Macquarie University

Applied Business Valuation - AFCL860

This unit will give students a taste of the range of assignments they might come across if they pursued a career in valuations. The course will be equally useful for those who might commission or use valuations such as company directors, chief financial officers, company secretaries, corporate advisors and equity analysts.
The course will equip students to value portfolio and controlling interests in both public and private companies. We will also examine the specific nuances of performing valuations for mergers and acquisitions vs independent expert’s reports vs financial reporting vs taxation purposes.

The course starts with an overview of the Australian and international standards and regulations that apply to valuations in Australia. We will then examine the most common circumstances that give rise to the need for a valuation. Finally, we will look at what is involved in giving expert evidence in court and take turns to sit in the witness box in a mock-trial designed to test the theory covered in class.

The course assumes a basic level of valuation knowledge that students would have obtained in the Corporate Finance unit. The objective of this unit is to draw on this knowledge and present new theory in as practical a way as possible through discussion and analysis of case studies that represent real-life situations. Students will have access to S&P Capital IQ.