Post-Graduate Diploma in ICT Policy and Regulation

TR 505
Financial Analysis

Instructional Team @ UDSM

Mr. Mutahyoba Baisi
<baisi@fcm.udsm.ac.tz>

Dr. Erasmus Kaijage <kaijage@fcm.udsm.ac.tz>

Students will "attend" class for at least 3 hours a week, every week. Attendance in this class is classified as "logged-on or otherwise connected to this digital learning environment and actively engaged in productive learning."

Participants undertaking this module are expected to have a good working knowledge in the ICT sector, good knowledge of the regulation and policy issues affecting ICT, an basic degree, or advanced diploma, or master's degree from a recognized and accredited university/institution.

Participants registering for this module should make sure they have done the Quality and Social Issues modules. The Service-Pricing module is an elective module requirement for the second year masters students wishing to specialize more in finance.

Accounting Analysis

At the end of this module the learner should be able to:

• Describe the difference between financial and management accounting, the basic accounting principles and concepts as they relate to the ICT sector
• Prepare and interpret financial statements
• Use the financial statements as a planning and analysis tool for making decisions
• Apply performance and distress analysis tools

The Cost of Capital

At the end of this module the learner should be able to:

• Apply basic financial mathematics
  
• Explain the principles, workings and intricacies of the principles of investments and market value in a modern economy.
  
• Develop ways and ideas to cope with risk in practical capital budgeting situations
  
• Calculate the value of the firm and the effects of gearing
  
• Asses the risk and return of a portfolio
  
• Calculate the cost of capital of a firm and a project using various methods.
  
• Determine risk and return related to any finance choices made.
  
• Understand the different sources of financing.
  
• Select a portfolio depending on the risk and return analysis
  
• Value a firm when it is equity financed and/or levered.

Project Management

At the end of this module the learner should be able to:

• Perform investment and project analysis, project types and classification.
• Describe project management process
  
• Apply projects evaluation techniques including the, payback method, accounting rate of return, the internal rate of return, and the net present value
  
• Analyse project risk using sensitivity and scenario construction
• Describe capital rationing and opportunity costs in a project
  
• Analyse the social cost benefit analysis of ICT projects and the environmental impact assessment resulting from taking a project
  
• Relate ICT projects with other macroeconomic variables such as inflation
  
• Relate financing and investment decisions in the ICT sector
  
• Analyse the impact of policy changes and regulations on ICT projects
  
• Relate non-financial variables in the evaluation of projects, including changes in other economic variables, the impact of social cultural and environmental issues, government policies and regulations

The overall objective of this module is to ensure participants understand, interpret and relate the economic and financial implications of the regulatory and policy decisions on the firm and the specific sectors including telecommunications sector, and be able to make a cost -benefit analysis assessment of policy and regulatory decisions made and the implications they have on costs, price, returns to the firm and the society at large (i.e. assessing both the financial and social costs and benefits).

Specifically, students successful in this course will learn how to do the following:

• Read and interpret an ICT firm's financial statements
• Calculate market and project risk, risk adjusted cost of capital, cost of equity and cost of debt as relates to ICT firms
• Describe the time value of money in the ICT sector
• Explain the different project management assessment techniques for making decisions among alternative investments (projects in the ICT sector), e.g., accounting rate of return, internal rate of return (IRR), net present value, cost benefit analysis of projects
• Assess the feasibility of licensees, business plans, conduct market and project valuations in the ICT sector
• Perform action/problem-solving research to determine the cost and financial implications of regulations and policies on ICT firms, ICT project activities, and the ICT sector
  

Required Texts:

• Brigham, E. F and Houston, J. F (1999): Fundamentals of Financial Management, 8th ed. Dryden Press, New York: NY
• Foster, G (1986- or an update): Financial Statement Analysis, 2nd ed. Prentice - Hall, Englewood-Cliffs, NJ
• Mishan, E. (update) Elements of Cost Benefit Analysis
• Amling, (update). Investment Analysis
• Claude, W. and Ellsworth, Leaon, W (1980 or update) Modern Project Management, Burrill and Ellsworth Associates

Course Documents (downloads available on KEWL):

Essential On-Line Resources (access through the Internet):

Additional Resources:

• Bernstein, L. A & Wild, J. J (1998). Financial Statement Analysis: Theory, Application and Interpretation, 6th ed. McGraw - Hill, New York: NY
• Foster, G (1986). Financial Statement Analysis, 2nd ed. Prentice - Hall, Englewood-Cliffs, NJ
• Brigham, E. F and Houston, J. F (1998). Fundamentals of Financial Management, 8th ed. Dryden Press, New York: NY
• Van Horne, J. C and Wachowicz, J (1995). Fundamentals of Financial Management. Prentice-Hall, Englewood-Cliffs, NJ
• Block, S.B and Hirt, G.A (1994). Foundations of Financial Management, 7th ed. Richard D. Irwin Inc.
• Brealey, R & Myers, S (2000). Principles of Corporate Finance, 6th ed. McGraw Hill, New York: NY
• Pandey, I. M ( 1996).Financial Management, 7th ed. Vikas Publishing House PVT Ltd.
• Brigham E. & Houston, J (2000). Fundamentals of Financial Management, Concise 3rd edition, Harcourt College publishers, New York.
• James C. Van Horne and John M. Wachowicz, Jr. (1995). Fundamentals of Financial Management. 9th Edition Prentice Hall International Edition
• Collier C. & Glagola, C (1998). Engineering Economics and Cost Analysis, 3rd Edition, Addison, Wesley, Menlo Park, CA.
• Richard A. Brealy and Stewart C. Myers (1996). Principals of Corporate Finance International Edition.
• Levy H & Sarnat M (update). Investment Analysis
  
• Brigham E. & Houston, J (2000). Fundamentals of Financial Management, Concise
• Schwalbe, Kathy (2002). Information technology Project Management, 2nd Edition, Course Technology. 3rd edition, Harcourt College publishers, New York.

The Course work will be 50% and the final exam will be 50%. The postgraduate students will be required to do an individual project solving a real problem in the ICT sector. Students taking the masters degree will be required to do a thesis in the second year of their of the masters programme. Both the project and thesis will be assessed independently and a passing student will be considered to have passed the project or the thesis if she/he gets a B or higher grade.