Module 1

Business Economics and Corporate Finance

 

 

Course 1: TEAMBUILDING & LEADERSHIP

Learning Objectives

The main aims for this lecture are :

  1. to "break the ice" and allow delegates to get to know each other better via a series of team challenges and activities.
  2. to introduce the latest scientific findings from the psychology of emotional intelligence and show how they apply to teams. We will look at the core areas of emotional intelligence including team climate, team values, core emotional needs, respect for others, openness in communication, self management and interpersonal relationship management.

Teaching Methods

Interactive activities, practical examples, team challenges and relevant theory.

Assessment

None

Course Texts

Emotional Intelligence Coaching (Steve Neale, Lisa Spencer, Arnell and Liz Wilson) and Applied EI (Tim Sparrow and Amanda Kight)

Professors

Steve Neale – Managing Director BCS International, Occupational Psychologist, BSc Psychology, BSc Physilogy, Dipl. Exec. Coaching, Dipl. Hypnotherapy, Dipl. Mindfulness, EI Practitioner, Co-Developer Masters in High Performance Leadership - steve@bcsinternatioinal.net - More information

Dan Iversen - Managing Director, BCS Nordic, EMBA, Masters Negotiation, Masters Business Psychology, Co-developer Masters in High Performance Leadership, EI-Practitioner - dan@bcsinternational.net - More information

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Course 2: FINANCIAL ACCOUNTING

Learning Objectives

The objectives of this course are to introduce the participants to :

  1. the essentials of corporate financial accounting and reporting,
  2. to the interpretation of financial statements,
  3. in the context of international business (mainly based on International Financial Reporting Standards/IFRS).

Teaching Methods

Interactive learning methodology, practical examples, team challenges and relevant theory.

Step 1: Corporate financial accounting (Introduction to financial accounting issues: financial information and market trust; Cash vs. accruals accounting: "InTech" Case; Special topic: Accounting for inventory)

Step 2: Financial statement analysis (Consolidated financial statements, analyzing and interpreting financial statements, real company case study; introduction to assignment)

Step 3: Financial statements and the financial accounting process (Participants present their interpretation of chosen financial statements, discussion; Accounting for Intangibles & case study; Financial accounting process and systems)

Assessment

Written open book examination, including one mini-case on a fundamental accounting issue and one mini-case on the interpretation of financial statements

Course Texts

Financial Accounting and reporting - A global perspective, Hervé Stolowy and Michel Lebas – 3d edition – Cengage Learning EMEA, 2010

Professors

Charles Van Wymeersch - Professor of accounting and finance, Louvain School of Management; member of the board of directors of KBC Group NV, CBC Banque SA and Investsud SA.

MS Electrical Engineering( KULeuven), Master in Economics (UCLouvain), MBA (Jhonson Graduate School of Management, Cornell University, USA), longstanding experience in executive education. More information

Luc Moeremans - Managing Director, Kurt Salmon Consulting (Brussels), formerly with Deloitte&Touche

Luc has over 25 years of consulting and executive experience serving CFOs across a wide range of industrial and services businesses. His experience covers: leading and delivering organizational transformation, performance improvements, large accounting and financial systems implementation and integration, business control and reporting enhancements, M&A and balance sheet restructuring transaction, business planning and financial forecasting,... luc.moeremans@kurtsalmon.com More information

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Course 3: CORPORATE FINANCE

Learning Objectives

This course offers a user perspective to corporate finance, providing an integrated view of the fundamental principles and techniques needed to make value-maximizing decisions.

It emphasises the interaction between three key areas in finance:

  • investment,
  • financing & capital structure,
  • dividend policy.

Teaching Methods

Cases and discussions based on real business life

Assessment

Written Exam

Course Texts

Applied Corporate Finance, Aswath Damodoran, John Wiley & Sons, Inc

Professors

Brigitte Chanoine - Ms. Brigitte Chanoine served as an Observer of Dexia SA since August 2009. She started her professional activities in 1988 as Health and Safety Manger at General Devices (Indianapolis). Since 1990, she has occupied different positions in the Finance Department of the ICHEC, of which she has been the Rector since September 2008. She has been an Independent Director of Dexia SA. As a professor at ICHEC and at the Université Catholique de Louvain, she also provides lessons, training and consulting services for companies. More information

Valérie Kinon - Professor at ICHEC Brussels Management School in Finance Dpt (M&A, valuation, investment decisions, financing alternatives) and in Research in Corporate Finance. valerie.kinon@ichec.be - More information

Etienne Van de Kerkhove - Chief Executive Officer I.R.I.S. Group S.A since June 2000, (listed on Euronext Brussels), an industry leader in Intelligent Document Recognition (IDR) technologies and products, enterprise content management (ECM) solutions and optimized IT infrastructure (ICT).

From May 1999 at the initial public offering (IPO) until May 2000, I was CFO of I.R.I.S. in charge of corporate finance, administration, human resources and IT. More information

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Course 4: MANAGEMENT ACCOUNTING & CONTROL

Learning Objectives

The scope of the course is to look how the strategy of an organization can be implemented in the various functions of an organization (operations, marketing, HR,...) You will focus on the use of cost information for decision-making and management control. It looks at the nature, traceability and behaviour of costs. It develops cost management techniques and presents budgets, variance analysis and reporting tools such as balanced scorecards. The course is based on a mixture of lectures, exercises and small cases.

At the end of the class, students should be able to:

  1. Master the common body of knowledge (theoretical, normative and methodological) of the management control field
  2. have a critical understanding and an ability to use the main analytical methods used in the field
  3. be able to use the various management control tools used in practice in today's organizations

Teaching Methods

Cases and discussions based on real business life

Assessment

Written exam

Course Texts

Cost Accounting, Ch. Horngren, S. Datar, G. FosterbPrentice Hall

Professor

Yves de Rongé – Professor at the Louvain School of Management, UCL and at FUSL (Brussels), PhD in Applied Economics, UCL. Thesis : "Analysis of the Process of Subsidiarization of Multidivisional Companies : Theoretical Approach and Empirical Studies on the Belgian Market". Degree of Master of Business Administration Graduate School of Business, University of Chicago Dean's Honor List - Concentrations in Finance and International Business. More information

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Course 5: GLOBAL ECONOMIC ENVIRONMENT

Learning Objectives

This course outlines the importance of macroeconomic evolutions for the business life and the managerial decision making. In many ways, firms' performance is sensitive to (changes in) their macroeconomic environment. For instance, the evolution of macroeconomic variables (like interest rates, exchange rates and inflation...) influences a company's cash-flow through several channels (costs, sales volume and incomes...). On top of that, the relevance and success of key strategic and operational decisions may be influenced by macro-environmental evolutions.

The main goal of the course is to bring you a better understanding of the global (economic) evolutions that can affect your company and to increase your "macroeconomic literacy", i.e. your "ability to correctly read and interpret the (...) varied macroeconomic signals" that matter for your company life" (quoted terms are from the article of Peter Navaro, ''Principle of the Master Cyclist'', MIT Sloan Management Review, Winter 2004).

During the first two days, the course presents (the determinants of) various key macroeconomic indicators and macro-relationships that managers need to know.

Contrary to typical macroeconomic textbooks that insist on economic models, we will focus on economic intuitions and (rather simple) explicative mechanisms.

The third day deals with a case study: it is a tentative illustration, through Umicore own internationalization and global transformation, of macro economic impacts on a given company business model, structure and agenda.

Teaching Methods

Practical examples and relevant theory.

Assessment

Paper

Course Texts

To be defined

Professors

Jean-François Fagnart - Ph.D. in Economics, Université catholique de Louvain, Professor of Economics in Faculté Universitaires St Louis (Brussels).

As an economist, he specialises on the analysis of macroeconomic dynamics. Recently he has more particularly focused on the impact of environmental constraints on economic growth prospects. He writes in scientific journals. More information

Stephan Csoma - Stephan Csoma is at 47 Senior Vice President Government Affairs at Umicore, a Brussels-based materials technology company with EUR 14.5 billion turnover in 2011 and industrial operations worldwide. Some 14.600 employees are active in 4 business areas: Catalysis, Energy Materials, Performance Materials and Recycling. More information

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