AFM4101 : Strategic Business Advice
- Offered for Year: 2026/27
- Module Leader(s): Mr Ben Dickson-Green
- Lecturer: Mr Mick Stockhelm-Alderson
- Owning School: Newcastle University Business School
- Teaching Location: Newcastle City Campus
Semesters
Your programme is made up of credits, the total differs on programme to programme.
| Semester 1 Credit Value: | 10 |
| Semester 2 Credit Value: | 10 |
| ECTS Credits: | 10.0 |
| European Credit Transfer System | |
Aims
This module focuses on building the ability of students to generate and articulate appropriate, justified advice in the context of strategic business decision-making. Students will be expected to make and justify key recommendations for given organisations. These recommendations will include financial analysis, such as business valuation, investment appraisal and business performance analysis. The course will also require strategic analysis, with students having to analyse and make recommendations relating to corporate strategy. The aim of this module is to encourage students to not only provide sensible advice to businesses, but to consider their proposals from the perspective of both management and investors.
Outline Of Syllabus
- Relevant aspects of investment appraisal
- Relevant aspects of business valuation theories
- Business financing theory
- Relevant aspects of financial statement analysis
- Relevant aspects of strategic analysis
Students will make use of technical content from previous years to help create an overall strategic recommendation for a given organisation.
Teaching Methods
Teaching Activities
| Category | Activity | Number | Length | Student Hours | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scheduled Learning And Teaching Activities | Lecture | 13 | 2:00 | 26:00 | 6 lectures per semester |
| Scheduled Learning And Teaching Activities | Small group teaching | 6 | 1:00 | 6:00 | N/A |
| Scheduled Learning And Teaching Activities | Drop-in/surgery | 2 | 1:00 | 2:00 | N/A |
| Guided Independent Study | Independent study | 165 | 1:00 | 165:00 | Question practice, skills practice |
| Scheduled Learning And Teaching Activities | Module talk | 1 | 1:00 | 1:00 | 1 module talk in semester 1 for whole cohort |
| Total | 200:00 |
Teaching Rationale And Relationship
Lecture materials are used to explain the issues, and to introduce theory, concepts and techniques. Students will have the opportunity to develop their understanding and judge their progress.
Small group teaching is used to share understanding and practice at key phases of the course. These will primarily be used to undertake regular work with students to help them practice application of the core theoretical models to case-study style application.
Assessment Methods
The format of resits will be determined by the Board of Examiners
Exams
| Description | Length | Semester | When Set | Percentage | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Written Examination | 180 | 2 | A | 100 | Final examination, based around a pre-seen case study of information common to AFM4102 |
Formative Assessments
Formative Assessment is an assessment which develops your skills in being assessed, allows for you to receive feedback, and prepares you for being assessed. However, it does not count to your final mark.
| Description | Semester | When Set | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Written Examination | 1 | M | 1.5 hour case based on semester 1 material only |
| Written Examination | 2 | M | 3 hour mock case based on semester 1 & 2 |
Assessment Rationale And Relationship
The module is assessed by a written exam in semester 2 which is designed to test students’ skills of discussion, analysis, evaluation and professional judgement. The exam will be based on a pre-seen element that students can spend time analysing (released around 2 weeks before the actual exam), with further unseen impact information being released as part of the final exam. This provides an important bridge between students’ previous studies and their future educational needs, as well as developing their critical thinking and ability to make sensible recommendations in a business context. This is also consistent with the learning outcomes for the module which are concerned with applying relevant knowledge to an organisation based on its circumstances.
Reading Lists
Timetable
- Timetable Website: www.ncl.ac.uk/timetable/
- AFM4101's Timetable