• University of Exeter Business School
• Module

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.

Module aims - intentions of the module

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 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. Practical cases will allow you to take the role of a venture capital investor or entrepreneur. 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.

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)

ILO: Module-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 1. describe key concepts in the financing of entrepreneurial firms;
• 2. prepare a financial plan including P&L and cash flow statements;
• 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

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 6. critically evaluate financial plans;
• 7. develop a coherent financing strategy for entrepreneurial firms.

ILO: Personal and key skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 8. present financing related aspects of a venture;
• 9. work (in teams) to explore complex entrepreneurial finance problems.

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
• Workshop: Financial planning
• Venture capital: (a) screening and due diligence, (b) valuation and (c) term sheet negotiation
• Workshops: Venture capital case (with due diligence, valuation and term sheet negotiation simulations)

Learning activities and teaching methods (given in hours of study time)

Details of learning activities and teaching methods

Formative assessment

Summative assessment (% of credit)

Details of summative assessment

Details of re-assessment (where required by referral or deferral)

Indicative learning resources - Basic reading

Text Book:

Alemany, L and Andreoli, J (2018) Entrepreneurial Finance: The Art and Science of Growing Ventures.  Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN-13: 978-1108431859

Mclaney, E & Atrill, P (2008) Accounting and Finance for Non-Specialists(6^th Ed.) Financial Times/ Prentice Hal. ISBN-13: 978-0273716945.

Other resource:

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

Indicative learning resources - Web based and electronic resources

ELE – https://vle.exeter.ac.uk/

Key words search

Funding, Accounting, Finance, Entrepreneurial Finance, Financial Accounting, Venture Capital.