Global Financial Management is at the heart of navigating today’s interconnected global economy. This field examines how businesses operate in an international financial environment, focusing on topics such as foreign exchange markets, cross-border investment decisions, global risk management, and capital sourcing. As companies increasingly expand their operations and investments across borders, understanding international finance is crucial for ensuring sustainability and growth. From evaluating currency fluctuations to managing geopolitical risks, CEOs must be adept at balancing opportunities and challenges within a complex and ever-changing financial landscape.

While finance and strategy share common goals of driving business success, their priorities can sometimes diverge. Finance often emphasizes quantitative measures like cost control, liquidity, and return on investment, whereas strategy focuses on qualitative aspects such as competitive positioning, market entry, and long-term growth. This course highlights the tensions and synergies between these perspectives, equipping CEOs with the tools to align financial decisions with strategic goals. By bridging the gap between financial discipline and strategic vision, participants will learn to make informed decisions that optimize both short-term performance and long-term resilience in a competitive global market.

The course covers topics such as:

• Foreign Exchange Risk and Hedging (Sessions 1-5)
• International Capital Budgeting & Cost of Capital (Sessions 6-7)
• International Strategic Finance (Session 8)
• International Finance Practice (Session 10

During the course, students 

• gain an understanding of the financial risks and opportunities of a global firm  

• acquire a theoretical and conceptual knowledge in international financial management, 

• gain a systematic understanding of financial risk management techniques,  

• become knowledgeable about hedging instruments,
• develop expertise in evaluating cross-border investment opportunities using advanced capital budgeting techniques,
• integrate strategic finance concepts and understand their relevance to achieving long-term corporate goals in a global context, and

• utilize theoretical knowledge to analyze and solve case studies dealing with financial decision problems in global firms 

Attendance of at least 80% of total class time is required to get a passing grade of the course. 

The course is taught in a blended format using a combination of class meetings and attached individual pre- and post-course digital learning phases. It will make use of a variety of teaching material (e.g. Power Point slides, textbooks, videos, podcasts, articles from academic journals and the business press, cases, exercises). Due to its workload, a significant part of the course consists of a student’s individual study of the relevant pre-course preparatory material and mastering of assignments before and after the meetings in class. Preparing case studies and other compulsory material before class is important to enable effective work and progress during this intensive class. In-class multiple-choice quizzes will take place. To participate in these quizzes you need a device (e.g. smartphone, tablet, laptop) that can be connected to the CANVAS platform https://learn.wu.ac.at. Students are expected to participate actively in class. Therefore, attendance of at least 80% of total class time is required to get a passing grade of the course. Assignments missed due to missed classes cannot be compensated. In case of illness/injury preventing a student from participating, a medical certificate is required as documentary evidence.

• attendance (min. 80% of classes) 

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• online assignments (45% weight) 

• in-person final exam (55% weight)

An additional bonus (max. 10%) for continued and expectional class participation will be granted. 

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Basics in Corporate Finance

Edith Littich, edith.littich@wu,ac,at