Structure
The AGSM MBA (Finance) is a part-time program and can be completed in anywhere between 2 to 6 years. There are 12 courses in the program, includes six core courses and six specialisation courses.
Compulsory core courses
AGSM6210 Accounting and Financial Management and AGSM6321 Corporate Finance are pre-requisites for all Finance specialisation courses.
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This course is a comprehensive introduction to the topic of leadership. It aims to help students to build the confidence, knowledge and skills to engage in effective leadership in a broad range of contexts. It also provides guidance on self-leadership and actively managing the process of growing as a leader.
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The Strategy course aims to equip students with the skills, knowledge and experience to formulate, evaluate and implement value-creating strategies for organisations. The course introduces students to the contemporary principles, tools and frameworks of strategic management that support the work of successful strategists in leading sustainable organisations. Whether students work in small or large organisations, whether in a startup, scale up or incumbent, domestically focused or a major international or global organisation, in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors, strategic management plays a central role in achieving the objectives of the organisation as we navigate an increasingly complex, disrupted, technology-infused, and dynamic business environment.
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Accounting and Financial Management is designed for those who use accounting information, rather than those whose task it is to prepare it. The focus is on the understanding and use of accounting information as well as the composition and meaning of the financial statements. The course covers accounting reports prepared for external users as well as accounting reports used by managers to plan, control and make decisions.
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This course stresses the fundamentals of corporate financial decision making with special reference to investment, financing and dividend distribution. The course develops distinct conceptual frameworks and specialised tools for solving real-world financial problems at both the personal and corporate level. Examples include funds management, mergers and acquisitions, capital raisings, portfolio selection of financial securities, public floats and the pricing of assets in the stock market. Illustrations from real-life corporate practices are used to highlight the importance and relevance of financial management to the realisation of personal and corporate financial objectives.
Core courses - choose two
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Marketing Management is a course designed to introduce fundamental marketing concepts, theories and analytical tools to managers working in today's highly competitive and complex business environment. The course places particular emphasis on the management of profitable exchange processes in the context of modern organisations and covers a diverse range of marketing topics including marketing strategy and planning, the marketing environment and how to monitor it, consumer and organisational behaviour, marketing research, market segmentation and development of target markets, new product development, pricing, distribution, promotion and international marketing. Participants are required to tackle real life marketing problems and demonstrate their ability to apply classroom knowledge to their own work situations.
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An understanding of economics is essential for the long-term viability of business. The economic environment in which business operates will have a vital bearing on day-to-day decisions. Economics in Management Practice lays the foundations for such knowledge. It provides a basic introduction to those economic principles that are important for business, as well as providing general economic literacy to enable participants to read and understand economic reports and to be able to communicate with and understand business people, economists and policy makers.
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Managing People & Organisations examines the different ways in which organisations approach the management of their employees. We explore the behaviour of people at work, and the impact this has on others and on the organisation itself. We consider the relationship between people management and the organisation's strategy and locate the management of 'people at work' within various theoretical, philosophical, historical and regulatory contexts.
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Evidence-based decision-making, supported by a data-driven culture, is critical to the success of organisations. It is essential that professionals can define problems clearly and systematically, know what techniques can be applied in order to solve these problems, and communicate the results concisely and effectively. This course helps students to frame business problems in a quantitative matter and learn how data collection and experimentation can help provide management insights. As the second step, students will learn how to solve problems through predictive models. This requires a basic understanding of statistics and therefore students will study the basics of regression provided by the Harvard Quantitative Methods online course during the first five weeks. This will help improve students’ data literacy in order to communicate more effectively with data scientists, as well as contribute to the democratisation of data within their business. Finally, students will learn the basics of using Tableau, one of the leading Data Analytics and Visualisation tools in the field. Through data storytelling, students will learn to communicate data more effectively and improve their ability to simplify problems and facilitate decision-making.
Finance specialisation courses – choose six
Must choose four Finance specialisation courses from below and two other electives. Or complete five Finance specialisation courses and one other elective.
Please note all Finance specialisation courses have pre-requisites of AGSM6210 Accounting and Financial Management and AGSM6321 Corporate Finance.
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This course focuses on advanced financial decisions of corporate managers. First, the course expands on the traditional project evaluation criteria by introducing real options and valuation techniques in the presence of uncertainty. Second, it discusses the use of debt and equity as financing instruments and how to assess leases. Third, it explains how to hedge a company’s cash flows and balance sheet from both domestic and international exposures. The course uses case studies to illustrate the application of theoretical concepts to real-life.
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In this course, financial-statement information is discussed as a tool in a wide range of business decisions. We will discuss financial statements from a user’s perspective, and use a variety of tools to break apart financial reports into meaningful units for analysis, forecast financial statements, and value a firm’s shares. We will also look at the role of managerial incentives and accounting rules in assessing the quality of financial statements.
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The course will provide information and analysis on the latest development in the world of finance and its implications for business strategies. Live financial data and other information from various financial institutions are provided to teach a number of issues that influence global finance and the way multinational companies build their global business networks, their activities and strategies. The Course also brings a fresh perspective from eminent scholars from various leading business schools and financial organizations.
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The objective of this course is to introduce students to Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A) and the requisite knowledge for the development and execution of corporate transactions particularly within equity capital markets. The course will address transactions such as Takeovers, Acquisitions, Divestments, Initial Public Offerings and Secondary Raisings. Students will utilise common corporate finance tools and knowledge as applied within the context of considering, developing and executing M&A transactions. There will be an emphasis on practical applications of corporate finance skills and knowledge and negotiation within the context of M&A through a mixture of case studies, group exercises and class discussion.
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Financial Modelling intends to make managers more confident and effective users of financial models, helping them to better understand and communicate the practical value of financial models, and to build this literacy for their future work. Key to this is a critical pedagogical approach that develops and refines students' high-level critical thinking, problem-solving, and analytical skills, alongside providing them with a set of practical tools and techniques to help them make effective judgements about a business's current financial situation and future performance based on best-practice financial modelling principles.
Electives:
Students can take up to two elective course from any courses with an AGSM prefix (e.g. core courses and courses from other specialisations) including the AGSM9155 Strategic Consulting Project or participate in an international exchange.
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This course provides you with the opportunity to develop and practise your problem-solving skills by integrating your knowledge, skills, experience and various tools you have acquired during your MBAX studies. By investigating a particular strategic issue in an organisation, working as a team on the client issue, identifying solutions for that issue, and presenting practical recommendations to the client, you will acquire the skills and practical experience to become effective leaders and innovators.
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AGSM @ UNSW Business School partners with over 30 elite business schools across Asia, Europe, UK and the USA to provide exchange opportunities for MBA students.
AGSM is a proud member of both the PIM and GNAM international networks through which students have access to short and international experience.
Partnership in International Management (PIM) is an international consortium of business schools from around the world which provides a framework for international cooperation primarily at the graduate level. Through this network of 65 leading business schools AGSM students can access exchange opportunities.
Global Network for Advanced Management (GNAM) is a powerful network created by 32 of the world’s leading business schools. As the only Australian university in the network, AGSM students have a unique opportunity to apply for participation in Global Network Weeks and Global Network Courses during their MBA program.