BRIDGEWATER STATE UNIVERSITY

DEPARTMENT OF ACCOUNTING AND FINANCE

Course: ACFI 385 008 Managerial Finance

Fall 2015 (HRG 005 MWF 9:05 9:55am )

Professor: Howard Holmes, CFA

1-508-941-5888, Howard.Holmes@bridgew.edu , or Holmeshj@aol.com
*** All class information will be available on Blackboard.***
Office Hours: MWF from 10:00 to 11:00 and by appointment. Policy: Attendance and punctuality are
required.
Course Description: Provides understanding of the finance function and the responsibilities of the
financial manager. Develops concepts and tools for use in effective financial decision-making and problem
solving. Covers ratio analysis, funds flow, forecasting, current asset management, budgeting, credit
services, formation and cost of capital and impact of operating and financial leverage.
Students should have an adequate background in Financial Accounting (ACFI-240 or ACFI-100 or
equivalent), ECON 210 and spreadsheet fundamentals (COMP-105 or equivalent).
Method: Instructional methods employed include and MyfinanceLab. These events heighten
understanding of the course material. The students preparation each week and serious participation in
these activities will contribute to learning in this course.
Each chapter and each class will build upon one another in this course, so students need to be prepared each
week. If you find yourself falling behind, please contact me right away. I am available often and in many
different formats (class, Blackboard, office, phone and e-mail), so there is no excuse for you not to contact
me.
Required Reading:. Principles of Managerial Finance plus MyfinanceLab Student Access Kit, 14/E;
Gitman/Zutter, Pearson (MAKE SURE YOUR GET TEXT with access code for MyFinanceLab).Other
Reading as assigned. You should be reading the Wall Street Journal Daily and Current events will be
discussed on the discussion board. Please also read the email about the books.
Required Calculator: Texas Instrument BA II PLUS or Texas Instrument BA II PLUS PROFESSIONAL
Course Objectives/Outcomes
Objectives

Outcomes

1. To familiarize students with concepts and

principles of managerial finance.

Students will pass in-class examinations, online

quizzes, online homework assignments, and answer
discussion questions.
Students work on an experiential project or will
hand in and present problems and cases in which
they will use the techniques examined in the course.
Students will participate both individually and in
teams in problem solving, on projects and in
discussions to demonstrate their working knowledge
of the subject.

2. To let students demonstrate their ability to use the

techniques they have mastered.
3. Give students the opportunity to learn
collectively and to exchange ideas in finance.

Student Evaluation
1.

Class Participation

5%

2.
3.
4.
5.

Online Quizzes
Online Homework
Midterm
Comprehensive Final

13%
12%
30%
40%

1. In class and Blackboard Participation: I expect you will come prepared to class, having read the
material, tried the problems, completed all homework, quizzes and cases on time. You should
have something to take notes and ALWAYS your book and calculator. We will be going over
problems in class and it is VERY easy to see who is and who is not prepared. Also if you are
disturbing the class by talking amongst yourself or just laughing at others or your cell phone, that
will count against your participation grade. This classroom should be for learning.
2.
ATTENDANCE: Attendance is an integral part of this course. Some material for which you will
be responsible is not included in the text. Three absences will be allowed (we only meet 27 times).
For every absence beyond that allowed, the lowering of a student grade by 1/3 grade will result.
For example, if your cumulative grade is B and you miss four classes, your final grade will be
lowered to a B-. Success in this course should require a preparation level of 6-8 hours outside
class weekly.
You are encouraged to ask and answer each others questions on both the general and group
forum/discussion area on BlackBoard. I will be following along for guidance, but you learn more
when you teach someone else and they may get an answer quicker, so it is a win, win, win. You
are all responsible for everything on BlackBoard and part of the class requirement is to check on
BlackBoard at least three times per week.
3.

Online End of chapter quizzes: These quizzes are located on MyFinanceLab on

www.pearsonmylabandmastering.com .

4.

Online Homework: The homework problems for the orientation, the review, and for each chapter
will be on line with www.pearsonmylabandmastering.com. MyFinanceLab Homework has
assigned deadlines which must be met to get credit. You can do the homework as many times as
you like to improve the grade, up until the deadline. The problems will be assigned on
MyFinanceLab and it can be accessed directly. (www.pearsonmylabandmastering.com ) The
bottom homework grade will be dropped at the end of the term.

5.

Midterm Exam: There will be a midterm exam on the first half of the material. You must come
in to class to take these exams. Please see the date on the schedule below. A detailed study guide
will be given before the exam to help you prepare, but it will be a closed book exam as will the
final.

6.

Comprehensive Exam: This exam will test the students comprehension of all the material in the
course. This will be given during the assigned final exam time. Again you must come in to take
this exam. See the schedule below for date.

IMPORTANT: There is no extra work or extra credit. There is plenty of work in the course as it is laid
out for you to master the material and get a good grade. Please pay attention to deadlines and ask questions
early rather than waiting until the last minute.

POLICY ON ACADEMIC DISHONESTY

Academic dishonesty is not tolerated and will result in a grade of F. It includes any form of
cheating, plagiarism, falsification of records, collusion, or giving false information to any College
official. See the College Bulletin for definition of terms, penalties and procedures for appealing
dishonesty.

Outline of What a Student should do for each Chapter:

Read Chapter.
Do assigned homework problems assigned in MyFinanceLab. This will be done online with
MyFinanceLab. MyFinanceLab Homework has an assigned deadline in which must be met to get
credit.
Do the online quiz on MyFinanceLab .
Check on BlackBoard at least three times per week for announces and student discussion.
All problems with solutions will be posted on BlackBoard for you to use as a study resource.
Participate in the ongoing BlackBoard Forum/discussions and assigned BlackBoard
Forum/discussions.
Make sure you are on schedule to complete assigned cases/projects.
Week
1

9/2

9/9,10 Thurs

9/14

9/21

9/28

10/5

10/14

10/19

10/26

10

11/2

Ch. 7: Stock Valuation

11

11/9 and 11/13

Ch. 8: Risk and Return

11/16

Ch. 15: Working Capital

and Current Asset
Management

13

11/23 and 11/25 &

Thanksgiving

Ch. 16: Current Liability

Management

14

11/30

Ch. 16: Current Liability

Management

12

Topic
Go over syllabus and
start Ch 1.
Ch. 1: The Role of
Managerial Finance &
Chapter 2 The Financial
Market Environment
Ch 2: The Financial
Market Environment &
Ch3: Financial
Statements and Analysis
Ch 3: Financial
Statements and Analysis
& Ch4: Cash Flow
Planning
Ch. 4: Cash Flow and
Financial Planning and
Ch. 5: Time Value of
Money
Ch. 5: Time Value of
Money
Midterm Exam (ch 1- ch
5 on 10/21)
Ch. 6: Interest Rates and
Bond Valuation
Ch. 6: Interest Rates and
Bond Valuation

Assignment
Orientation & Review
(MFL)

15

12/7, 9

16

Review

Final Exams on
campus
(BSU schedule)

Schedule and Syllabus is subject to change.

Assignment 1: (due by Friday, 9/11)

1.
2.
3.
4.

Go on BlackBoard and enroll in this course.

Familiarize your self with this courses BlackBoard site and BlackBoard in general. (Go over the
student tutorial if you have questions or call help desk (X2555).
Log on to MyFinanceLab through www.pearsonmylab.com and enroll in this course, more
directions on syllabus and BlackBoard and below.
Remember to read chapters 1 and 2 and start the assignments for Orientation, review, and Chapter
1 on MyFinanceLab.

MyLab & Mastering

Student Registration Instructions
To register for Managerial Finance 9 am:
1. Go to pearsonmylabandmastering.com.
2. Under Register, click Student.
3. Enter your instructors course ID: holmes15021, and click Continue.
4. Sign in with an existing Pearson account or create an account:
If you have used a Pearson website (for example, MyITLab, Mastering, MyMathLab, or
MyPsychLab), enter your Pearson username and password. Click Sign in.
If you do not have a Pearson account, click Create. Write down your new Pearson
username and
password to help you remember them.
5. Select an option to access your instructors online course:
Use the access code that came with your textbook or that you purchased separately from
the
bookstore.
Buy access using a credit card or PayPal.
If available, get 14 days of temporary access. (Look for a link near the bottom of the
page.)
6. Click Go To Your Course on the Confirmation page. Under MyLab & Mastering New
Design on the
left, click Managerial Finance 9 am to start your work.

Retaking or continuing a course?

If you are retaking this course or enrolling in another course with the same book, be sure
to use your
existing Pearson username and password. You will not need to pay again.

To sign in later:
1. Go to pearsonmylabandmastering.com.
2. Click Sign in.
3. Enter your Pearson account username and password. Click Sign in.
4. Under MyLab & Mastering New Design on the left, click Managerial Finance
9 am to start
your work.

Additional Information
See Students > Get Started on the website for detailed instructions on registering with
an access code,
credit card, PayPal, or temporary access.

Additional Notes on MyFinanceLab (MFL)

To learn how to use MFL:
There are a few ways to get comfortable with MFL
1.

There is a PDF on BlackBoard that gives all the details for starting with MFL. Also I have
included the link to the online version of this PDF.

One page you should make sure you review is page 9 about the homework vs quiz and text mode. In the
homework mode on the left hand side you will see learning aides that will help you answer your homework
problems. Please explore these, especially in the algorithmic numeric problems. These aides will solve the
problem for you using one set of numbers and then give you a new problem with different numbers to solve
on your own. The quizzes and test do not have learning aides, only the homework.
Link to Getting Started with MFL Document (Also on BlackBoard)
http://help.pearsoncmg.com/xl/get_started/student/mmnd/mfl/get_started_stu_mmnd_mfl.pdf
The orientation section on MFL will also help here.
2.

Go to the main page of MFL: www.pearsonmylabandmastering.com

On that main page on the bottom on the left, it says For Students. Click on Getting started.
There is a video on how to register. You may register for free for 14 days but you will need to make a
payment by the 14th day to stay on MFL.
Also on this page is information on system requirements and on how to get support help with Pearson.
Unfortunately, I cannot help you with technical issues with MFL; however if you document that you have
tried to fix a technical issue with Pearson 3 times with no positive outcome than please email me and I can
see if our Pearson Representative can help. I ask you to try technical support online first because most of
the time they can help and we dont have to over use our representative, but occasionally (like once or
twice per 100 students) we need the help of our Pearson representative.
3.

Study Plan I do not require the Study plan but if you wish extra practice on problem please feel
free to use the Study plan.

4.

Quizzes and Tests Once you start a quiz or a test, you cannot switch out of a quiz or a text to
view any other page while you are taking the quiz or test, or test/quiz will shut down. So you
cannot pull up your email, or notes or even the ebook while taking a test/quiz. The test/quiz will
warn you, so do not tell me you didnt understand that you couldnt do that or that it was Pearsons
fault.