Corporate Finance I: Measuring and Promoting Value Creation Course Syllabus
Full curriculum breakdown — modules, lessons, estimated time, and outcomes.
Overview: This course provides a practical and accessible introduction to corporate finance, focusing on how to measure and promote value creation in businesses. Over four weeks, learners will explore core financial concepts and tools used to assess company performance beyond simple profit metrics. With approximately 2-3 hours of content per module, the course blends accounting and economic perspectives to equip professionals—even those without a finance background—with actionable insights for evaluating financial health and driving long-term value. Real-world examples and hands-on analysis of financial statements reinforce key learning points throughout.
Module 1: Introduction to Measuring Success
Estimated time: 2 hours
- Defining success in corporate finance
- Stakeholder perspectives on performance
- Understanding financial goals beyond profit
- Real-world examples of value-driven strategies
Module 2: Income, Profit, and Value Creation
Estimated time: 2 hours
- Distinguishing net income from economic value
- Limitations of accounting profit
- Accrual accounting vs. cash flows
- How earnings can mislead without context
Module 3: Free Cash Flow & Economic Value
Estimated time: 2 hours
- Understanding free cash flow (FCF)
- Calculating FCF from financial statements
- Economic Value Added (EVA) concept
- Key performance indicators for value creation
Module 4: ROI and ROE as Performance Measures
Estimated time: 2 hours
- Return on Investment (ROI) fundamentals
- Return on Equity (ROE) analysis
- Interpreting returns in context of capital costs
- Using ROI and ROE to evaluate financial success
Prerequisites
- Familiarity with basic business concepts
- No prior finance or accounting experience required
- Comfort with numerical reasoning
What You'll Be Able to Do After
- Grasp core financial principles used to measure company performance
- Evaluate financial statements to assess corporate success
- Distinguish between accounting profit and true economic value
- Calculate and interpret free cash flow and key financial ratios
- Make better business decisions based on value creation, not just earnings