ØABED4400 Corporate Governance Course description

The course provides a comprehensive overview on corporate governance theory and practice, covering topics such as ownership and control, boards of directors, managerial incentives, corporate social responsibility and sustainable finance. 

Language of instruction is English.

Applied Statistical Methods and Corporate Finance.

The following coursework requirements must be approved in order for the student to take the exam:

• Coursework 1: Individual reflection note (1 page) of a given theme, or of a guest lecture.
• Coursework 2: Completion of one written assignment (up to 6 pages). The coursework  will be carried out in groups of four students, comprising different nationalities if possible. 
• Coursework 3: Presentation in class, of a research article, book chapter, or business case (approx.  20 to 25 minutes), carried out in groups of four students comprising  comprising different nationalities if possible. 

All required coursework must be completed and approved by the given deadline in order for the student to take the exam. If one or more coursework requirements have not been approved, the student will be given one opportunity to submit an improved version within a given deadline. 

After completing the course, students will acquired the learning outcomes defined in knowledge, skills and general competence:

Knowledge

The student has

• in-depth knowledge of what a corporate governance problem is and how it can be discovered and handled
• an overview of the main theoretical and empirical evidence concerning corporate governance issues

Skills

The student is capable of

• applying relevant techniques, statistical methods and data sources in different investigations as an integrated part of theoretical and empirical discussions
• analyzing a company's corporate governance guideline and proxy statements and writing a basic corporate governance analysis report

General competence

The student is able to 

• reflect on the financial and ethical implications of corporate decisions
• critically appraise and apply corporate governance principles and best practices in risk management for an organization

Lectures  / tutorials / group discussions / exercises / case analyses 

The following aids are permitted: 

• One dictionary (Native language - English/English - native language or English-English).

The exam in the course consists of two parts: 

1) A supervised exam of 2 hours. 

The supervised exam counts for 50% of the final grade.

2) A group project/course paper. 

For the group project, the students are expected to work with a group of 2-3 students and write a literature review of 1-2 pages and a corporate governance report of 5-10 pages. 

The course paper counts for 50% of the final grade. 

Both exams must be passed in order to pass the course.  

If a student has to resit the exam, the student can retake each part separately. It is not necessary to take both parts.

The following aids are permitted at the school exam:

• Calculator (see regulations for the use of calculators in the programme description)
• One dictionary (either first language-English/English-first language or English/English).

The following aids are permitted at the group project:

All aids are permitted, as long as the rules for source referencing are complied with.

The exam papers are assessed by one internal and one external examiner.

At least 25% of the exam papers will be assessed by two examiners. The grades awarded for the papers assessed by two examiners form the basis for determining the level for all the exam papers.

Anita E. Tobiassen 

Business strategy and Marketing at a bachelor Level