All businesses need money to fund operations – and generally, a lot of it! When it comes to an organisation raising capital, there are generally two options: debt and equity. But, what mix to use and how much to raise – there’s no secret formula! 

As a finance professional, you may find yourself working with an organisation to figure out the best way to raise funds, manage the financial risks involved and evaluate the impact of these choices. It’s vital that you have a keen understanding of the different financing methods available to a business and the pros and cons of each decision. Making the right choice is critical to the business’s long-term success!

And that’s where this course comes in! We’ll cover both debt and equity financing and the costs and benefits of using each. In the case of equity, we’ll also be taking an in-depth look into dividend policy and rights issues, as knowledge of the two is crucial when considering equity finance. With a firm grounding in the methods, pros and cons of various financing options, you’ll be able to make better financing decisions for a business. 

• The key considerations involved in making dividend policy that benefit both the company and its shareholders 

• Five common types of dividend policy and their pros and cons so an organisation can select the most appropriate dividend policy 

• How dividends can be paid in additional shares, as scrip dividends, to retain cash in the business, and how share repurchases can be used to regain greater control over the business 

• Equity and debt finance, which are the two major approaches to raising capital to fund the business’ current and future operations

• The different ways in which equity can be raised, such as an initial public offering (IPO), private placement or rights issue, so that you can identify the most appropriate equity finance solution in different situations

• The differences between ordinary and preference shares and the advantages and disadvantages of each to investor and issuer 

• How a rights issue can be used as a relatively cheap and straightforward way to raise additional equity finance 

• The Theoretical Ex-rights Price (TERP), Value of Right and earnings per share approaches for evaluating the impact of a rights issue on the entity and its shareholders

• The different types of debt finance and their benefits and limitations enabling you to identify the most effective to use depending on the circumstance

• The key factors to consider in managing an organisation’s debt profile to ensure potential risks are mitigated effectively