard there did not seem to be much overlap; the lecturers were all theory and then the tutorials were more practical. The tutorials were certainly helpful and are worth attending. The short answer in the final exam (semester 1, 2013) was what students expected; the MCQs were a much harder. This was a bit of an issue as the MCQs were overvalued in the allocation of marks when compared to short answer.

Course Details Offered: Semester 1 & 2 Prerequisites: ECON1310 Assessment: Online Quizzes Mid-Semester Exam Final Exam Contact hours: 2L 2P Course coordinator: A/Prof A. Rambaldi (Sem 1) Professor Christopher ODonnell (Sem 2)

43

Tips Lecture slides are generally helpful, however students would be well advised to listen to the lecture simultaneously with the slides - more than half of the content in the slides consists of practical examples which make little sense without an accompanying verbal explanation. Watching the lectures online is potentially a better approach in this course for some. It requires a methodical approach, and pausing the lecture recordings to understand various topics is particularly helpful in ECON2300. The textbook is overly verbose and at times not well-linked to the course content . The statistical software Eviews is used constantly throughout the course. You will not be able to pass this subject without an understanding of Eviews. It is used in lectures, tutorials, assignments, and exams. Eviews 'outputs' are provided for every exam question, and without an understanding of how to read those outputs, the questions cannot be completed. Eviews can be purchased at a student discount for around $25 online. It is otherwise only available on a limited number of computers in the Colin Clark building (it is, very inconveniently, not available on normal library computers). Past exams were helpful for getting an idea of the structure and content of future exams, especially as the course doesnt tend to drastically change. Tutorial attendance is essential as the answers provided at the end of the week dont go into great amounts of detail.

44

ECON3210 Financial Markets and Institutions

Course Details Offered: Semester 2 Prerequisites: ECON1010+FINM2401 or ECON2200 Assessment: Online Tests Mid-Semester Exam Final Exam Contact hours: 3L Course coordinator: Dr Frederique Bracoud Overview This course provides a broad understanding of financial markets, looking at how they are affected by interest rates, expectations and the flow of funds. Financial institutions are examined through the lens of equity markets, debt markets, derivatives markets and exchange rates. The course makes use of relevant current events such as the Feds quantitative easing, financial market regulation and bank capital standards. Advantages The course is well structured: theory is learned through lectures, problemsolving from tutorials and MCQ technique from practice quizzes. Class handouts and the textbook help in answering essay questions. The lecturer was extremely enthusiastic and approachable, explaining the relevance of content (i.e. Investment banks use these techniques). Disadvantages Tutorial questions were sometimes released behind schedule. There was a high volume of assessable reading each week. Tips Practice makes perfect! Be confident in your ability to answer problem solving, essay and MCQ questions. Stay on top of readings to develop a thorough understanding of the course.

20% 30% 50%

45

FINM3401 Corporate Finance

Course Details Offered: Semester 2 Prerequisites: FINM2401 Assessment: Mid-Semester Exam Final Exam Contact hours: 2L 2T Course coordinator: Dr Vanitha Ragunathan 35% 65% Overview The course provides an in-depth analysis of the financial issues confronting most companies with a strong focus on application and practical relevance. Topics include valuation and project analysis, real option valuation, capital raising, financing and dividend policy, risk management and corporate strategy. Advantages The course is considered to be quite challenging, however the content is interesting and highly relevant to anyone pursuing a career in corporate finance. Techniques learned in the course will be particularly helpful for job interviews. It was made clear to students that both the mid-semester and final exams would be difficult so expectations were fairly clear. The FMAA also offers a $1000 cash prize to the student who receives the best mark in this subject! Disadvantages Due to the complex nature of the topics in this course, there was not enough time in lectures to discuss all of the necessary theory and methods to complete tutorial questions. It was therefore essential to spend time reading the textbook and other resources provided on Blackboard. Lecture attendance is highly recommended, as the recordings were often difficult to understand and were sometimes not made available at all. Grades were provided very soon after the mid-semester exam and an exam viewing session was scheduled, however the lecturer did not provide any significant assistance or guidance to help students learn from mistakes. Tips Tutorials are probably the most important learning tool to reinforce the concepts covered in the lectures and textbook. Focus on the 'Extra Problems' provided in each tutorial as they are often taken from past exam questions. This course requires a deep understanding of the content so attending classes and keeping up with the work is highly recommended. Simply trying to learn content from past exams will not be enough.

46

This is widely regarded as the most difficult finance elective (dont let the one in 3401 fool you!). Taking courses like FINM3405 (Derivatives) and FINM 3402 (Investments) is highly recommended: these courses are slightly easier and cover the foundations of Corporate Finance.

47

FINM3402 Investments and Portfolio Management

Course Details Offered: Semester 1 & 2 Prerequisites: FINM2401 Assessment: Mid-Semester Exam Final Exam Contact hours: 2L 2T Course coordinator: Ms Judy Qiu Overview The course follows on from FINM2401 in examining techniques to evaluate investments. Portfolio theory forms a key part of this unit and as such an understanding of statistical concepts such as variance and standard deviation is essential. Other topics covered include debt and equity investments, financial statement analysis and markets & instruments. Advantages 35% 65% Tutorial questions with answers were released at the beginning of the semester and were very helpful. Lecture slides were clear and relevant, helping to answer tutorial questions. Regular consultation was also useful. The final exam covered content that was to be expected. Disadvantages The semester two lecturer progressed through material at a slow pace and this resulted in two topics not being covered. In semester one, there was a discord between the content of tutorials and lecture slides tutorials were significantly more complex and detailed. Mid-semester exam viewing in semester two was difficult, with only 20 hours notice given and no alternative times provided. The exam itself surprised many students by covering material that had not been emphasized beforehand. A mock exam was provided instead of actual past exams which meant the exams material was different to what was expected. Grades for the final exam were never released. Tips Go to different tutorials to find the best tutor. Do supplementary questions for each tutorial: despite the name, they are as equally assessable as the first questions. The mid-semester exam has been extremely challenging and students are encouraged to be familiar with even minor concepts mentioned in the weeks leading to the exam.

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FINM3403 International Financial Management

Course Details Overview Offered: Semester 1 Prerequisites: FINM2401 Assessment: Mid-Semester Exam Final Exam Contact hours: 2L 2T Course coordinator: Dr Kelvin Tan As its name suggests, this subject focuses on the international nature of finance, covering currency trading, arbitrage activities, international hedging and parity conditions. The course also gave an introduction to benefits of international portfolio diversification and options Advantages 35% 65% The lecture slides were comprehensive and useful, providing enough information for theoretical understanding and detailed examples to guide students through the steps of solving practical questions. Tutorial questions were extensive and helped to clarify important information for developing an understanding of the concepts, and provided a large range of possible types of practical questions. The tutorials provided a lot of guidance on how to apply the content and solve problems, which was very worthwhile. Disadvantages While many tutorial questions were labelled past exam, a proper past exam was not released which made predicting the layout and general emphasis on content somewhat challenging. It also meant that some content on the final exam was unexpected. Many lecture examples were outdated which meant their relevance and ability to reinforce learning were reduced. Tips The textbook was very useful, if not essential. Tutorial questions needed lots of practice as there were many concepts that were difficult and which could not be learnt at the last minute. The course may be best studied earlier in the finance major as it introduces financial concepts that will occur in later finance courses at a more basic level. Focus heavily on lecture slides and content, as this covers basically everything required for the course. Tutorial questions provide appropriate guidance and preparation, and cover a wide range of questions to allow students to prepare for different types of questions they may face in the final exam. Lectures and tutorials provide a very strong and comprehensive base of knowledge, but use of the textbook will allow for the extra marks in the exam.

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FINM3404 Banking and Lending Decisions

Course Details Offered: Semester 1 Prerequisites: FINM2401 Assessment: Mid-Semester Exam Final Exam Contact hours: 2L 1T Course coordinator: Ms Mamiza Haq Overview This course considers credit risk assessment, risk management and principles of lending within banks. The impact of the Global Financial Crisis is also used to shed light on developments in bank regulation, profitability and the international banking system. Advantages 40% 60% The lecturer did a good job of linking different topics together. Disadvantages The course has not been updated in a number of years given the relevance of some of the learning activities. The content was reasonably thorough but was not applied to real-world scenarios as well as it could have been. In addition, content tended to be dry at times Limited course resources outside of the textbook were provided. However, credit must be given to the tutorial coordinator who recognised this and provided her students with summary sheets to help with revision. Materials were provided in a timely manner. Past exam papers were not provided; only sample papers were provided and for the mid-semester exam, the questions given were clearly not indicative (only the format of the sample exam was indicative). The lecturer made it a point to make it difficult for students to seek feedback. She was not always in her office during her quoted consultation times and during exam viewing sessions, she attempted to usher students out by giving them a time limit (only half an hour into the 2 hour session). Asking questions was made unusually difficult. Tips The course is quite content heavy with very basic practical application so sufficient time should be allocated when revising for the course. Very few tips will be given by the course coordinator so you will need to cover all ground. However, the course has changed little over the past few years so you may find that some sample exam questions or tutorial questions end up on your final or mid-semester exam.

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FINM3405 Derivatives and Risk Management

Course Details Offered: Semester 2 Prerequisites: FINM2401 Assessment: Mid-Semester Exam Final Exam Contact hours: 2L 2T Course coordinator: Dr Kam Fong Chan Overview The course content was interesting and engaging with many useful topics being covered including: hedging, forwards/futures, a variety of options and different ways to value them. The content largely focuses on calculations so there is a heavy emphasis on maths. Advantages 30% 70% The lectures were useful in the way that they introduced and explained content. The tutorials were extremely helpful, going into more in depth than the lectures while still being relevant. There was certainly a large overlap between the two. The assessment directly reflected the content. If you could do the tutorial questions then you were able to complete exam questions. The expectations were made clear - the lecturer indicated what topics would be on the exam and their respective levels of difficulty. Grades were made available very quickly. Disadvantages There were few noted disadvantages for this course. Tips

In this course it seemed that it was most important that you were able to do the tutorial and practice exam questions. Understanding the processes, rather than memorising them, is essential. Completing this course before Corporate Finance will make your study of the latter easier.

51