***NOTE: THIS COURSE DESCRIPTION IS FROM PAST SEMESTER (SPRING 05), AND REPRESENTS OUR MOST CURRENT VERSION FROM SARAH TASKER. WE WILL UPDATE THIS COURSE DESCRIPTION IF WE RECEIVE A NEWER VERSION.***

COURSE NUMBER: MBA237.3

COURSE TITLE: Financial Modeling

UNITS OF CREDIT: 2

INSTRUCTOR: Sarah Tasker

E-MAIL ADDRESS: tasker@haas.berkeley.edu

CLASS FORMAT: In-class modeling exercises with some lecture and discussion

MEETING DAY(S)/TIME: Monday 2:00 pm - 4:00 pm

PREREQUISITE(S): MBA202A, MBA 203

REQUIRED READINGS: None

BASIS FOR FINAL GRADE:
In-class modeling exercises, Quizzes, Class participation

ABSTRACT OF COURSE'S CONTENT AND OBJECTIVES:  Financial modeling is the art and science of constructing spreadsheet models of firms' future financial statements.  In this class, we build increasingly sophisticated models reflecting varying assumptions about firms' operating and financial policies, and then use these models for valuation and the analysis of LBO and M&A transactions.  Students heading towards careers in investment banking, commercial banking, corporate finance, project finance and management consulting have all found this course helpful.  (Please note that students are required to bring a laptop computer to class.)


BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH:
Sarah Tasker has taught Financial Modeling at Cornell University's Johnson Graduate School of Management and as part of SG Cowen's Investment Banking Associate Training Program.  She won the Apple Teaching Award in 1999 at Cornell and the Cheit Award for Excellence in Teaching at Haas in 2001.  She received her BS in Physics and Humanities from MIT in 1988, her MS in Accounting from Northeastern University in 1990, her PhD in Management from MIT in 1997, and was an associate in the audit practice at Coopers & Lybrand from 1990 to 1992.