Every choice a corporation makes has financial implications. As a result, when defined broadly, every business decision fits under the rubric of corporate finance. In Corporate Finance with Professor Aswath Damodaran, students become familiar with this “big picture” of corporate finance while also learning the intricate theories and techniques that are crucial to maximizing shareholder value.
Over the course of 15 weeks, students will learn about risk, valuation, betas, dividends, and more, along with their real-world applications. The course will teach the reasoning behind major investing, financing, dividend decisions and, most importantly, how corporate finance can be fun.
This course includes a free bonus course for students looking to enhance their accounting skills: Essentials of Financial Accounting taught by NYU Stern Professor Amal Shehata.
Our online certificate courses are asynchronous with optional synchronous elements. Asynchronous activities are things you do independently, like watch videos and complete assignments, and interactions with others over time via email, discussion forums, collaborative documents, and other channels. Synchronous learning includes interacting with other students and faculty in real time. Our courses are designed by educational experts from our Learning Science Lab to deliver courses that are designed with attention to user experience, learning science, and video production to build immersive digital learning environments for business school education.
This course is a non-credit, pass/fail program. To pass this course, you will need a cumulative score of at least 55%. Upon successful completion of this course, participants will receive the NYU Stern Certificate in Corporate Finance.
Program Takeaways
During this course, participants will:
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Corporate Finance Theory
Establish a foundation of knowledge in central corporate finance theories. -
Real-World Application
Learn to apply, in real-world situations, the techniques that have been developed in corporate finance. -
Comprehensive Perspective
Become familiar with the "big picture" of corporate finance and understand how the pieces of the financial puzzle fit together.
Who Should Attend
Although there are no formal education or background requirements, this course is designed for participants who meet the criteria below. While we strongly encourage global participation, please note that all courses are taught in English. Proficiency in written and spoken English is required.
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Years of Experience
Participants with all levels of work experience are welcome to attend -
Job Functions
Ideal for analysts, financial officers, and portfolio managers -
Prerequisites
Intended for individuals with knowledge of financial statement analysis, basic statistics, time value of money, and Microsoft Excel; additionally, students must have a desktop or laptop computer with an internet connection
Agenda
The following agenda is a sample and subject to change.
Course Access
- In order to access the course, you will receive login credentials via email on the start date of the course. Activation instructions for your login credentials will be provided.
Live Online Meetups with Faculty
- Our live online meetups provide you with the opportunity to engage face-to-face with Professor Damodaran. Please note that all online meetups are recorded and available for your viewing at a later time. Missing a meetup will not impact your grade, however we recommend attending all sessions.
Workload
- Please expect to invest about 10 to 12 hours of your time per week to course lessons, exercises, and assignments.
Week 1: August 28
- What is Corporate Finance?
- The Objective: Utopia and Let Down
- The Objective: Reality and Reaction
- Define and Measure Risk
- The Risk Free Rate
- Equity Risk Premiums
Week 2: September 4
- Country Risk Premiums
- Regression Betas
- Beta Fundamentals
- Live Online Meetup 1: Wednesday, September 6 at 12pm ET
Week 3: September 11
- Bottom-up Betas
- The "Right" Beta
- Debt: Measure and Cost
- Quiz 1: Friday, September 15
Week 4: September 18
- Financing Weights
- Earnings and Cash Flows
Week 5: September 25
- Time Weighting Cash Flows
- Loose Ends
- The Trade Off
- Live Online Meetup 2: Wednesday, September 27 at 12pm ET
Week 6: October 2
- The Cost of Capital: Approach
- The Cost of Capital: Follow Up
- Quiz 2: Friday, October 6
Week 7: October 9
- The Cost of Capital: Wrap-Up
- Alternative Approaches
- Moving to the Optimal
- The Right Financing
- Live Online Meetup 3: Tuesday, October 10 at 12pm ET
Week 8: October 16
- Trends and Measures
- The Trade Off
- Assessments
Week 9: October 23
- Action and Follow Up
- The End Game
- Live Online Meetup 4: Thursday, October 26 at 12pm ET
- Quiz 3: Friday, October 27
Week 10: October 30
- First Steps
- Cash Flows
Week 11: November 6
- Growth
- Terminal Value
Week 12: November 13
- To Value Per Share
- Value of Control
- Live Online Meetup 5: Monday, November 13 at 12pm ET
Week 13: November 20
- Relative Valuation
- Final Thoughts
Week 14: November 27
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Final Exam: December 2
Week 15: December 4
- Live Online Meetup 6: Tuesday, December 5 at 12pm ET
Week 16: December 11
- Final Project Due: Friday, December 15
Participant Reviews
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