BAEcon Accounting and Finance

This course provides research training in finance and prepare students so that they can complete an independent empirical research essay by the end of this course. Students develop a variety of skills related to conducting academic research in finance and disseminating the outcomes, which is transferable to many fields within and outside of academia. The set of skills include independent learning, research design and planning, understanding and using financial databases, managing and analysing data, critical thinking, logical argument, collecting, compiling, integrate and summarising related materials, presentation skills, writing skills, time management, working under pressure and so on.

BMAN23000(A) or (B), BMAN20072 & BMAN20081 are pre-requistes of BMAN30190. Available to BAEcon Finance specialists and Mgt (A&F)only. BMAN 30190 is compulsory for and exclusive to students specialising in Finance either singly or jointly.

Pre-requisite units: BMAN23000(A) or (B) Foundations of Finance, BMAN20072 Investment Analysis and BMAN20081 Financial Statement Analysis. Pre-requisite course units have to be passed by 40% or above at the first attempt. 

Important: Although there is no pre-requisite for statistics or econometrics, it is essential that students possess working knowledge on the random variable, distribution, regression and hypothesis testing.  These will be discussed in the lectures and students are expected to carefully study the assigned reading materials on statistics/econometrics.

Co-requisite units: None

Core/Compulsory/Optional/ Free Choice: Core/Compulsory

Programmes to which this course unit contributes (including cross faculty/school): Compulsory for and exclusive to students specialising in Finance either singly or jointly. 
 

This course aims to provide research training to students in the area of finance and to prepare students so that they can complete an independent empirical research essay by the end of this course. The empirical research centers on the topic of Mergers and Acquisitions and students will analyse the price reaction to the announcement of a merger between two firms, where each student analyzes his/her own allocated merger case.  

The course builds on students’ existing knowledge of finance and gives students hands-on experience in financial research. This course develops students’ skills in computer literacy, numeracy, literature review, research design, research methodology and its implementation, problem-solving, and written and oral communication. This course requires students to work independently on their own individual research project and tests their ability to set their own goals and timetable to ultimately complete a 30-page research project.    

This course spans two semesters. In the first semester, students will attend lectures, workshops labs and clinical session to build and consolidate their knowledge and skill base in academic research. These lectures, workshops, and labs cover research methodology (which focuses on the event study methodology which is widely used in the analysis of Mergers & Acquisitions) and other matters related to academic research. In the second semester, students will make a short presentation on how they plan to analyse their merger case, conduct empirical analysis using data collected, and write an essay based on their empirical results.

The first semester lectures cover the following topics, which will be delivered in lectures, workshops, labs, and clinical sessions, and examined in a mid-course exam:

• Course introduction; project outline.
• An overview of researches in Finance; Introduction to Event Study Methodology; a journal article for an example of clinical event study.
• Regression.
• Event Study Methodology: short-term event study.
• Datastream.
• Research design and planning; research proposal.
• Event Study Methodology: long-term event study; How to read journal articles effectively?
• Event Study Methodology: Measuring Abnormal Returns and test statistical significance.  
• Review of Event Study Methodology.
• Other issues that may emerge.
• More advanced topics on event study.

In the second semester, students will record a presentation about their merger case which outlines their proposed plan of empirical analysis. Later in the semester students will proceed to conduct their independent research projects, implementing this plan of empirical analysis, and writing up their results in an essay. Note that students are at liberty to adjust and adapt their proposed research plan after receiving feedback on their presentation. Workshop sessions in latter part of semester 2 will be available where students can seek advice on issues that arise from their research.

This is a research-based course and it is organised differently from purely lecture-based courses. In the first semester, students participate in lectures and workshops on research methodology and other related matters. The aim is to prepare students for conducting their forthcoming independent researches in the second semester. In the second semester, students conduct an independent study on a specific corporate event and write an independent essay based on their analysis. The lectures, workshops, and labs in the 1st semester are organized according to topics. The emphasis is on the event study methodology which is widely used in finance researches to analyse the wealth effects of mergers and acquisitions, IPO’s, management turnovers and other corporate events.  

Semester 2 is all about implementing the ideas and concepts covered in Semester 1 and there are no further lectures in Semester 2. Firstly students will independently prepare a presentation introducing their merger case and outlining their proposed empirical analysis. After this, students undertake their independent research project using real stock price data. The workshop sessions in the second semester are essential for students to attend. Here students can seek advice on the practical implementation of a merger event study and iron out any specific queries related to  their empirical analysis. All the empirical calculations/results used in your Essay must be included in your calculation excel file which is also uploaded as part of the Essay submission. 

Semester 1: Lecture: 20; workshop/labs: 8.5 
Private study time (approximately) 367

 

• Understand the methodology (focus on the event study methodology) and research issues covered in the first semester and be able to apply them in their research projects in the 2nd semester.
• Be familiar with various finance databases and be able to collect, compile, and analyse data.
• Develop an understanding of the relevant literature in finance.  

• Develop skills to understand, interpret, and draw conclusions from the results of their empirical analysis.  
• Develop a strong capability of independent learning and investigation. 

• Use event study methodology to analyse the wealth effect of corporate events as part of their research.
• Be familiar with various finance databases and be able to collect, compile, and analyse data.

1. Use event study methodology to analyse the wealth effect of corporate events as part of their research.
2. Be familiar with various finance databases and be able to collect, compile, and analyse data.
3. Developed and applied their presentational skills
4. Accumulate the experience in writing a research report: including introduction, literature review, data and methodology, empirical results, relevant discussions, and conclusion.

Exam (30%)
Presentation (15%)
Research report (55%)

Feedback provided after submission and marking.

There is no designated textbook for this course.   

Reading relevant papers, including published journal articles and working papers, are essential.

The lecturers will recommend some papers for students to begin with, but students are expected to build their collection of relevant literature independently.  

It is essential to study the asynchronous lecture and workshop contents, as well as attending lecture meetings. These contents will help students to acquirer the methodology required in their independent research.

For academic Year: 2025/26

Updated: March 2025

Approved by: March UG Committee