COURSE NUMBER: EWMBA 227B-1, this class is cross-listed.

COURSE TITLE: Taxes and Firm Strategy

UNITS OF CREDIT: 3 Units

INSTRUCTOR: Suneel Udpa

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

CLASS WEB PAGE LOCATION (HTTP URL): Catalyst

MEETING DAY(S)/TIME: Mondays, 6:00 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.

PREREQUISITE(S): MBA 202 (Accounting)

CLASS FORMAT: Lecture, problem solving and case analysis

REQUIRED READINGS: Textbook, casebook

BASIS FOR FINAL GRADE:
15% Class Participation
20% Case Analysis
25% Midterm (Take-home)
40% Final (in-class)

ABSTRACT OF COURSE'S CONTENT AND OBJECTIVES:FACULTY VIDEO
This course is appropriate for students interested in investment banking, corporate finance, mergers and acquisitions, and strategy consulting. The aim of this class is not to turn you into tax specialists. We will not focus on the myriad details and exceptions to the tax law.

The broad objective of this course is to provide you with a framework of how taxes affect business activities - financing, investing, and operating. You will learn to identify and exploit tax-planning opportunities, integrate tax strategy into corporate decision-making and structure various transactions to optimize after-tax cash flows.

Topics:
Compensation:
Stock options, deferred compensation, fringe benefits, and pensions

Organizational Form:
Corporate versus partnership organization, leasing and licensing

Investments:
Stocks, bonds, annuities, real estate, and insurance

Corporate Capital Structure:
Debt versus equity, dividend policy, and ESOPs

Multinational Operations:
Investment and production location decisions and transfer pricing

Financial Innovation:
Debt and equity securities, swap contracts and derivative securities

Mergers and Acquisitions:
Merger structure, tax-free spin-offs of subsidiaries, stock versus asset purchases, and survival of targets' net operating loss.

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH:
Please refer to http://www.haas.berkeley.edu/faculty/udpa.html