Valuation is a key tool in almost every aspect of finance - corporate finance, investing and portfolio management. Understanding it is essential to not just bankers, analysts and appraisers, but the rest of us who get to see the products and are sometimes are targets of their work. This is an entirely online version of my MBA valuation class that is designed for someone who wants to understand the valuation process and its inputs, but does not have the time nor the inclination to sit through 80-minutes sessions. It is constructed in three parts, with the first a series of short webcasts on the concepts that underlie valuation, the second a collection of in-practice webcasts on the mechanics of putting the concepts into use and the third an ongoing series of my valuations of companies.In part 1, I have put together 25 sessions (12-20 minutes each) that mirror the topics that I cover in my regular valuation class, but cover them far more briefly. I begin with an introduction to valuation, move on to the key inputs into value and then cover the different approaches to valuation. Each session is accompanied by a post-class test (designed to take about 10 minutes of your time) with solutions. I have also added what I hope is a useful innovation to allow for interaction among those taking the class. Drawing on work done by Kipin Hall, a young start-up in New York, I have added a discussion board for each session. Use these discussion boards to post questions, raise issues and answer other people's questions. I will try to make irregular visits to try to put in my two cents. You will be asked to register the first time you try out a discussion board, but should be able to get on automatically after that. To register, you will need this special link to register and access the class: http://beta.kipinhall.com/account/invite/classmate/yKtTdsFyefycHS4AWjSD43/
(If you have any trouble with the discussion board, please contact Kipin Hall directly, either by email at info@kipinhall.com or by phone (617-420-2388).
In part 2, I look at putting valuation concepts into practice in a set of in-practice webcasts, starting with how to collect information on a company and moving on to how to estimate cash flows, growth, risk and value. With each webcast, I use a company (with financials and raw data) to take you through the process of converting data into information.
In part 3, I plan to take my valuation-of-the-week, which is a feature of my MBA valuation class and create a webcast of how I approached the valuation, accompanied with the raw data on the company and the spreadsheet containing the valuation. Since I value a spectrum of companies (about a dozen) over the course of the class (young start-ups to mature, emerging and developed, manufacturing and service), this section will be added to, over time. For the moment, I have posted a few of my valuations from the Fall 2013 class, but with no webcasts.