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The Open University

Organisations and the financial system

The Open University via OpenLearn

Overview

Learn about the main types of financial resources available to organisations, how these funds can be used to start up a new business or sustain day-to-day operations, as well as develop long-term expansion plans. This free course, Organisations and the financial system, introduces the key operational and decisional features of the process of business financing and also considers organisations’ specific structures and goals.Transcript

Syllabus

  • Introduction
  • Learning outcomes
  • 1 An overview of financing Small and Medium Enterprises
  • 1 An overview of financing Small and Medium Enterprises
  • 1.1 Key sources of finance for business organisations
  • 1.2 Internal sources of finance
  • Debt factoring
  • Invoice discounting
  • Working capital management
  • Retained earnings
  • 1.3 External sources of finance
  • Bank finance
  • 2 Alternative funding sources for Small and Medium Enterprises
  • 2 Alternative funding sources for Small and Medium Enterprises
  • 2.1 Crowdfunding
  • 2.2 Peer-to-peer lending
  • 2.3 Business angels
  • 2.4 Venture capital
  • 2.5 A comparative view of different sources of finance
  • 3 Company financing: stock and bond issuance
  • 3 Company financing: stock and bond issuance
  • 3.1 The stock and bond markets
  • 3.2 Stock issuance
  • Issuing shares in practice
  • Initial public offerings
  • 3.3 Bond issuance
  • The mechanics of bonds
  • The secondary market for bonds
  • 3.4 A bird’s-eye view on public-sector financing
  • 4 Decision making in the process of business financing
  • 4 Decision making in the process of business financing
  • 4.1 Financial resources and the main categories of expenditure
  • 4.2 External growth strategies: mergers and acquisitions
  • Financing mergers and acquisitions
  • 4.3 Paying back shareholders: dividend distribution and share repurchase
  • 4.4 Decision making in practice: a scenario-based adventure
  • 5 End-of-course quiz
  • 5 End-of-course quiz
  • Conclusion
  • References
  • Acknowledgements

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