Introductory description

To provide an ability to read and understand financial data, which is a key skill for all roles within any organisation. Students will benefit from this module by developing an appreciation of the current issues, players & development of the entrepreneurial sector, equipping them with the knowledge to produce viable projections, valuations and the finance side of business models.

Module aims

Outline syllabus

This is an indicative module outline only to give an indication of the sort of topics that may be covered. Actual sessions held may differ.

• current issues in entrepreneurial businesses, risks, opportunities and trends;
• Business legal forms and implications thereof (incorporated vs unincorporated, styles of incorporation)
• Stakeholders’ needs (including potential investors) and powers – such as owners, employees, directors, customers, governments etc
• The key differences between profits and cash, and how different stakeholders regard each
• Effective financial metric design, and the interaction between non-financial metrics and the finances
• The use of key finance data, such as income statements, balance sheets etc
• Processes for forecasting and budgeting, and the limitations of both, and common errors to include optimism bias
• Use of ‘the investors game’ to understand what how when why investors invest and exit. Investors are resources to entrepreneurs too. So smart entrepreneurs can make good use of investors!
• The effective presentation of financial data for investment and decision making (including NPV, ARR, IRR etc)
• The implications of different sources of finance, principally debt vs equity (ownership) and alignment with target source changes
• Exploration of different forms of entrepreneurial financing, including crowdfunding and ICO
• Presentation of investment pitches
• Valuation of businesses as mature and start-up

Learning outcomes

By the end of the module, students should be able to:

• Critically assess a business' financial performance by integrating financial and business data to synthesise a clear opinion.
• Calculate, from novel datasets, the costs associated with the production of products or the provision of services
• Design and defend an effective pitch with financial projections, considering the investors' context, integrating information and concepts from other modules into particular situations to produce a viable and professional document.
• Design and defend suitable metrics to be used in a given business start-up situation
• Create Short (6 Months) , Medium (18 months) and Long Term (3 years) financial projections for a start-up business.
• Conduct a critical analysis of a need for investment, the types of investment, and associated investment analysis on a new business.

Indicative reading list

Atrill, P & McLaney, E (2011). Accounting and Finance for Non-specialists. London: Pearson Education Limited.
Dyson, J.R. (2010). Accounting for Non-accounting Students. London: FT Prentice Hall
Berk, J. & DeMarzo, P., 2016. Corporate Finance. Fourth ed. Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.
Arnold, A (2013) Corporate financial management. Fifth ed. Pearson Education.
O'Regan, P (2006) Financial information analysis. Second Ed. Wiley.
Chaffey, D (2015) Digital Business and E-Commerce Management. Pearson Education.
Trott, P., Hartmann, D., Duin, P. d., Scholten, V., Ortt, J. R. 20151214, Managing Technology Entrepreneurship and Innovation, Routledge.
Klonowski, D. 20141127, Strategic Entrepreneurial Finance, Routledge.

Subject specific skills

Financial, numeracy, organisational, communication, accuracy, teamwork, presentational
Investment analysis
Financial projections for a Start-Up
Managing Cash Flow
Company Valuation
Methods for Financing a Start-Up (eg. Crowd Funding, Angel Investors, Family)

Transferable skills

Critical thinking (needed for PMA and IMA)

• Self-awareness
• Communication
• Teamwork
• Information literacy
• Digital literacy
• Professionalism