FINA 3320 · Financial Management
Time value of money, bonds and stocks, NPV and IRR, risk and return, and the cost of capital, taught with a financial calculator and guided Excel cases.
It clicked in class. Until the midterm.
Finance tutoring for SMU Cox students.
FINA 3320 Financial Management is a BBA core at Cox, so marketing, management, and finance majors all take it. If you understood the lecture and still missed points on the midterm, the problem is usually the setup, the calculator, or what the question is really asking.
Private 1-on-1 on Zoom · $250 / hour
Book a session
The courses
What we work on.
Bring your slides, problem sets, and your last midterm. We work from your actual course.
Topics
What we cover.
Bring your slides, problem sets, and your last midterm. We work from your actual course.
- Time value of money on a financial calculator
- Bond prices and yields
- Stock and dividend valuation
- NPV and incremental free cash flows
- IRR and payback
- Risk, return, beta, and CAPM
- WACC and the cost of capital
- Leverage and capital structure
- Financial ratios
- The finance behind the Excel cases
- Midterm and final exam prep
SMU Cox
Where students get stuck.
The calculator
FINA 3320 requires a financial calculator, and a lot of lost points are entry mistakes: the right numbers on the wrong keys, payment timing set wrong, or a cash flow left out. We practice N, I/Y, PV, PMT, and FV, plus the cash flow keys for NPV and IRR, on your exact model until it is automatic.
Word problems
Many students who study for hours and still miss points are not missing the concepts, they are missing what the question asks. We practice finding the unknown, drawing the timeline, matching the rate to the payment period, and crossing out the numbers you do not need.
Every exam counts
In a recent section, there are three midterms and a comprehensive final, and exam scores are not dropped or replaced. A rough first exam stays on the record, so we plan the sessions before the next one around the chapters it covers.
How a session works
Diagnosis first. Then the fix.
- 01
Before we meet
Send me what you're stuck on: a problem set, slides, your last midterm, a practice exam, last week's quiz.
- 02
On Zoom
You walk me through a problem out loud. It usually takes a few minutes to hear where the reasoning goes sideways. We fix that piece and rebuild from there, so you know why each step works.
- 03
Before we finish
The real test: a fresh problem with new numbers and different wording, the way a midterm would ask it, and you solve it yourself. I don't complete assignments or hand over answers. You leave able to do the work.
Your tutor
Studied it. Worked in it. Now I teach it.
I’m Chi Odogwu. I have a B.S. in Business with a finance specialization from Liberty University, earned summa cum laude in three years, and a Master’s in International Economics and Finance from Brandeis. I tutored IB students in grad school, did valuation and private equity consulting at PwC, taught MBA finance at Florida State, and spent three years as an adjunct professor teaching Business Finance.
Questions
Before you book.
Which calculator can I use on the FINA 3320 exam?
In a recent section, a financial calculator is required. The TI BA II Plus, BA II Plus Professional, TI-84 Plus family (including the CE), and HP 12C were approved, and other models needed written approval. Check your own syllabus, then we practice on the exact calculator you will bring.
I studied for hours and still did badly on the first exam. What is going wrong?
Usually it is not effort. It is the setup: which number goes where, a calculator setting, or a word problem with numbers you did not need. We go through your first exam, tag every miss by cause, and drill the cause, not the whole chapter again.
Do the midterms cover everything, or only the last few chapters?
In a recent section, each midterm covered a block of chapters and the final was comprehensive. Exam scores were not dropped or replaced, so every exam counts. Your section may differ, so send me your syllabus and we will plan around it.
I'm not a finance major. Can you still help?
Yes. Many students take FINA 3320 only because it is required, whether they are in marketing, management, or something outside business. We start from what you already follow and build the math from there.
Can you help with the Excel case assignments?
I can teach the finance behind them, such as discounting, NPV, and how to read a result. The workbook has to be your own work, built with your own formulas, so I do not build it for you.
How often should I meet before a midterm?
Most students meet once or twice a week in the weeks before an exam. Once a week works for checking your understanding. Twice a week is better when the exam is close or the last one went badly. We can adjust as we go.
Do you help Cox MBA students?
Yes. Send me your syllabus and we will start there.
Is tutoring allowed under my school's honor code?
Tutoring on concepts and practice problems is generally fine, but policies on graded work vary by course. I don't complete graded assignments. Check your syllabus's collaboration policy, and if you're unsure, ask your professor.
Get started
Bring the problem you’re stuck on.
Tell me your course and what isn’t clicking. I’ll tell you honestly whether I can help.
Book your first sessionOnline Finance Tutor is an independent tutoring service. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by the SMU Cox School of Business. Course names are used only to describe the material we cover.