Syllabus

Master of Business Administration

MBA 630: Financial Management – Fall A 2026

Credits - 3

Description

This course equips students with the tools and judgment to make sound financial decisions. Students learn to analyze financial statements and build models; evaluate investments using net present value (NPV) and related methods; estimate risk and cost of capital; assess capital structure and leverage; value projects and firms that incorporate debt; and manage short-term financing, cash, credit, and inventory. Students will understand what constitutes an optimal capital structure and sound capital-budgeting decisions—and how to determine them—as well as the core principles of short-term cash management. Learning is applied through assignments and exams, financial simulations, case studies, and weekly discussions, using spreadsheets and financial calculators.

Materials

Learning Objectives and Outcomes

At the end of the course, students will be able to:

• Analyze financial information to assess organizational performance and financial position.
• Analyze investment opportunities using time value of money and capital budgeting frameworks.
• Evaluate budgeting and forecasting decisions to support organizational planning and resource allocation.
• Evaluate working capital decisions related to cash, credit, and inventory management.
• Assess financing alternatives using cost of capital and capital structure considerations.
• Formulate and communicate data-informed financial recommendations that consider risk, stakeholder priorities, and long-term value creation.

Assignments

For complete assignment instructions, submission requirements, and grading criteria, see the corresponding activities and rubrics in Brightspace. The Weekly Schedule and Gradebook Breakdown later in this syllabus identify deadlines, point values, and course-grade weights.

Applied Scenario Engagements and Major Deliverables

The central applied work in MBA 630 consists of four individual scenario engagements set within Healthy Horizons Enterprise. You will serve as an adviser to the Executive Leadership Team and address financial decisions involving four different business units.

Each engagement presents a self-contained business problem and a packet of realistic organizational evidence, such as financial statements, forecasts, operating data, emails, memos, and stakeholder materials. You will identify the most relevant evidence, complete or verify bounded financial calculations using supplied information, interpret what the results mean, and recommend a course of action.

The four major deliverables are:

• Resource Allocation Brief: Prepare a 500–700-word executive brief recommending how NorthStar Health should prioritize two competing capacity investments. Your analysis will consider financial value, payback, liquidity, downside risk, approval conditions, and monitoring measures.

• Financial Health Assessment: Create a 6–8-slide executive presentation diagnosing why TrailWorks Outdoor Experiences can be profitable while experiencing declining cash. Recommend corrective actions and explain their financial, operational, and stakeholder implications.

• Executive Operations and Finance Recommendation: Prepare a 500–700-word recommendation explaining how Atlantic Harvest Foods should allocate working capital between its lobster commitments and a proposed kelp investment. Use supplied inventory, working-capital, operating, and forecast evidence to support your decision.

• Board Investment Recommendation: Create a 6–8-slide presentation advising the Healthy Horizons Board whether NorthPoint Environmental Solutions should build an AI-supported analytics capability, contract with a technology partner, or wait. Your recommendation will consider investment value, forecast assumptions, risk, governance, financing, flexibility, and monitoring conditions.

The presentation assignments include either brief speaker notes or a recorded briefing. Detailed formatting and evidence requirements are provided in Brightspace.

These assignments are separate managerial decisions, not stages in a single cumulative financial model. What develops across the course is your ability to read financial evidence, test assumptions, explain tradeoffs, and communicate increasingly complex recommendations to leadership. You will not be expected to construct complete financial statements or open-ended financial models from scratch.

Introductory Conference and Scenario Roundtables

The course begins with a brief introductory conference and includes four scenario roundtables, one for each applied engagement.

In each roundtable, you will make an initial evidence-based position and then return to engage with classmates’ reasoning. Responses may ask you to consider a different exhibit, quantify an implication, question an assumption, or address the issue from a leadership or Board perspective. The purpose is to test and refine your thinking before completing the corresponding major deliverable.

Strong roundtable contributions use scenario evidence purposefully, engage directly with classmates’ ideas, and explain the financial or managerial reasoning behind a position.

Quizzes

The course includes five short quizzes:

• Reading the Financial Story
• Investment Decisions and Risk
• Profit, Cash, and Working Capital
• Working Capital and Capital Allocation
• Investment Value and Risk

These quizzes assess your ability to interpret financial information, distinguish among related concepts, complete or evaluate bounded calculations, recognize important assumptions, and make sound judgments about value, liquidity, working capital, and risk.

Finance Labs and Optional Practice

Optional, ungraded Finance Labs and practice activities provide opportunities to work with important financial concepts before applying them to a graded assessment. Topics include reading financial evidence, using investment tools, reconciling profit and cash, interpreting economic order quantity, and testing investment assumptions.

These activities use worked examples outside the active scenario and may include classification, sorting, or multiple-choice self-checks. Nothing is submitted for a grade; the purpose is to practice the reasoning and receive immediate feedback.

Grading Policy

Your grade in this course will be determined by the following criteria:

Grade Breakdown

Learning Activity	Points
Academic Integrity Agreement	1
Introductory Conference	5
NorthStar Health Resource-Allocation Roundtable	5
Quiz 1: Reading the Financial Story	3.5
Quiz 2: Investment Decisions and Risk	3.5
Resource Allocation Brief	12
Financial Health Roundtable	5
Quiz 3: Profit, Cash, and Working Capital	3.5
Financial Health Assessment	12
Operational Finance Roundtable	5
Quiz 4: Working Capital and Capital Allocation	6
Executive Operations and Finance Recommendation	12
Strategic Investment Roundtable	5
Quiz 5: Investment Value and Risk	7
Board Investment Recommendation	12
Total	100

Grade Scale

Grade	Points Grade	Point Average (GPA)
A	94 – 100%	4.00
A-	90 – 93%	3.75
B+	87 – 89%	3.50
B	84 – 86%	3.00
B-	80 – 83%	2.75
C+	77 – 79%	2.50
C	74 – 76%	2.00
C-	70 – 73%	1.75
D	64 – 69%	1.00
F	00 – 63%	0.00