51cg

The aim of this module is to provide you with an understanding of the basic principles of financial accounting and financial analysis, the ability to interpret financial statements and their use in assessing the financial position and performance of companies.

This module provides an introduction to the principles of accounting and the analysis of financial statements. It will enable you to prepare financial statements in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) and to interpret and analyse these statements. Particular emphasis is placed on the accounting concepts and information employed in financial analysis and decision taking.

You'll develop the ability to prepare and interpret financial statements and construct cash forecasts. In addition, you'll develop an understanding of the demand and supply for accounting information; an appreciation of the role of financial analysis and analysts; and an awareness of the statistical characteristics of accounting numbers.

The aim of the module is to provide you with an understanding of the financial system and the roles and functions of financial markets and institutions. A particular emphasis is placed on understanding the roles of intermediaries such as banks and investment firms, which are ever present in Bahrain. 

You'll develop an understanding of the various characteristics and roles of fixed income, equity, and foreign exchange markets. While some attention will be given to GCC financial markets, the global nature of financial markets will be widely discussed. This module aims to equip you with an awareness and understanding of financial markets and institutions in the context of the global economy. Particular emphasis will be placed on the role and contribution of the banking sector.

This module covers the reasons for, and nature of, of financial markets and institutions with a particular focus on banking, the global nature of these markets and their regulation.

This module will provide an introduction to financial decision-making, and much of the relevant analysis will be developed from the standpoint of corporate finance. It'll explain how a company should decide on the investments to be undertaken to meet its objectives, generally assumed to be the maximisation of its value. It will be demonstrated that this will require a rate of return on its investments in excess of the return available in the capital market on equally risky financial investments. As a result, it will be necessary to develop an understanding of the capital market risk-return relationship. This will require an appreciation of the nature of risk and how this can be managed by the development of portfolios.

Even though the focus of the module will be on corporate finance, it'll also require an appreciation of how the risk-return tradeoff is determined in the capital market.

This module aims to provide an introduction to statistical techniques that are commonly used in finance, a basic understanding of econometric analysis, and an appreciation of the general role of quantitative methods in finance. The module will focus on the application of statistical techniques to examine empirical issues in finance, such as corporate finance and stock price analysis.

This module addresses the different ways in which firms can raise funds, internally and externally, and the role of capital markets in determining the terms on which funding will be available. The costs and risks of difference sources of financing and the role of taxation will also be covered.

The module will cover the capital structure of companies, and their ability to raise finance through initial and seasoned equity capital issues. It will also examine mergers and acquisitions as major investments undertaken by companies, the firm’s working capital policy, and their payout policy in the form of dividends and stock market buybacks.

The aim of this module is to provide a strong grounding in derivatives that may be used to manage the financial risks faced by individuals, financial institutions and business corporations. It places an emphasis on corporate treasury management and the role of derivatives in managing treasury risk.

This module introduces you to these topics and will provide a good basis studying for professional examinations in the area. It provides an introduction to the role of a corporate treasurer in a multinational company in the management of risk in an international environment, using a range of financial products including derivatives.

The module aims to examine the Markowitz (1952) approach to optimal portfolio selection. The module explores issues relating to optimal portfolio choice and issues in passive and active fund management through the lens of the nature of variance, covariance, risk and return. The module introduces practical applications and an extension of basic theory.

This module focuses on equity valuation. The aim is to equip students with the knowledge and tools required for analysing the financial performance of firms and measuring their value. Students will be skilled in reviewing financial statements, estimating and assessing financial ratios and relevant accounting and economic data,

and use this data for making forecasts and performing equity valuations. In addition, the module will cover the theoretical background for each valuation method and its application with real-life examples and case studies. Also, the module will examine the advantages and disadvantages of the main valuation models. Finally, the ultimate goal is for students to be able to perform and deliver an equity analysis report for any publicly listed firm.

For this project, you will be supplied with data relating to some issue in finance or accounting, and a preliminary list of hypothesis or questions to be addressed. You will be expected to expand the range of hypotheses to be considered and ways in which the hypothesis can be tested. Whilst all members of the class will consider the same issue the data sets will differ from one person to another.

By providing the data, and a broadly defined research agenda, the research project allow considerably more time to be spent on the analysis of the data and interpretation of results than is feasible in the context of a more conventional dissertation. While the challenge of identifying a research topic and the development of an appropriate data set are to a large extent eliminated it does allow the analytical work to be developed in more depth. The introductory class will review briefly the analysis and techniques that will be relevant for the research work to be undertaken.

Project 2 requires that you undertake a financial analysis of a company from the standpoint of a potential investor and provide an evaluation of the investment potential of the company’s shares. An assessment should be undertaken of the company’s financial position and performance on the basis of both its financial statements and stock market performance. The discussion should also bring out clearly the financial policies of the company and how these impact on the company’s performance.

This will require an evaluation of its capital expenditure programme, the form of financing adopted by the company, including an evaluation of its capital structure and its sources of equity and debt funding. You should differentiate between the use of internal sources of funding, in the form of retentions, and the new issues of equity, and

also discuss the company’s dividend policy to the extent that this is not covered by the discussion of its retention policy. In some companies it may be difficult to identify a consistent policy perspective on some of these issues – this can be documented and its implications assessed. The project should also provide an assessment of the company’s recent stock market performance to put the current share price into context.

The returns achieved on the company’s shares should be evaluated using an appropriate benchmark as well as the standard market ratios – the earnings yield, dividend yield, etc. The final objective of the project is an assessment of the value of the company and the investment value of its shares. Even the most experienced and capable security analysts find this a very difficult task, even though they may be monitoring a company’s performance and prospects on a continuing basis. You are simply expected to build on the financial information and analysis you have undertaken to produce some tentative assessments of value. As the focus is on the use of financial information you are expected, firstly, to undertake a “fundamental analysis” of the company. Secondly, you are expected to use the various valuation models to provide insights into the determination of the company’s market value.