BAFN604 - Entrepreneurial Finance

Year

Credit points

Campus offering

Prerequisites

BAFN600 Finance and Quantitative Methods

Teaching organisation

Unit rationale, description and aim

Entrepreneurial Finance helps managers make better investment and financing decisions in entrepreneurial settings. This unit is the foundation for an understanding of the application of financial theories to the context of newly established and high-growth companies. You will learn to understand the concepts of financial forecasting, business planning, new venture valuation, financial contracting, risk mitigation, debt financing and harvesting. You will develop skills in financial forecasting. You will be able to generate a business plan. This unit provides you with necessary knowledge and skills needed to get work ready for a career in the banking and finance industry.

Learning outcomes

To successfully complete this unit you will be able to demonstrate you have achieved the learning outcomes (LO) detailed in the below table.

Each outcome is informed by a number of graduate capabilities (GC) to ensure your work in this, and every unit, is part of a larger goal of graduating from ACU with the attributes of insight, empathy, imagination and impact.

Explore the graduate capabilities.

On successful completion of this unit, students should be able to:

LO1 - understand the key concepts associated with entrepreneurial finance (GA2, GA3, GA4, GA5, GA6, GA8, GA10) 

LO2 - apply strategies to mitigate risk faced by financiers of high growth businesses through different stages of their life cycle (GA4, GA5, GA7, GA8, GA9, GA10) 

LO3 - analyse how high growth business and their financiers contribute towards inclusive and sustainable national and international economies (GA4, GA5, GA7, GA8, GA9, GA10) 

LO4 - develop strategies to satisfy the financial needs of high growth businesses through different stages of their life cycle (GA4, GA5, GA7, GA8, GA9, GA10) 

LO5 - generate business plans aimed at raising capita collaboratively (GA4, GA5, GA7, GA8, GA9, GA10). 

Graduate attributes

GA2 - recognise their responsibility to the common good, the environment and society 

GA3 - apply ethical perspectives in informed decision making

GA4 - think critically and reflectively 

GA5 - demonstrate values, knowledge, skills and attitudes appropriate to the discipline and/or profession 

GA6 - solve problems in a variety of settings taking local and international perspectives into account

GA7 - work both autonomously and collaboratively 

GA8 - locate, organise, analyse, synthesise and evaluate information 

GA9 - demonstrate effective communication in oral and written English language and visual media 

GA10 - utilise information and communication and other relevant technologies effectively.

Content

Topics will include: 

• The concept of entrepreneurial finance  
• The entrepreneurial finance sector – finance providers  
• The significance of the entrepreneurial finance sector to the economy  
• Assessing financial needs  
• Financial forecasting  
• Business planning 
• New venture valuation 
• Financial contracting 
• Risk mitigation in entrepreneurial finance 
• Debt financing 
• Harvesting 

Learning and teaching strategy and rationale

The teaching and learning strategy is built on a “student-focused approach”. ACU’s teaching policy focuses on learning outcomes for students. Our teaching aims to engage students as active participants in the learning process while acknowledging that all learning must involve a complex interplay of active and receptive processes, the constructing of meaning for oneself, and learning from others. ACU promotes and facilitates learning that is autonomous and self-motivated, is characterised by the individual taking satisfaction in the mastering of content and skills and is critical, looking beneath the surface level of information for the meaning and significance of what is being studied.

The schedule of the workshop is designed in such a way that students can achieve intended learning outcomes sequentially. Teaching and learning activities will apply the experiential learning model, which encourages students to apply higher order thinking. The unit ensures that learning activities involve real-world scenarios that in turn assist with ‘real-world’ preparedness. The unit also uses a scaffolding technique that builds a student’s skills and prepares them for the next phase of the learning process.

This unit is structured with required upfront preparation before workshops, most students report that they spend an average of one hour preparing before the workshop and one or more hours after the workshop practicing and revising what was covered. The online learning platforms used in this unit provide multiple forms of preparatory and practice opportunities for you to prepare and revise. It is up to individual students to ensure that the out of class study is adequate for the optimal learning outcomes and successes.

Mode of delivery: This unit is offered in different modes. These are: “Attendance” mode, “Blended” mode and “Online” mode. This unit is offered in three modes to cater to the learning needs and preferences of a range of participants and maximise effective participation for isolated and/or marginalised groups.

Attendance Mode

In a weekly attendance mode, students will require face-to-face attendance in specific physical location/s. Students will have face-to-face interactions with lecturer(s) to further their achievement of the learning outcomes. This unit is structured with required upfront preparation before workshops, most students report that they spend an average of one hour preparing before the workshop and one or more hours after the workshop practicing and revising what was covered. The online learning platforms used in this unit provide multiple forms of preparatory and practice opportunities for you to prepare and revise.

Blended Mode

In a blended mode, students will require intermittent face-to-face attendance determined by the School. Students will have face-to-face interactions with lecturer(s) to further their achievement of the learning outcomes. This unit is structured with required upfront preparation before workshops. The online learning platforms used in this unit provide multiple forms of preparatory and practice opportunities for you to prepare and revise.

Online Mode

In an Online mode, students are given the opportunity to attend facilitated synchronous online seminar classes with other students and participate in the construction and synthesis of knowledge, while developing their knowledge. Students are required to participate in a series of online interactive workshops which include activities, knowledge checks, discussion and interactive sessions. This approach allows flexibility for students and facilitates learning and participation for students with a preference for virtual learning.

Assessment strategy and rationale

Assessment is an integral part of the learning process. In order to pass this unit, you are required to complete and submit three graded assessment tasks and achieve an aggregate mark of at least 50%. Marking will be in accordance with a rubric specifically developed to measure your level of achievement of the learning outcomes for each item of assessment. You will also be awarded a final grade which signifies your overall achievement in the unit.

Assessment tasks in this unit are aimed at measuring and developing student’s achievement of both the learning outcomes and graduate attributes noted above. In this unit there are three (3) main pieces of summative assessment. Such assessment may include, but are not limited to: quizzes, essays, reports, examinations, or case studies.

Assessment one and two are the same regardless of whether teaching mode is attendance, blended, or online. Assessment three is the same for attendance and blended modes, but changes for online mode. This is indicated in overview of assessment table below. Both methods assess the same learning outcomes.

Overview of assessments

Representative texts and references

Alhabeeb, M. (2015), Entrepreneurial Finance: Fundamentals of Financial Planning and Management for Small Business, Wiley (ISBN: 978-1-118-69151-9)

Leach, J. & Melicher, R. (2018), Entrepreneurial Finance, 6th edn, Cengage (ISBN: 978-1-305-96835-6).