Prerequisite: HLS courses “Introduction to Accounting,” “Introduction to Accounting 3-Week Section,” or an equivalent prior accounting course at a university covering an introduction to financial accounting for at least 1 unit or credit. If you are claiming a prior accounting course other than a HLS accounting course to satisfy the accounting prerequisite, please email Prof. Dharan with details (e.g., when taken, where, title of the course, how many units or credits, taken for grade or not, etc.) to request approval. Note: To satisfy the accounting prerequisite for this course, you may also take the spring semester HLS course “Introduction to Accounting 3-Week Section” concurrently with this course.

Exam Type: No Exam

This 3-unit spring course is designed to help students develop business valuation and related financial analysis skills. The following topics will be covered: how a firm’s business strategy and its operating and financial characteristics affect its valuation; review of basic corporate financial reports and disclosures that serve as inputs to valuation analysis; analysis of financial ratios to measure financial risks and returns; analysis of financial disclosures to identify red flags of potential distress or earnings manipulation; valuation issues with taxes, intangibles and financial investments; developing cash flow forecasts; and integrating the above tools and techniques to determine the valuation of a firm’s equity. Students will learn common valuation methods such as discounted cash flow analysis and earnings-based valuation, and also learn to use other approaches used in the valuation industry such the use of valuation multiples and comparable transactions analysis. Examples from court cases involving valuation disputes will be used to illustrate practical valuation problems.

The course will be relevant for students in the Law and Business program of study, and to others who wish to prepare for careers in capital markets, corporate transactions, commercial litigation, mergers and acquisitions, and other related areas.