Year
2023Credit points
10Campus offering
No unit offerings are currently available for this unitPrerequisites
Nil
Teaching organisation
3 hours per week for twelve weeks or equivalent.
Unit rationale, description and aim
One of the main challenges faced by entrepreneurs is to effectively manage their financial resources. Many entrepreneurs quit their innovation projects or shut down their start–ups due to lack of financial resources or not being able to adroitly manage their available funds throughout the growth and development stages. Financial planning is nowadays regarded as a critical capability that has to be accumulated by the founders of start–ups. Otherwise the chances for survival in highly competitive environments are fairly low.
This unit equips students with the understanding, knowledge and practical skills to ensure the effective stewardship of resources within the firm. These knowledge and skills include the capacity to identify and analyse the options for funding start–ups and formulate effective strategies to have funds available for different stages of growth and development in a new business life cycle. Furthermore, students will acquire knowledge and skills regarding the managerial tools helping entrepreneurs in making investment decisions. Also, students will accumulate knowledge and skills on how the valuation of a start–up help entrepreneurs in sourcing funds and how harvesting that value provides entrepreneurs with a return.
The major aim of this unit is to provide students with the ability to analyse and resolve complex entrepreneurial finance problems.
Learning outcomes
To successfully complete this unit you will be able to demonstrate you have achieved the learning outcomes (LO) detailed in the below table.
Each outcome is informed by a number of graduate capabilities (GC) to ensure your work in this, and every unit, is part of a larger goal of graduating from ACU with the attributes of insight, empathy, imagination and impact.
Explore the graduate capabilities.
On successful completion of this unit, students should be able to:
LO1 - Evaluate investment and finance models and theories to the context of start-up development and growth (GA5, GA8)
LO2 - Critically analyse key investment and financial problems faced by entrepreneurs throughout the development of start-ups (GA4, GA5)
LO3 - Formulate solutions and strategies to maximise the effective stewardship of resources in entrepreneurial firms (GA5, GA6)
LO4 - Analyse financial planning and investment issues in start-ups from social and economic well-being perspective (GA2, GA5)
LO5 - Plan and communicate effective financing strategies that accelerate small businesses' growth (GA5, GA9)
Graduate attributes
GA2 - recognise their responsibility to the common good, the environment and society
GA4 - think critically and reflectively
GA5 - demonstrate values, knowledge, skills and attitudes appropriate to the discipline and/or profession
GA6 - solve problems in a variety of settings taking local and international perspectives into account
GA8 - locate, organise, analyse, synthesise and evaluate information
GA9 - demonstrate effective communication in oral and written English language and visual media
Content
Topics will include:
- Finance for entrepreneurs
- Stewardship of resources in start-ups
- Developing the Business Idea
- The social and economic well-being of stakeholders in financial planning
- Organising and financing a start-up
- Preparing and using financial statements for start-ups
- Evaluating financial performance
- Managing cash flow in start-ups
- Types of financial capitals
- Valuating start-ups
- Structuring finance for a growing new venture
Learning and teaching strategy and rationale
This unit adopts active, case study, problem-based and experiential (expert keynote speakers) learning approaches simultaneously to help students in acquiring and integration of managerial knowledge and skills related to new venture finance. Students will be able to learn the application of theories and concepts underpinning new venture finance in a series of face-to-face workshops along with the materials (videos, texts, exercises, and cases) provided through the online learning platform. In this blended mode of delivery, each workshop includes mini-seminars focusing on the core theories, models and concepts, and followed by practical/scenario-based exercises (group and individual). Few experienced entrepreneurs will be invited throughout the semester as keynote speakers to share their practical experiences in financing their small businesses and start-ups.
Assessment strategy and rationale
To pass this unit, students are required to complete and submit three graded assessment tasks and achieve an aggregate mark of at least 50% and a passing mark in the last assessment. Marking will be by a rubric specifically developed to measure the level of achievement of the learning outcomes for each item of assessment. Students will also be awarded a final grade, which signifies their overall achievement in the Unit.
The assessment strategy for this unit helps students develop their knowledge and skills in managing start-ups’ development and growth to the point where they can present and provide solutions to the critical financial issues faced by entrepreneurs in running their start-ups. To accumulate this level of aptitude, students will examine their knowledge of theories/models/concepts associated with new venture finance through case study analysis (Assessment 1). Students further advance their comprehension of the application of new venture finance theories and models by offering a presentation on a local Australian start-up by using the financial analysis tools practiced in the class (Assessment 2), and further write an analytical report to integrate all the knowledge and skills they accumulated in new venture finance area throughout the semester (Assessment 3).
Overview of assessments
| Brief Description of Kind and Purpose of Assessment Tasks | Weighting | Learning Outcomes | Graduate Attributes |
|---|---|---|---|
Assessment Task 1: Case study Analysis This assessment task consists of a 1400-word case study report. This task requires students to use their knowledge and skills regading the application of new venture finance models/concept/theories. Students will be presented with a case study to which they are expected to analyse the financial status of a start-up/ new venture mentioned in the case and identify the financial pain points and factors driving those financial issues. Students will be expected to further research around the topic(s) and answer the questions presented in the case. In analysing the case, the social and economic well-being of the stakeholders has to be taken into consideration. Submission Type: Individual Assessment Method: Case study Artefact: Written report | 30% | LO1, LO2, LO4 | GA2, GA4, GA5, GA8 |
Assessment Task 2: Verbal Presentation This assessment task consists of a 8-minute verbal presentation (pre-recorded). This task requires students to analyse the financial status of a small and active new venture in Australia. This assessment requires students to apply their knowledge and understanding of new venture finance models/concept/theories to a real-world new venture and suggest effective financial and investments models/strategies to enhance the small business financial performance and the stewardship of resources within that business. In prescribing feasible models for financial growth, environmental contingency factors (e.g., COVD19) and their implications have to be considered. Students can use their own new ventures or a venture that they are familiar with (located in Australia). Submission Type: Individual Assessment Method: Verbal Presentation Artefact: Pre-recorded video and notes | 35% | LO2, LO3 | GA4, GA5, GA6 |
Assessment Task 3: Analytical Report This assessment task consists of a 2000 word analytical report. This task requires students to integrate all the knowledge and skills they accumulated in the new venture finance area and conduct research and write an analytical report about the impact of a specified contemporary policy or economic activity (e.g., related to post COVID19) on the type of financing models applied by entrepreneurs in Australia. Student also have to consider the social implications of the contemporary policy or economic activity. Submission Type: Individual Assessment Method: Analytical Report Artefact: Written report | 35% | LO4, LO5 | GA2, GA5, GA9 |
Representative texts and references
Required text
Leach, J. and Melicher, R., 2018. Entrepreneurial finance. Cengage Learning,
Boston, MA.
Recommended references
Rogers, S. and Makonnen, R., 2014. Entrepreneurial finance: Finance and business strategies for the serious entrepreneur. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.
Further references
Adelman, P.J. and Marks, A.M., 2014. Entrepreneurial finance. Pearson.
Journals
- Journal of Finance
- Journal of Applied Corporate Finance
- Accounting and Finance.
- Journal of Small Business Management
- Journal of Business Venturing
- Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice
- International Small Business Journal
- Small Business Economics
- Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal
- Journal of Small Business Strategy
- Entrepreneurship and Regional Development