Course Title: Investment and Finance

Part A: Course Overview

Course Title: Investment and Finance

Credit Points: 12.00

Terms

Course Code	Campus	Career	School	Learning Mode	Teaching Period(s)
BAFI2072	Bundoora Campus	Undergraduate	625H Economics, Finance and Marketing	Internet	Sem 1 2006, Sem 1 2007, Sem 1 2009
BAFI2074	East Gippsland TAFE Bairnsdale	Undergraduate	625H Economics, Finance and Marketing	Face-to-Face	Sem 2 2006, Sem 2 2007, Sem 1 2008, Sem 2 2009
BAFI2089	RMIT University Vietnam	Undergraduate	625H Economics, Finance and Marketing	Face-to-Face	Viet2 2007, Viet3 2007, Viet1 2008, Viet2 2008, Viet3 2008, Viet1 2009, Viet2 2009, Viet3 2009

Course Coordinator: Mr. Thanh Truong

Course Coordinator Phone: +61 3 9925 5890

Course Coordinator Email: thanh.truong@rmit.edu.au

Pre-requisite Courses and Assumed Knowledge and Capabilities

Macroeconomics; Business Statistics; Prices & Markets.

Course Description

This course is designed to provide students with a fundamental knowledge of the characteristics and operation
of the major financial markets in Australia and an understanding of the methodology employed by organisations
in deciding in which projects to invest.

The role and functions of financial markets in general are considered, followed by an examination of the
specific characteristics and methods of operation of each of the main types of financial markets. The
relationship between financial markets and the real economy, government policy and major macroeconomic
variables such as interest rates and exchange rates, is also explored.

Finally, students are equipped with the tools necessary to enable them to select between competing projects to determine the optimal financial outcome for their organisation, and to enable them to choose the optimum source of financing for their organisation.

Objectives/Learning Outcomes/Capability Development

Generic Capabilities

Investment and Finance will contribute to the development of the following generic capabilities:

• Socially aware & responsible practice - frame judgments & practice within professional, legal & ethical
• Evidence based practice - use data & information to support decision making
• Evidence based practice - interpret the work of others & make judgments about value
• Evidence based practice - use a variety of IT & IS tools
• Responsive practice - build relationships with diverse others including working in teams
• Information management/literacy - access information from a wide variety of sources, discern value and use
• Environmental perspective - frame decisions & make judgments about actions for environmental sustainability
• Communicative capability - communicate results – qualitative, quantitative, graphical, electronic, text
• Problem diagnosis & solving - apply knowledge to recognised problems

Knowledge Capabilities

Investment and Finance builds on the knowledge capabilities developed in pre-requisite courses. The knowledge capabilities developed in this course are further developed in Business Enterprise. These capabilities include the ability to:

• use effectively a variety of software packages widely employed in business practice
• critically analyse statistical data to inform management decision making
• prepare or contribute to the preparation of business plans to inform decision making
• use financial variables to guide the setting of objectives and to evaluate how objectives are being met
• interpret a complete, integrated set of management accounting reports to inform decision making
• identify issues relating to taxation law that impact on decision making

At the conclusion of this course, you should be able to:

• Identify the nature, main components and functions of the financial system.
• Identify and describe the role of financial markets as they serve the needs of economic units, both domestically and globally.
• Explain the nature, role and determinants of the structure and level of interest rates.
• Demonstrate competency in the use of language and terminology appropriate to financial markets.
• Use basic financial mathematics applied to the pricing of money market and debt instruments.
• Demonstrate competency in the practical application of money market and foreign exchange treasury dealing principles.
• Demonstrate appropriate teamwork and communication skills during discussion forum activities.
• Describe the nature and functions of the main financial intermediaries operating in the Australian financial system.

Overview of Learning Activities

At the end of the course you should be able to:

• Outline and describe the main features of the Australian equity market.
• Outline and describe the main features of the Australian derivatives market.
• Describe the operations of the foreign exchange market including the nature and determinants of exchange rates.
• Explain the role of government with respect to financial markets.
• Describe the nature and significance of current developments taking place in the domestic and global financial systems.
• Identify perceptions of investment and finance in popular culture.
• Describe the nature of the debt-capital market.
• Outline the major causes of the 1908’s debt boom.
• Explain the nature of the investment decision-making process.
• Describe the four most commonly used investment evaluation techniques, including their strengths and weaknesses
• Discuss major issues in applying the NPV approach to investment evaluation, including cash flow identification, taxation and inflation.
• Prepare written reports according to the standards and guidelines for Presentation of Written Work.

Overview of Learning Resources

1. Prescribed Text
2. Online learning Resources

Overview of Assessment

Assessment in this course consists of the following 2 compulsory components:

1. Internal Assessments
2. Final Exam