The overall aim of the course is to enhance students’ knowledge about financial management and control in small businesses. First, the course will give knowledge about financial calculation on issues of particular importance in small firms, for example, cost-benefit analysis, financial budgeting and price analysis. Second, the course will give the students' knowledge about finance and resource management in small businesses, seen from the perspective of the small business manager. Finally, the course will give knowledge about the financial markets for small businesses, i.e., seen from the perspective of the financiers. Particularly, the last part of the course will focuses on the way banks, crowd-investors, business angels and venture capitalists make their investments in small businesses. The course will provide students with tools and methods to analyze the need of critical resources in small businesses as well as methods to analyze investment opportunities in small businesses.

A passing grade on the course will be awarded to students who are applying:

• Knowledge about financial calculation on issues of particular importance in small businesses.
• Knowledge about the financial markets for small businesses.
• Understand the financial requirements, financial management and financial acquisition in small businesses.
• Understand the investment process and investment management of different kinds of investors in small businesses.
• Reviewing and evaluate the various sources of finance potentially available to small businesses.

The course will provide valuable knowledge and skills for individuals aiming at pursuing a small business management career, but also individuals that are interested in working with small businesses, for example, as bank officers, venture capitalists, business angels, managers in established companies as well as individuals who will work close to small businesses such as advisors, consultants, TTO managers, etc.

Teaching methods will consist of lectures, case discussions, and seminars in which the student assignment will be discussed. The course will be divided into three parts: The first part (5 April to 7 April) will focuses on financial calculation in small businesses, particularly this part of the course will focus on issues such as cost-benefit analysis, financial budgeting and price analysis. The second part (3 May to 4 May) will focus attention on small business finance seen from the small business managers’ perspective, and contains a discussion regarding basic characteristics of small businesses in terms of financial and resource management and financial acquisition in small businesses. The third part of the course (17 May to 19 May) is devoted to the investors’ perspective, and will focuses on the investment process and financial decision made in banks and will also pay attention to equity financing, for example, from crowd-investors, business angels and venture capitalists.

During the course you are assessed on one home assignment (written in groups of students) and one individual written exam. Active participation in class will represent 10% of the grade, the home assignment represent 40% of the grade, and the remaining 50% are based on the individual written exam.

• (10%) active participation in class
• (40%) home assignment
• (50%) written exam
  

Registration only via LPIS

max. 30 participants

kmu@wu.ac.at