MBA7035 - Strategic Financial Management

Objectives:

On successful completion of the module, students will be able to:
Evaluate the role and function of Financial Management in the formation and delivery of Corporate Strategic Objectives.
Critically assess systems of financial analysis, management and control in a given Business organisation, with recommendations for improvement.
Consider alternative sources of long- and short-term funding for operations, growth and development (including Capex) and make final recommendations.
Identify and evaluate financial risks and the potential causes of financial failure, including the application of measures of viability.

Content:

This module develops advanced understanding of the strategy and operations of businesses as organisations and associated financial management (and accounting) functions. Students will be introduced to the role and formation of strategic financial objectives for an organisation, the measurement of current and forecast performance, variations in economic and business factors and alternative financial strategies. Students will also apply a range of theories to examine, evaluate and recommend alternative courses of action in response to operational challenges, including long- and short-term financing for organisations, risk factors and stakeholder priorities, as well as consider the importance of non-financial requirements relating to procurement and supply chain.

In addition to module subject content, there will be a focus on skills development and application of theory, including problem identification and problem solving, pair work, group work and discussion, financial analysis and reporting, consequence chain analysis, pathway identification and evaluation, target setting and formation of objectives, measurement of performance, assessment of viability and action planning.

This module will contribute to the MBA themes in the following ways:

Radical Resilience – the ability to identify and mitigate threats to a business as a ‘going concern’ through the application of financial management analysis and tools and to identify opportunities to build resilience into associated processes and policies.

Creative Connectivity – the module will exemplify and demonstrate the central role of financial management in the formulation of cross business strategy and the interconnected nature of strategic planning for growth and development.

Dynamic Discovery – the module will encourage students to explore new approaches to delivering stategic financial objectives through pathway and consequence chain analysis and deduction.

Learning and Teaching Information:

This module will comprise a 21-hour teaching block delivered over three consecutive teaching days of whole-group interactive workshops. Throughout the teaching block, students will be presented with examples of contemporary organisational practice and theory followed by a thematically linked Masterclass, 1:1 assignment surgeries and networking opportunities.

In order to ensure a differential learning experience, whilst creating a varied, dynamic and informative teaching environment for all, the workshop approach will be research-informed, using a mixture of delivery methods (utilising a wide variety of visual/audio media). The business world examples used will be contemporary, authentic and relevant, demonstrating clear links to the topic under discussion. To consolidate the learning, the classroom-based activities will be realistic, useful and contributing to students’ career-readiness/progression.

We will continue to revise our teaching strategies in line with alterations to the sector’s recommendations for career attributes, the recommendations of the QAA Subject Benchmark Statements and all affiliated PSRB standards.

Workshops
Hours: 21
Cohort

Non-teaching contact hours (e.g. Masterclasses, 1:1 Support, networking events etc)
Hours: 13
Cohort

Guided independent study
Hours: 116

Further details relating to assessment
Formative assessment and feed-forward methods will be employed throughout this module at various points in the semester. Formative forms of assessment will include (but not exclusively): class-based activities, opportunities for draft pieces of work to be submitted for comments and feedback, drop-in sessions with the module tutor and peer-assessed (non-credit bearing) group presentations.

The company report requires students to analyse current and future planned financial operations of a given business (scenario and key data provided) in order to evaluate the efficiency and efficacy of strategic and operational financial management, provide evaluative feedback on the same to the managers of the business and make recommendations for improvements.

Further specific details of the assessment will be available in the Module Handbook and in additional in-class support.

Assessment:

001 Company report; 2,500 words; term 1 100%

Fact File

Module Coordinator - PRS_CODE=
Level - 7
Credit Value - 15
Pre-Requisites - NONE
Semester(s) Offered - 7MB31

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