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AC215: Business Analysis and Valuation

Subject Area: Accounting

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Course details

  • Department
    Department of Accounting
  • Application code
    SS-AC215
Dates
Session oneNot running in 2024
Session twoOpen - 8 Jul 2024 - 26 Jul 2024
Session threeNot running in 2024

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We are accepting applications. Apply early to avoid disappointment.

Overview

Knowledge of fundamental analysis and security valuation is essential to assess the information content of financial statements, isolate the long-term value drivers of a business, and successfully implement trading strategies.

Investment bankers, asset managers, financial analysts, and private equity investors use fundamental analysis techniques to critically evaluate financial data and design complex valuation models to guide their strategic decisions.

The aim of this course is to help students become sophisticated users of financial information from a fundamental analysis perspective. The course consists of four integrated parts:

  1. Strategy analysis
  2. Accounting analysis
  3. Financial analysis
  4. Forecasting and valuation

Students are expected to develop security analysis and valuation skills to support the interpretation, evaluation, and use of financial information from the viewpoint of major users of financial statements (i.e. equity investors, corporate lenders, etc.). Ultimately, students will be able to analyse a wide variety of financial reporting issues and discuss their valuation implications drawing on cutting-edge academic research and real-world case studies, including Apple, Ferrari, Netflix, and Tesco.

Moreover, as recent trends in big data and predictive analytics are disrupting the way in which security analysts, portfolio managers, credit-rating agencies, and regulators collect and analyse companies’ financial disclosures, students will also learn state-of-the-art financial modelling strategies to perform meaningful analyses on real-world data.

Key information

Prerequisites: Introductory accounting (to the level of AC110) and introductory finance are required.

Level: 200 level. Read more information on levels in our FAQs

Fees: Please see Fees and payments

Lectures: 36 hours

Classes: 18 hours

Assessment: Two written examinations

Typical credit: 3-4 credits (US) 7.5 ECTS points (EU)

Please note: Assessment is optional but may be required for credit by your home institution. Your home institution will be able to advise how you can meet their credit requirements. For more information on exams and credit, read Teaching and assessment

Is this course right for you?

This course is aimed at students who, at some point in their careers, expect to use financial reporting information to evaluate past and current performance, assess future prospects, and estimate the intrinsic value of a business. The primary focus of the course is on the analysis of public corporations, but many tools and techniques that students will learn are also relevant to private company fundamental analysis.

This course will be particularly valuable to students who are contemplating careers in investment banking, security analysis, asset management, private equity, strategy consulting, and auditing. The course should also prove useful to those students currently undertaking interviews and assessments for careers in the finance, accounting, and consultancy sectors.

Outcomes

  • Understand how business strategy and financial performance affect equity values
  • Conduct fundamental analysis using real-world financial data
  • Detect the overall quality of financial reporting information provided by firms
  • Analyse credit risk and equity risk using financial statements
  • Use accounting information to assess past and current firm financial performance
  • Implement prospective analysis to forecast future earnings growth
  • Apply discounted cash flow and residual income valuation models to estimate equity and enterprise values
  • Apply relative valuation techniques
  • Exploit accounting information signals to identify mispriced securities
  • Value publicly traded equity securities and private equity investment opportunities
  • Make sense of sales pitches in equity research reports
  • Understand the critical valuation challenges of IPOs and M&As deals

Content

Mathias Kristian Antonsen, Denmark

The things we were taught in lectures were applicable to my career path, and will be really helpful when I start my new job.

Faculty

The design of this course is guided by LSE faculty, as well as industry experts, who will share their experience and in-depth knowledge with you throughout the course.

Stefano Cascino

Dr Stefano Cascino

Associate Professor of Accounting

Jeroen Koenraadt

Dr Jeroen Koenraadt

Assistant Professor of Accounting

Department

LSE’s Department of Accounting enjoys a reputation as one of the leading groups in the world for teaching and research on the economic, institutional and organisational aspects of accounting and financial management.

The Department, along with the Departments of Finance and Management, was ranked as the UK leader for Business and Management Studies in the most recent Research Excellence Framework.

The Department offers an outstanding interdisciplinary research environment, retaining close ties with other departments and professional communities which ensures that our faculty work at the cutting edge of new developments in accounting practice. Students gain the knowledge, critical thinking and analytical skills to break down complex ideas and apply new concepts to real-world problems, preparing them with the necessary skills to thrive in various sectors, including corporate, government, non-profit and the public sector.

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Applications are open

We are accepting applications. Apply early to avoid disappointment.