Course Detail (Course Description By Faculty)

In previous accounting/financial analysis courses, you obtained skills important to understanding how a firm tracks its day-to-day operations, how its activities translate into periodic financial statements and how such financial statements may be used to assess the value of a firm. Outside of 'normal' business activities, firms periodically undergo dramatic transformations via acquisitions, divestitures, restructurings, or bankruptcy. This course builds on knowledge acquired from other Booth courses and equips you with tools to build financial models to better understand the financial reporting, tax, and legal implications of structuring complex deals.

This course is essential for investment bankers, consultants, restructuring and turnaround specialists, private equity professionals, corporate development/internal M&A professionals and entrepreneurs who want to have a competitive advantage by understanding how financial reporting, tax and legal considerations affect deal structures.  

You will benefit greatly from this course if you wish to acquire tools to:

• understand the financial reporting, tax/legal implications of structuring complex deals.
• build merger and restructuring models to evaluate various deal structures;
• work for C-level roles (CEO, CFO, SVPs/GMs) and to serve on boards of major corporations as it provides an executive viewpoint on financial reporting and investor messaging implications for significant business investments.

Main topics to be covered include: (1) Financial Reporting and Tax implications of influence and control situations; (2) Financial reporting and Tax Implications of M&A deals; (3) Financial reporting and tax implications for restructuring via sales, spin-offs, and equity carve-outs; (4) Financial reporting implications and Tax implications for distressed firms operating in bankruptcy and emerging from bankruptcy (5) Building Merger Consequences and Restructuring models to evaluate the feasibility of deals.

View a video introduction to the course.

1st Class Assignment is mandatory. It is available here.

 Strict Prerequisites: BUS 30000 - Financial Accounting and any one of the following:

• BUS 30130 - Financial Statement Analysis, BUS 30116 - Accounting and Financial Analysis, BUS 30118 - Taxes & Business Strategy, BUS 30131 - Advanced Financial Analysis and Valuation for Global Firms. I may grant a waiver based on previous work/academic experience–please contact me at hsapra@chicagobooth.edu.
• 1st Class Assignment is mandatory. It is available here.
  
• Recommendations: Proficiency in Excel & Financial Modelling
• Time Commitment: This class is demanding and potentially overwhelming if you are not prepared to dedicate significant amounts of time and energy. Students should expect 8-10 hours of work per week outside of class for pre-class or post-class videos, reading, preparation, and cases.

 

Restrictions

Course handouts and course readings posted on Canvas.

The course grade will be determined by (1) an attendance policy, (2) an in-class midterm exam (3) individual assignments, (4) an M&A modeling group project, and (5) a restructuring modeling group project. The midterm exam will be open notes. The exam, assignments and projects will revolve around recent deals. Cannot be taken pass/fail. Absolutely no auditors. Attendance at first class session is mandatory. See Syllabus for details.

Grades

Restrictions