Postgraduate - Edith Cowan University

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.
ECF5173 30 Credit Points
Honours Thesis Development VB
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.
ECF5199 30 Credit Points
Thesis Preparation
FACULTY OF BUSINESS AND LAW
The Master of Business is a research degrees. The purpose of the
degree is to train students in the use of research methodology and
techniques and in a critical evaluation appropriate to their field of
study. By the end of their candidature the student should be
capable of conceiving, designing, implementing and evaluating a
research based study.
ECF5220 15 Credit Points
Principles of Finance
FACULTY OF BUSINESS AND LAW
The Principles of Finance unit provides an introduction to the
essentials of managerial finance topics. Students will review the
fundamentals of financial mathematics. These techniques will be
used in the process security valuation and capital budgeting to
evaluate capital expenditure and to assist in long-term asset
management. Students will study the management of working
capital, the role of the cost capital in the investment decision and
methods to measure the cost of capital for the firm. This will
include the institutions and structure of the financial markets and a
process to identify and evaluate various sources of finance for the
company. Since the late 50’s models have been developed to try
and explain the behaviour of companies and their managers as
well as the capital markets. These models will be reviewed along
with such topics as the principles and uses of portfolio theory and
the Capital Asset Pricing Model, the Efficient Markets Hypothesis
and the determination of capital structure and divided policy.
Finally students will look at some of the emerging theories in
financial decision making as they pertain to the business and the
capital markets as they exist today.
ECF5221 15 Credit Points
Financial Markets and Institutions
FACULTY OF BUSINESS AND LAW
Prerequisite :
ECF5220 Principles of Finance
The objective of the unit is to give students a fundamental and
practical understanding of the workings of the financial system.
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.
ECF5301 15 Credit Points
Personal Finance
FACULTY OF BUSINESS AND LAW
Prerequisites :
ECF5220 Principles of Finance
LAW4300 Taxation Law IV
This unit focuses on the issues involved in personal finance and
the provision of personal financial advice.It considers the range of
possible investments, their relative returns and risks and the
impact of taxation. Retirement planning and the superannuation
system are examined at some length. The roles of personal
insurance and estate planning in an overall financial plan are
outlined.
ECF5305 15 Credit Points
Capital Markets V
FACULTY OF BUSINESS AND LAW
This unit focuses on an analysis of Australian and International
Capital Markets. This involves a more advanced treatment of
topics than in the undergraduate units. The objective of the course
is to provide a deeper understanding of: the role and nature of
capital markets, characteristics and attributes of instruments
traded in them, pricing and hedging of these instruments, nature of
financial intermediation and the role of financial institutions.
These activities will be set in the context of the factors driving
innovation and change in international capital, the role of market
regulators and the measurement of risk institutional and systemic
risk within markets; particular attention will be paid to the Basel
Accords and the modelling of Value at Risk (VaR). Developments
of new products such as reverse mortgages and ‘new’ industry
sectors such as the hedge fund sector will be analysed. Market
architecture and market microstructure issues will be introduced
and the impetus of technical change such as the continuing
advance of ecommerce and electronic delivery systems. The
emphasis is upon the use of the original papers and reports. This
should build an awareness of both the strengths and limitations of
the models and methods used currently in this branch of financial
economics.
ECF5310 15 Credit Points
Credit and Lending Decisions
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 unit will be broadened to consider the analysis and
reporting of risks associated with the first and second ways out.
The unit 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 unit, case studies are used to illustrate and develop the
concepts and principles covered. Case studies also figure
prominently in the assessment for the unit.
ECF5312 15 Credit Points
Financial Institutions Management
FACULTY OF BUSINESS AND LAW
Prerequisite :
ECF5220 Principles of Finance
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.
ECF5321 15 Credit Points
Investment Theory and Practice
FACULTY OF BUSINESS AND LAW
Prerequisites :
ECF5220 Principles of Finance
ECF5661 Quantitative Studies
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 and provide an application for the
quantitative skills covered in Quantitative Studies. 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.
ECU Postgraduate Course Guide 2008 231