Course Guide - Edith Cowan University

The unit will concentrate on money markets, debt markets, equity
markets, foreign exchange markets and derivative markets; and
will review the major participants in each of these markets, their
functions and relationships and their role in the economy.
Students will also investigate the different options for and
implications of regulation. There will be a strong focus on current
and emerging issues both domestically and internationally.
ECF4301
15 Credit Points
Personal Finance IV
FACULTY OF BUSINESS AND LAW
Prerequisites :
ECF4220 Principles of Finance IV
LAW4300 Taxation Law IV
This unit focuses on the issues involved in personal finance,
investment and retirement planning. Legal structures for personal
finance; taxation strategies for investment; superannuation;
investment funds; direct and indirect investing ; developing a
financial plan; the roles of insurance and estate planning.
ECF4310
15 Credit Points
Credit and Lending Decisions IV
FACULTY OF BUSINESS AND LAW
The objective of the unit is to give students a practical
understanding of how credit and lending decisions are made.
Study will concentrate firstly on establishing and developing the
principles of first way out and second way out. From there, the
scope of the course will be broadened to consider the analysis and
reporting of risks associated with the first and second ways out.
The course finishes with the application of these principles to a
series of practical lending situations: project finance, lending to
the agricultural sector, and lending to small business. Throughout
the course, case studies are used to illustrate and develop the
concepts and principles covered. Case studies also figure
prominently in the assessment for the unit.
ECF4312
15 Credit Points
Financial Institutions Management IV
FACULTY OF BUSINESS AND LAW
Prerequisite :
ECF4220 Principles of Finance IV
The objective of this unit is to give students both a conceptual and
a practical understanding of some of the major risk-return
tradeoffs involved in managing a financial institution's balance
sheet. Four main risks are covered in the course: capital risk,
interest rate risk, credit risk and liquidity risk. The regulations of
the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority and the way that
they influence these risk-return tradeoffs form a major theme of
this course.
ECF4320
15 Credit Points
Managerial Finance IV
FACULTY OF BUSINESS AND LAW
Prerequisite :
ECF4220 Principles of Finance IV
This unit is designed to build upon work covered in earlier finance
units that relates to corporate and managerial financial concepts.
The course traces the development of finance over the last 50
years by looking at some original literature that shaped the
discipline. The concepts of risk in capital budgeting will be
revisited along with a study of investment and financing decisions
with emphasis on forecasting techniques that can be used for
NPV. The theory of capital structure will be covered with a look
at the evidence provided by corporate Australia. Topics on cash
and inventory management will be followed by a brief look at the
early literature on dividend policy and market for corporate
control.
ECF4321
15 Credit Points
Investment Finance IV
FACULTY OF BUSINESS AND LAW
Prerequisites :
ECF4220 Principles of Finance IV
ECF4161 Quantitative Studies IV
This unit will focus on advanced investment theory with a focus
on current academic and practitioner issues. The unit will build on
the introduction to portfolio theory and asset pricing covered in
Principles of Finance IV and provide an application for the
quantitative skills covered in Quantitative Studies IV. A focus on
portfolio management and performance evaluation reflects the
growing importance of the managed funds industry both in
Australia and overseas. Finance is a relatively new discipline but
it has developed what can be regarded as a traditional school
associated with investor rationality and asset pricing models that
extend from it. Behavioural Finance is a challenge to this
orthodoxy, which has gained momentum since the late 1970s. As
the final topic it will allow a re-examination of what is central to
investments finance.
ECF4324
15 Credit Points
International Economics and Finance IV
FACULTY OF BUSINESS AND LAW
Prerequisites :
ECF4100 Economics IV
ECF4222 Capital Markets IV
ECF4161 Quantitative Studies IV
International economics is divided into two major branches: trade
and finance. Since the area came into being in the sixteenth
century, international trade was always the main focus of
economists. International finance was confined to the study of
international financial activities associated with the finance of
international trade. This subservient nature of international
finance changed with the collapse of the adjustable pegged
exchange rate system (better known as the Bretton Woods
System) in 1971 and the advent of globalisation of financial
markets and worldwide deregulation of financial markets.
Nowadays, the study of international finance can be regarded as
an area in its own right. The primary objective of this unit is to
introduce you to the essence of international trade and finance.
ECF5101
15 Credit Points
Corporate Finance V
FACULTY OF BUSINESS AND LAW
This unit is designed to provide a deeper understanding of
corporate finance and the finance function. Topics considered
include corporate financial structures and short and long term cash
and capital needs; models and techniques for strategic corporate
planning; the corporation within the complex of financial markets.
The unit will begin by analysing corporate financial policy and
investment decisions in perfect capital markets under certainty
and then introduce uncertainty and various market imperfections.
ECF5103
15 Credit Points
Investment Finance V
FACULTY OF BUSINESS AND LAW
Empirical testing of asset pricing models and the efficient market
hypothesis; investment performance evaluation and empirical
research therein; new directions in performance measurement.
ECF5112
15 Credit Points
Econometrics V
FACULTY OF BUSINESS AND LAW
This is a research methodology course based on informationtechnology
oriented applied econometrics. It is primarily designed
for post-graduate students (as well as academic staff belonging to
all social sciences) who are interested in familiarising themselves
with the econometric methods( both conventional and most recent
& ongoing) in order to apply them to testing
models/hypotheses/topical issues with a view to writing their
theses and/or papers for publications in professional scholarly
journals. In order to accommodate participants from different
disciplines, no prior knowledge of econometrics will be assumed.
The course therefore will start from scratch but hopefully will lift
the participants up to a desired level in order to achieve its
objectives.
ECF5172
30 Credit Points
Honours Thesis Development VA
FACULTY OF BUSINESS AND LAW
This unit involves the identification of an appropriate research
project, the development of a proposal and the acquisition of the
intellectual and practical skills required to undertake the project.
ECU Postgraduate Course Guide 2007 221