CBL.VFI - Financial Intelligence* "CLOSED FOR FURTHER ENROLMENT"

Faculty
Martin Holm, Morten Henneveld

Course Coordinator
Eric Guthey

Prerequisite/progression of the course

Bachelor degree. The course is offered as an elective in the BLC concentration in Leadership and Management Studies, but it is also open to students in other graduate programmes at CBS, including international students.

Course content, structure and teaching

This course prepares students to participate in the leadership and management of organisations, networks and projects in a variety of contexts and international settings by cultivating their financial intelligence. Financial intelligence consists of the ability to understand what happens in companies and organizations from a financial perspective, and the ability to act on that information to contribute to organizational success. Students will gain a deeper understanding of financial accounting principles and techniques, and a deeper appreciation of how and why those principles and techniques are crucial for even non-financial managers to understand. Towards these ends the course will introduce students to the principles of financial intelligence, and further develop their understanding of such important tools and concepts as income statements, balance sheets, annual reports, ratios, cash flows, return on investment, P&Ls, and working capital. At every stage the course will put such concepts and tools into practice through the discussion and analysis of a variety of case studies and exercises that exemplify how important the numbers are to the way things work throughout organizations in various countries and regions around the world.

Class time will include lecture, case analysis, discussion, and exercises in which participants will explore the principles of financial intelligence and apply them to case studies and other organizational situations and dynamics.

The course's development of personal competences

At the end of the course, students should be able to:

display a firm grasp the basics of financial accounting, including such concepts and tools as income statements, balance sheets, annual reports, ratios, cash flows, return on investment, P&L, the time value of money, and working capital
display the ability to employ the financial accounting principles and practices covered in the course to analyze and to explain a variety of financial data, company documents, balance sheets, annual reports, and case studies
explain the important ways in which these and other key financial accounting principles and practices can be used to the benefit (and sometimes detriment) of organizations and the individuals who work in them
display the ability to work with the financial accounting principles and practices covered in the course to develop and present business cases for organizational projects and initiatives, and to develop and evaluate alternative scenarios based on competing assumptions and financial data
discuss considerations of leadership and ethics relating to the financial accounting principles and practices covered in the course
evaluate, contrast, and synthesise the various concepts and theories introduced in the course, and apply them to the analysis of a variety of case studies and situations that exemplify their relative usefulness for understanding the practice of leadership and management in a variety of contexts.

Type of examination, exam aids and assessment

Forty-eight hour take home written examination based on all materials covered in the course.

Recommended literature

Karen Berman, Joe Knight, John Case (2006) Financial Intelligence: A Manager's Guide to Knowing What the Numbers Really Mean, Harvard Business Press.

A collection of case materials available for purchase online via Harvard Business Publishing. These will include for example:

David B. Yoffie, Renee Kim (2010) Apple Inc. in 2010, Harvard Business School Case Study.
Craig Dunbar, Colette Southam (2009) London Youth Symphony, Ivey Business School Case Study.
Fernando Penalva (2005) Fantasia, SpA, IESE Business School Case Study.
Robert L. Simons, Antonio Davila (2000) Cafes Monte Bianco: Building a Profit Plan, Harvard Business School Case Study
Mitchell A. Petersen, Rashmi Singhal (2007) Vioxx: Too Risky for Merck? Kellogg Business School Case Study.
Graeme Rankine (2008) Cambridge Space Systems Plc, Thunderbird Business School Case Study.
Alan MacCormack, Kerry Herman, Sven Volpel (2002) Siemens ShareNet: Building a Knowledge Network, Harvard Business School Case Study.
Walter Kuemmerle, William J. Coughlin (2004) Ducati & Texas Pacific Group: A "Wild Ride" Leveraged Buyout, Harvard Business School Case Study
Josep Tapies, Francesca Toninato (2005) Milking Money out of Parmalat, IESE Business School Case Study.