Professor Roni Michaely

Description of the Course
This course is an introductory finance course. Topics covered include (1) basic present value theory, (2) valuing bonds and stocks, (3) capital budgeting, (4) risk and return relationships, (5) portfolio theory, (6) the Capital Asset Pricing Model, (7) interest rate theory, (8) options, futures and forward contracts, (9) capital structure policy, and (10) market efficiency.

Who Might Consider taking the Exemption Examination?
MBA candidates who have taken several finance courses (unless those courses were taken many years ago) are prime candidates to exempt the core course If you have god knowledge of the above topics, you might consider taking the exemption exam.

Unless you are very comfortable with the material, taking the exemption exam is not recommended. In a typical year no more than one or two students are able to pass the exam.

Preparing for the Exemption Examination
The exemption exam covers material contained in most MBA-level introductory finance texts and courses. The best way to prepare for the exam is to spend a few days perusing the text you used in your prior courses or any of the recently published MBA-level textbooks.

There is no sample exam available for this course.

Results of the Exam
For each student, the three possible results of the examination are:

1. Fail: student is required to take the course.
2. Exempt with substitution: student may either take the core course or an approved substitute to fulfill the core requirement.
3. Exempt: student passed the exam and is not required to take additional classes in this field.

In no case will credit be given for an exempt course. With permission of the core course instructor, a student may choose to take the core course (for a letter grade or a S/U basis) even after passing an exemption exam.