This course concentrates on the economic and finance theories of business valuation. Despite the enormous literature on corporate finance, accounting, economics, management, and mathematics, two fundamental principles of business remain poorly understood: the definition of the firm and the determination of its value. This course will be divided into two main parts to resolve these gaps. The first part will focus on the extant theories of business and firm value and the reality faced by business managers, investors, and entrepreneurs. The second part will discuss the economic and finance theories of business valuation – the basis for three approaches of business valuation.
The course is lecture based. Lectures will consist of covering the theory, examples, and class discussion. Homework assignments will focus on applying the material from lectures.
The major topics to be covered are:
• Theories of value
• The nature of the firm
• Economic theories of value
• Finance theories of value
• Traditional and functional theories of value