Capital Budgeting

ECO5018

Project decisions under uncertainty is the key topic of this course and will be analyzed for the individual project as well as in a portfolio and market context. Real options, the possible impact of company capital structure and financial crisis costs, if any, are also important issues in this course..

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Application deadline

1. July 2024

This course deals with company real investments in order to understand and make use of different approaches to calculate project values. They are in turn the basis for project decisions. The focus is on problems and basic models with a simple structure, however, they are at the same time rich enough to give important general knowledge. The uncertainty dimension is important in this course. First, the classic consumption decision in Fisher diagrams is dealt with. Next, the problem of budget restrictions are analyzed within the framework of a simple LP model. Furthermore, a number of different approaches related to the individual's evaluation of uncertainty at the project level are introduced. Projects are analyzed in a portfolio perspective and further linked to capital market models. An interesting question here is what is relevant risk. The relationship between uncertainty and decision flexibility is primarily discussed by describing and analyzing real options, but also by the case of gradually revealing uncertainty. The importance of capital structure for projects are dealt with by focusing specifically on how investment decisions are made in case of financial distress, and the course finally discusses traditional approaches to take care of project financing, both separately and included in the required rate of return.

It is possible to apply for admission to the course as a single course. There are reservations about the available capacity on the course. The applicant must meet the current admission requirements for the Master of Science in Business program.

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Knowledge - upon successful completion the student

•has a solid foundation for understanding theories connected to evaluation and choice of real investment under uncertainty. This includes utility theory, capital asset pricing model, state preference model and option pricing theory/models.

•understands the importance of relevant risk and how this is included in the calculation of project values and the associated project decision.

•understands how capital rationing and risk-reducing information may affect investment decision making.

•understands how capital structure may influence project values and create conflicts between debt and equity holders.

Skill - upon successful completion the student can

•make investment decisions when capital is limited.

•analyze projects in order to assess and evaluate uncertainty at both project and portfolio level.

•evaluate projects using models when total risk is relevant and when only part of the risk is relevant.

•take flexibility into account by identifying, analyzing and calculating value of real options, as well as adjusting decisions when uncertainty is gradually revealed.

•value financing effects for projects and explain how the financial situation of a company may create conflicts between various stakeholders as well as calculate the consequence of the related investment decisions.

General competence - upon successful completion the student

•is able to evaluate and deal with real investments in a number of different organizations in a sound manner.

•is able to ask critical questions and contribute in a constructive way to organizations working with real investments.

Paid semester fee and syllabus literature. It is also required that students have a laptop at their disposal.

Elective course

Regular lectures where theories, methods and examples are presented. There will be exercises associated with each topic (lecture) and it is expected that student work with these between lectures. There will be time available during lectures to discuss solutions to these exercises if needed. During the course there will be two hand-in compulsory assignments that both must be passed.

The study programme is evaluated annually by students by way of course evaluation studies. These evaluations are included in the universitys quality assurance system.

Written school exam, duration 4 hours, counts 100%. Two individual compulsory assignments must be passed to be eligible for the exam. The exam may be answered in English or a Scandinavian language.

Simple calculator and a bilingual dictionary. Generating an answer using ChatGPT or similar artificial intelligence and submitting it wholly or partially as one's own answer is considered cheating.

It is expected that students have knowledge equivalent to bachelor level courses in capital budgeting and finance, mathematics and statistics.

Subject language

English

Credits

7.5

Study location

Bodø

Teaching semesters

Autumn 2024

Responsible faculty

Nord University Business School

Course coordinator

Researcher

Muhammad Kashif

muhammad.kashif@nord.no