Funding, Accounting and Finance
Module description
This course will introduce you to the key concepts of entrepreneurial finance and build confidence in how to navigate the funding, accounting, and finance space successfully. Businesses across the world have a multitude of options in how to raise finance to start and create further growth. You will learn how to identify and manage the best options of funding from financial bootstrapping, banks, crowdfunding, angel investment, to venture capital. By having a good working knowledge of how to manage money and make it work for you, it will give you the confidence to build, launch, and make your business financially sustainable.
Full module specification
| Module title: | Funding, Accounting and Finance |
|---|---|
| Module code: | BEMM224 |
| Module level: | M |
| Academic year: | 2020/1 |
| Module lecturers: |
|
| Module credit: | 15 |
| ECTS value: | 7.5 |
| Pre-requisites: | None |
| Co-requisites: | None |
| Duration of module: |
Duration (weeks) - term 2: 2 |
Module aims
This course targets students who are interested in gaining a broader view of the financing landscape for entrepreneurial firms. It aims to prepare students who plan to get involved with entrepreneurial firms in their careers -- as founders, managers, advisors or investors. The course will provide an overview of the financing landscape for entrepreneurial firms, including financial bootstrapping, business angels, venture capital and some recent trends in entrepreneurial finance, such as crowdfunding in its different forms (e.g., donation, rewards, lending, and equity). The aim is to make you acquainted with these different sources of financing. The course will further provide a background in financial planning to help you understand if external financing is required and, if so, how much and when. The course will next delve deeper into venture capital -- an important source of entrepreneurial finance. We will provide an in-depth analysis of the structure of the venture capital industry and then cover due diligence, valuation, term sheet negotiation, and post-investment involvement. A practical case that includes a set of simulations will allow you to take the role of a venture capital investor or entrepreneur. Finally, we will focus on another way to realize entrepreneurial potential; by taking over an existing business through a management buyout or management buy-in. The ultimate aim of this module is to provide you with the skills set to develop successful financing strategies to support your entrepreneurial ambitions in new or growing firms and established businesses.
ILO: Module-specific skills
- 1. Describe key concepts in the financing of entrepreneurial firms
- 2. Prepare a financial plan including P&L and cash flow statements, and a balance sheet
- 3. Describe the different types and sources of financing for entrepreneurial firms and their appropriateness within a specific context
- 4. Conduct a due diligence and valuation of an entrepreneurial venture
- 5. Create a term sheet
ILO: Discipline-specific skills
- 6. Critically evaluate financial plans
- 7. Develop a coherent financing strategy for entrepreneurial firms
ILO: Personal and key skills
- 8. Present financing related aspects of a venture
- 9. Work in teams to explore complex entrepreneurial finance problems
Learning activities and teaching methods (given in hours of study time)
| Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities | Guided independent study | Placement / study abroad |
|---|---|---|
| 50 | 100 | 0 |
Details of learning activities and teaching methods
| Category | Hours of study time | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Online introduction | 10 | Introduction to topic (pre-learning; accounting & finance basics) |
| Lectures | 24 | Subject sessions |
| Venture capital case (group assignment) | 100 | Produce a written report on due diligence, valuation (dynamic Excel sheet) and term sheet negotiation |
| Workshops | 16 | Workshops with student presentations of cases and feedback |
Formative assessment
| Form of assessment | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
|---|---|---|---|
| Financial planning case | In class (approx. 120 minutes) | 1-2, 6-9 | Verbal |
| Exercises and discussions | In class (approx. 90 minutes a day) | 1-9 | Verbal |
Summative assessment (% of credit)
| Coursework | Written exams | Practical exams |
|---|---|---|
| 50 | 50 | 0 |
Details of summative assessment
| Form of assessment | % of credit | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Individual quiz | 50 | Set of multiple choice questions; 1-2 hour(s) | 1-7 | Written |
| Venture capital case (group assignment) | 30 | Written report on due diligence, valuation and term sheet negotiation simulation. (3,000 words) | 1, 3-5, 7-9 | Written |
| Reflective Essay | 20 | 2,500 words |
Details of re-assessment (where required by referral or deferral)
| Original form of assessment | Form of re-assessment | ILOs re-assessed | Timescale for re-assessment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Individual quiz | Individual quiz | 1-7 | August resubmission period |
| Venture capital case (group assignment) | Case (Individual) | 1, 3-5, 7-9 | August resubmission period |
| Reflective Essay | Reflective Essay | 1-9 | August resubmission period |
Syllabus plan
Indicative content for this module includes:
- The entrepreneurial financing landscape: Financial bootstrapping, crowdfunding, business angels, venture capital, banks.
- Financial planning including P&L and cash flow statements, and a balance sheet
- Workshop: Financial planning
- Venture capital: (a) Due diligence, (b) valuation and (c) term sheet negotiation
- Workshop: Venture capital case (with due diligence, valuation and term sheet negotiation simulations)
- Buyouts
Indicative learning resources - Basic reading
Text Book:
Mclaney, E & Atrill, P (2008) Accounting and Finance for Non-Specialists(6th Ed.) Financial Times/ Prentice Hal. ISBN-13: 978-0273716945.
Other resource:
Alemany, L and Andreoli, J (2018) Entrepreneurial Finance: The Art and Science of Growing Ventures. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN-13: 978-1108431859
De Clercq, D, Fried, V.H, Lehtonen, O, and Sapienza, H.J (2006) An Entrepreneur's Guide to the Venture Capital Galaxy. Academy of Management Perspectives, 20(3), 90-112
Drover, W, Busenitz, L, Matusik, S, Townsend, D, Anglin, A, and Dushnitsky, G (2017) A Review and Road Map of Entrepreneurial Equity Financing Research: Venture Capital, Corporate, Venture Capital, Angel Investment, Crowdfunding, and Accelerators. Journal of Management, 43(6), 1820-1853
Vanacker, T and Manigart, S (2013) Venture Capital. Baker, K.H and Filbeck, G. (eds.),Alternative Investments: Instruments, Performance, Benchmarks, and Strategies, Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. ISBN: 978-1-118-24112-7
Module has an active ELE page?
Yes
Indicative learning resources - Web based and electronic resources
Guide on Private Equity and Venture Capital for Entrepreneurs. Available at: https://www.investeurope.eu/media/78722/guide-on-private-equity-and-venture-capital-2007.pdf
Why and How to Invest in Private Equity. Available at: http://mertens.com.ua/pevc/how%20to%20invest.pdf
Expanding Horizons: The 3rd European Alternative Finance Industry Report. Available at: https://www.jbs.cam.ac.uk/faculty-research/centres/alternative-finance/publications/expanding-horizons/#.W5j-As4zbs0
Origin date
27/11/2018
Last revision date
10/02/2020