Programme Summary

Part	Semester	Module Code	Module Name	Credits
I	I	CAC 1110 CBA1104 CIN1109 CIN1106 CFI 1102 CBU1108	Accounting and Financial Analysis IA Principles of Microeconomics Commercial Law Quantitative Analysis for Business I Financial Mathematics Principles of Management	12 12 12 12 12 12
Total Credits Year I Semester I				72
I	II	CFI1202 CFI1203 CBA 1205 CIN1207 CBU1208	Introduction to Information Technology and Programming (Practical) Financial Markets and Regulation Principles of Macroeconomics Quantitative Analysis for Business II Principles of Marketing	12 12 12 12 12
Total Credits Year I Semester II				60
Total Credits Year I				132
II	I	CFI2101 CFI2107 CAC 2110 CFI2118 CFI 2111 CFS2105	Corporate Finance I Introduction to Financial Computing (Practical) Accounting and Financial Analysis IIA Corporate Law and Practice Microfinance and Entrepreneurial Development Tax Law and Practice I	12 12 12 12 12 12
Total Credits Year II Semester I				72
II	II	CFI2201 CFI2205 CFI2207 CAC 2210 CFS2205	Corporate Finance II Research Methods in Finance and Economics (Practical) Financial Information Systems (Practical) Accounting and Financial Analysis IIB Public Finance and Economics	12 12 12 12 12
Total Credits Year II Semester II				60
Total Credits Year II				132
III	I & II	CFI3001	Industrial Attachment	120
Total Credits Year III				120
IV	I	CFI4108 CFI4103 CFI4109 CFI4110 CFI4107	International Finance Institutional Investment Analysis Financial Econometrics and Data Analysis Financial Engineering and Asset Pricing Corporate Governance and Ethical Standards	12 12 12 12 12
			Year IV Semester I Total Credits	60
IV	II	CFI 4201 CFI4202 CFI4205 CFI4206 CFI4209 CFI4006	Corporate Financial Strategy and Restructuring Institutional Investment Management Real Estate Investment and Finance Financial Modelling (Practical) Risk Analysis and Management Research Project	12 12 12 12 12 24
Year IV Semester II Total Credits				84
Total Credits Part IV				144
Overall Credits for the Programme				540

 

COURSE SYNOPSIS

CAC 1110 Introduction to Financial Accounting IA                                                             12 Credits

This module introduces basic financial accounting principles for a business and presumes no previous Finance and Accounting knowledge. Upon completion, students should be able to gather financial information and to demonstrate an understanding of accounting principles and apply those skills to a business organization. Module should cover techniques of identifying and describing information sources that financial analysts use in financial statement analysis besides annual financial statements and supplementary information and the steps in the financial statement analysis framework.  Topics include the complete accounting cycle, accounts hierarchy (account classes, account groups, subsidiary accounts); journal entries related to sales, purchases, collections, payments, and expenses; posting; accounting of value added tax; payroll accounting; accounting of current assets; trial balance, preparation of financial statements for different types of business entities, and closing/opening entries; petty cash and various types of reconciliation statement analyses.

 

CBA 1104 Principles of Microeconomics                                                                                 12 Credits

The course provides a basic foundation for the subject matter of Economics to enable students to prepare themselves to use the concept of rationality to analysing behaviour at a micro level. The course includes: Definitions of Economics, Evaluation and Development of Socio-Economic systems, Factor Prices, Pricing and Production Certainty and Uncertainty in Economic theory, Markets and Economic Decision-making.

 

CIN 1109 Commercial Law                                                                                               12 Credits

The module introduces students to the basic legal principles governing the business environment. Focus will be placed on definition of contracts, requirements of a contract, breach of a contract, remedies for breach of contracts, law of agency, contract of sale, law of business organisations and insurance contract.

 

CIN 1106 Quantitative Analysis for Business I                                                                   12 Credits

The module introduces students to the mathematical tools relevant for application to the business environment. Students will be expected to recognise the value of quantitative methods in analysing data and interpreting it in order to make relevant business decisions.

 

CBU 1108 Principles of Management                                                                                12 Credits

History and development of management thought, functions of management, organisational structures, decision making, communication, centralisation and decentralisation, delegation, leadership and motivation, controlling budgeting and non-budgetary controls.

 

CFI 1102 Financial Mathematics                                                                                       12 Credits

The module is an introduction to basic concepts of quantitative finance upon which cash flow-based valuation models of finance are built. In particular, the module explores time value concepts in finance, equations of value, loan amortization and sinking fund problems, money market instruments and different yield measures, bond valuation and bond yield analysis, bond risk analysis and immunization, and the mathematics of portfolio theory. The module seeks to develop student skills in the application of discounted cash flow techniques and other mathematical techniques to investment analysis, portfolio optimization, and capital asset pricing. ‘A’ Level mathematics is an important pre-requisite for a good understanding of financial mathematics. Mathematics areas of particular interest are differential calculus, progressions, binomial and Taylor expansions, numerical methods and logarithms.

 

CBA 1205 Principles of Macroeconomics                                                                             12 Credits

Having done Principles of Micro Economics, it is a well-known fact that what is true with regard to individual parts of the whole may not be true with the whole. Principles of Macro Economics builds on Principles of Micro Economics. It seeks to introduce students on how economic aggregates such as national income, investment, savings, taxation, imports, exports, government expenditure, fiscal and monetary policies, employment/unemployment and inflation are related to micro economic behaviour. Emphasis is put on the definition; measurement and inter linkages of these so that students can be prepared for more advanced policy formulation and implementation.

 

CFI 1202 Introduction to Information Technology and Programming                                     12 Credits

The module provides a brief overview of the discipline of computer science and information technology topics including computer architecture, operation systems and networks, automata and models of computation, programming languages and compilers, algorithms, databases, security and information assurance, artificial intelligence, graphics, and social/ethical issues of computing. This module also provides an introduction to computer programming using the Python programming language, which covers basic procedural techniques such as variables, data types, selection, iteration, and functions. It will also introduce students to object-oriented programming. It also looks at various general programming concepts, such as algorithm design and debugging. By the end of the course, students should be able to construct a moderately-sized Python program.

 

CAC 1204 Accounting and Financial Analysis IB                                                                12 Credits

The module builds on the foundation laid in Accounting and Financial Analysis IA. Emphasis is on analysing, summarizing, reporting, and interpreting financial information. Upon completion, students should be able to prepare, analyse and interpret financial statements. The objective of the module is to provide students with hands-on experience in financial statement analysis. Students will be exposed to general tools of financial analysis, theoretical concepts, and practical valuation issues. By the end of the module, students should be comfortable with using firms' financial statements to develop an understanding of their performance and to establish a basis for making reasonable valuation estimates. Students will be introduced to financial packages that are used in analysing financial statements and decision-making.

 

CFI 1203 Financial Markets and Regulation                                                                       12 Credits

The module gives an overview of the characteristics of financial markets, including their structure and organization. Its aim is to provide a thorough understanding of both the mechanics and the operations of financial markets, whilst paying particular attention to the trading and evaluation of securities in equity and bond markets. It also covers a study of the structural features of debt markets, credit analysis for corporate bonds, term structure analysis of interest rates and bond valuation, assessing sources of risk for debt portfolios, including the role of duration and convexity in evaluating the effects of interest rate changes. This module will address the institutional and regulatory framework for capital markets and the role that financial institutions such as banks, bank holding companies, investment banks, and investment funds perform in these markets. The role of government regulation and its effects on financial innovation are analysed.  The module will also analyse those elements of financial markets that set it aside from other regulated sectors in the economy. Upon completion of the course, participants should be able to demonstrate an understanding of recent developments in the theories and practices of financial sector regulation.

 

CIN 1207 Quantitative Analysis for Business II                                                                    12 Credits

This module seeks to introduce students to the application of quantitative methods to the business environment. Students will be expected to grasp mathematical tools which are used for analysing data and to be able to accurately interpret it and apply them in decision making.

 

 

 

CFI 2101 Corporate Finance I                                                                                            12 Credits

The aim of the module is to identify the objective that corporate finance managers pursue or ought to pursue in order to satisfy the needs of corporate stakeholders and to develop, in students, concepts and corporate analytical tools that will enable them to meet this objective.  To this end, the course will cover the following critical areas: goals of a firm and the agency theory; time value concepts and valuation of bonds and shares; capital budgeting under certainty; operating and financial leverage; introduction to portfolio theory and capital asset pricing; the stock market and other sources of long-term capital; innovations in corporate finance.

 

CFI 2107 Introduction to Financial Computing                                                                   12 Credits

Financial Computing comprises both Computational Finance (algorithmic trading, risk management, market simulation and portfolio optimisation) and Financial IT (financial software engineering, cloud computing, GPU and scalable high-performance computing). The module aims to provide students considering careers in Finance and Investment (such as Analysts, Traders) with an in-depth understanding of financial services and significant computing and statistical skills. Content will include: Financial Instruments, Financial Software Systems and IT used in the Financial Industry. The module will contain a basic practical element involving financial modelling and the use of software packages common to the Financial Services industry. Specific areas covered are: Time value of money; Bonds, mortgages, and annuities; Duration, convexity, and immunization; Yield curve, forward rate, and spot rate; Option pricing; Derivatives basics; The random walks; stochastic calculus, and Ito integral; Risk-neutral valuation; Risk management; Fixed-income securities with embedded options and interest rate derivatives; Mortgage-backed securities (MBS); Numerical methods; Monte Carlo methods;; Least-squares technique; Solving partial differential equations; Yield curve fitting; GARCH models; Interest rate models and calibration.

 

CAC 2110 Accounting and Financial Analysis IIA                                                               12 Credits

This module is a continuation of the study of accounting principles with in-depth coverage of theoretical concepts and financial statements. Topics include comparison of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles and extensive analyses of financial statements. Upon completion, students should be able to demonstrate competence in the conceptual framework underlying financial accounting, including the application of financial standards. The course will give students the tools to perform a fundamental analysis of a company. Focus will be on developing these skills for assessing quality of financial statements, potential accounting distortions, recasting financial statements, DuPont framework, cash flow analysis, prospective analysis, using accounting numbers in forecasting, forecasting for valuation, and investor communication. Students must understand the effects of alternative financial reporting policies on financial statements and ratios and be able to execute appropriate adjustments to enhance comparability between companies. In addition, students must be alert to differences between a company’s reported financial statements and economic reality.

           

CFI 2110 Corporate Law and Practice                                                                               12 Credits

The module introduces students to the legal environment and statutes that affects the operation of companies and other corporate bodies. Students are guided to understand the process of company formation and the characteristics of different types of companies, including private companies, public companies, companies limited by guarantee, cooperative companies and statutory corporations. An overview of the purpose and practices of the Companies Registrar’s Office that confronts financial practitioners in today’s environment is explored. Students get an opportunity to understand the constitutions of companies that include the memorandum and articles of association; Legal principles that affect the raising company capital, through issuing new shares and allotment and other types of redeemable securities, including share transfers, protections offered to minority shareholders, the purpose a practice of judicial management, reconstruction of and the winding up of companies; the types of meetings, resolutions, notices, proxies, quorum and minutes of meetings, that include the general meetings and the meetings of the boards of directors; the election of directors, rotation, and the role, rights and duties and liabilities of directors and the board chairperson; the appointment to office, rights and duties and the vacation from office of the company secretary; the purpose and conducting of board meetings, composition, roles, procedures and the delegation of authority to committees. The concept of company membership and the rights and duties of members is explored; the role, appointment and removal of auditors of the company; the generation of annual reports, retention or records, statutory registers and filing with the Registrar of Companies.

 

CFI 2109   Microfinance and Entrepreneurial Development                                                  12 Credits

The module aims to enlighten broad understanding of the major issues in microfinance practices and development, with special emphasis on small scale businesses and entrepreneurial development.  Africa’s future development hinges to a large extent on the effective harnessing of the potentials in the informal sector and the myriad of informal institutions that dot the landscape in many of these economies. Given the sizeable number of people engaged in SMEs in Zimbabwe who lack access to financial services, a thorough understanding of the sustainability and growth of these institutions is germane to the growth issue in many developing countries. This multi-faceted course explores the core aspects of entrepreneurial and small business development including value-add partnerships, technical assistance programs, financing, business incubation and more. Thus, this course will identify, explain and discuss the role of microfinance institutions in socio-economic development, review how these institutions are regulated and unravel some of the myths that have dogged their operations for many decades with a view to unveiling their potentials for growth and development in many developing countries. Proposed Topics include: The Nature of Microfinance and Development; Informal Microfinance Institutions and Markets and Informal Finance; Microfinance for Small Scale Enterprises; Institutional Self Sufficiency, Leverage and Outreach; The design of financial programmes for the poor; Measuring Impact and Financial and Social Performance; Microfinance Commercialization and Regulation; Role of Microfinance in Socio-Economic Development; Microfinance in a Global context and the future of the microfinance industry.

 

CFS2101 Tax Law and Practice I                                                                                       12 Credits

The module introduces students to taxation and the tax system in Zimbabwe by covering topics that include an introduction to and current trends in the tax system in Zimbabwe. The concepts of and the difference between tax avoidance and tax evasion is explored. The sources of tax law, including an appreciation of the role of statutes, case law in Zimbabwe’s tax system and the practices of the Commissioner of Taxes. The principle of gross income and the sources of income and the taxation of fringe and other benefits are explored in detail. Students get an appreciation of the concepts of exempt income, deductions from income, capital allowances and an appreciation of the final deduction system and NSSA contributions. The calculation of income tax liability for individuals and credits that accrue to them from employment and simple types of business that include sole traders, partnerships, farming income and an introduction to the taxation of business income principles of capital gains taxes is covered. The course also gives an overview of the role and appreciation of taxation in personal financial management.

 

CFI 2201 Corporate Finance II                                                                                           12 Credits

The aim of the module is to develop further, in students, concepts and corporate financial analytical tools. The areas covered will include the following: Introduction to capital structure theory and practice; Cost of capital and valuation; Introduction to capital budgeting under uncertainty; Dividend policy theory and practice; corporate working capital management; and innovations in corporate finance.

 

CFI 2208 Research Methods                                                                                                 12 Credits

The objective is to provide treatment of research methods and simple statistical application that will enable students to carry out sound research projects. The module enables students to do applied research by introducing students to empirical methods in finance and economics.  It introduces statistical techniques used in the analysis of economic and financial data. Topics covered include: descriptive statistics, probability distributions, sampling and sampling distributions, point estimation and interval estimation, hypothesis testing, regression analysis, time-series analysis, elementary discussion of multicollinearity, autocorrelation, heteroscedasticity and principles of modelling. It also includes empirical techniques with specific emphasis on multivariate and nonlinear methods, event-studies; asset prices mean variance estimation techniques and other topics in behavioural finance.

 

 

 

CFI 2207 Financial Information Systems                                                                           12 Credits

The module provides instruction in the impact and use of information technology in the financial services sector, including exposure to and experience with different kinds of financial services software applications. Upon successful completion of the module, students will understand information technology’s impact on the financial industry and markets; have knowledge of the leading-edge applications of information technology in financial services firms; understand financial automation and how industry continues to be altered by telecommunications and information systems; be able to implement computer-based financial analysis and apply financial models to solve problems; understand how to use financial decision support software; have knowledge of specific classes of financial information systems such as electronic communication networks (ECNs) and multilateral auction systems, trader workstations, fund transfer networks and back office systems; and be able to apply the knowledge and understanding they have gained in real-world financial service contexts. It focuses on payment products and financial markets, their key systems, how they evolved and where might they be going, algorithmic trading, market structure dark, liquidity and electronic markets. Straight through processing, risk management and industry consolidation and convergence will be viewed in light of current events.

 

CAC 2210 Accounting and Financial Analysis IIB                                                               12 Credits

The module examines concepts; conventions, standards, issues, the regulatory regime and, the reasons and progress towards harmonization of the preparation of Financial Statements and the Analysis of the Financial Statements prepared on these bases. Emphasis is on special problems which may include leases, bonds, investments, ratio analyses, present value applications, accounting changes, and corrections. Upon completion, students should be able to demonstrate an understanding of principles involved and display an analytical problem-solving ability for the topics covered. Accounting computer problems involving preparation and completion of spreadsheets are integrated throughout the course. Areas to be covered include financial reporting quality and application of financial statement analysis to debt and equity investments. Frequently used tools and techniques for evaluating companies include common-size analysis, cross-sectional analysis, trend analysis, and ratio analysis. Beyond mere knowledge of these tools and techniques, however, the student must recognize the implications of accounting choices on the quality of a company’s reported financial results. Then the student can apply financial analysis techniques to tasks such as the evaluation of past and future financial performance, credit analysis, the screening of potential equity investments, and other emerging needs.

 

CFS 2207 Public Finance and Economics                                                                          12 Credits

The module is meant to enable students to have a deeper understanding of the operations of public finance from the theoretical and practical point of view. It commences by looking at the nature and scope of public finance, theory of public goods, welfare theories and proceeds to consider the financial and economic role of the government. It also examines the scope and control of public expenditure, the main methods of diverting resources from private to public use by way of taxation, financial and macroeconomic problems, financial and macro-economic policies, and sources of finance/revenue. Because of the prominence of taxation as a source of public revenue, the module provides students with a conceptual framework for examining government taxing so as to analyse current tax policy and provide proposals for reform. The focus will be on evaluating the impact of taxation on the allocation of resources and the distribution of income.

 

CFI 3001 Industrial Attachment                                                                                        120 Credits

Work-related activities consisting continuous assessment, academic supervision and evaluation culminating in submission of a final year report which is an equivalence of an industry-oriented research activities dissertation.

 

CFI 4108 International Finance                                                                                         12 Credits

The course seeks to introduce students to international financial decision making regarding investment, financing, and risk management. Students are guided to an understanding of drivers of foreign direct investment, incorporating international investment in corporate strategy development, managing political and country risk in foreign investment, designing a global financing strategy that minimizes costs and risks, foreign exchange markets, foreign exchange parity conditions, and foreign exchange rate forecasting. The course also equips students with tools for multinational capital budgeting and investment analysis, as well as foreign exchange risk management. Students are further introduced to multinational working capital management as an extension of domestic working capital management.

 

CFI 4103 Institutional Investment Analysis                                                                        12 Credits

This course is designed to evaluate, describe and make recommendations on various investments for both private and institutional investors within the context of available investment vehicles in the investment markets. The emphasis will be on the development of analytical skills and expertise required in carrying out the country, company and securities analysis in order to arrive at informed institutional investment decisions. Various investment analysis techniques encompassing investment mathematics and statistics will be utilized in order to avail robust information crucial for making sound institutional investment decisions.

 

CFI 4109 Financial Econometrics and Data Analysis                                                           12 Credits

The module provides an introduction to econometric techniques used in the analysis of financial data. Topics include: Statistical Properties of Financial Returns Matrix Algebra, Regression and Applications in Finance, Maximum Likelihood Estimation, Univariate Time Series and Applications to Finance, Modelling Volatility – Conditional Heteroscedastic Models, Modelling Volatility and Correlations – Multivariate GARCH Models, Vector Autoregressive Models, Limited Dependent Variable Models. Further, this course will discuss apply statistical techniques that are particularly well suited for analysing financial data. Candidates should be able to collect, analyse, and interpret data relevant to decision-making, identify and interpret trends, use excel spreadsheets to calculate statistical measures and interpret excel outputs, apply relevant statistical techniques to solve the underlying problems/issues, and report on statistical findings.

 

CFI 4110 Financial Engineering and Asset Pricing                                                             12 Credits

This course, which is a follow up to Financial Mathematics and Quantitative Corporate Finance I and II, examines, in greater detail, the concepts, issues and practical limitations in the valuations of both financial and real assets, in order to empower students to make decisions that optimize the needs of corporate stakeholders. Topics covered will include: Efficient market hypothesis, Capital asset pricing model, Capital market theory; Arbitrage pricing theory, Option pricing theory, Capital budgeting under uncertainty and existence of real options and Business valuations. The course aims to give a pragmatic and applied approach to statistical techniques relevant to modern financial analysis. Students will also study the fundamentals of financial innovation in quantitative finance. This will involve the ability to explore and use financial instruments to restructure an existing profile into one having more desirable properties. It enables students to appreciate the need to restructure financial instruments through mathematical analysis so as to keep pace with dynamic financial systems. Topics covered include: major valuation techniques in a variety of contexts including arbitrage pricing, interest rate futures, forward rate agreements (FRAs), bond and stock Index futures, swaps, equity option, currency option, fixed income and other exotic derivatives, structured finance and other fundamentals of innovation in quantitative finance.

 

CFI4107 Corporate Governance and Ethics                                                                       12 Credits

The course seeks to develop in students a firm understanding of the basics of Corporate Governance by getting insights into different corporate governance systems. It includes issues relating to fiduciary duties, risk oversight, audits, internal controls and crisis management. In addition, it focuses on ethical issues, mainly the ability to identify and deal with ethical dilemmas and unethical practices in business

 

CF1 4201 Corporate Financial Strategy and Restructuring                                                    12 Credits

The aim of the course is to develop, in students, corporate financial strategies which should allow them to continuously manage firms in a manner that is both value additive and market competitive. The areas covered will include: Capital structure and financial strategy, Financial engineering involving synthetic corporate security issues: Leasing finance, Term structure of interest rate theory and corporate interest rate risk management options; Incentives, information and corporate control (to include: Agency problem, information asymmetry). Mergers and acquisitions, Business valuations); Financial distress and financial restructuring (to include sell offs, spin offs, equity carve outs, ownership restructuring, debt equity swaps etc.)

 

CFI 4203 Institutional Investment Management                                                                    12 Credits

This course will enable the students to gain a broad understanding of the theory and practice of institutional investment to equip them to undertake the management of funds for institutional clients. The course will elucidate on the characteristics of the principal Zimbabwe and global managed investing institutions and their investment objectives including ethical and environmental considerations, the matters of statutory and non-statutory regulations concerning the practice of fund management and fund manager.

 

CFI 4205 Real Estate Investment and Finance                                                                     12 Credits

This course looks at how various investors in property or real estate put money into the asset. The major focus will be on the property markets, the returns obtainable, property performance measurement, securitisation, refurbishment, rehabilitation and redevelopment, risk peculiar to property and valuation. This course will also give prominence to global property markets, and the impact of globalization on global property returns. Further this course is intended to impart deeper knowledge about sources of property development finance. In pursuance of this goal, special attention will be given to the two main property finance branches of Corporate Finance and Project Finance. Shares issues, Loan stocks, debt finance, Lease finance and short-term finance will be examined under corporate funding while partnerships, unitization, securitization, finance matrix will be dealt with under project finance. The use of derivatives in property finance, multi-option facilities, recourse loans, non-recourse and limited recourse, joint ventures will be explored in this course.

 

CFI 4206 Financial Modelling                                                                                            12 Credits

This is purely a practical module, which involves the use of computer packages to model data and challenges in finance, investment and economics. It covers Corporate Finance Models (such as Financial Statement Modelling, Operating Budgets, Capital Budget, Covariance, Beta estimation, Value at Risk, Event studies), Option, Pricing Models, Sensitivity Analysis, Scenario Analysis, and Computer Simulations and other fundamental innovations.

 

CFI 4209 Risk Analysis and Management                                                                          12 Credits

The aim of the subject is to introduce the students to modern techniques of analysing and identifying financial risk. Areas to be covered will include: Sources of financial risk, Value at Risk (VaR) techniques, Mean-variance analysis, Bond duration, Convexity and dispersion, Utility index models, Simulation, Stress testing i.e. mechanical approaches to stressing testing, Credit risk analysis and Liquidity risk analysis. The module will also look at the use of models to hedge risk exposures, creation of instruments to enable investors to transfer risk, enhance liquidity; and the arbitraging process. At the core of this will be derivatives which will encompass: Options, Forwards, Futures, and Swaps etc. It will also include: Decision making, Portfolio selection, Credit risk, Liquidity risk, Legal risk and Operational risk management and Bond immunization, emerging issues in risk management.  The module will also look at the use of models to hedge risk exposures, creation of instruments to enable investors to transfer risk, enhance liquidity; and the arbitraging process. At the core of this will be derivatives which will encompass: Options, Forwards, Futures, and Swaps etc. It will also include: Decision making, Portfolio selection, Credit risk, Liquidity risk, Legal risk and Operational risk management and Bond immunisation.

 

CFI 4006 Research Project                                                                                              24 Credits

The project is meant to give students an opportunity to apply the knowledge gained over the period. Students undertake research in an area of their choice but limited to the taught courses in liaison with their supervisors to produce a project which has practical applications/solutions.