Learning Team B Summary/Reflection
University of Phoenix
Finance For Business
FIN/370
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Learning Team B Summary/Reflection

Introduction
In week four we covered various topics such as Capital structure, market capitalization, the effects of financing strategies on capital cost, and discussed differences of leasing vs. buying and how the there are requirements that financial companies are incompliance. We were also asked to calculate favorable and unfavorable financial leverage and interest.
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In week four of FIN/370, I learned many things related to financing and capital budgeting structure. We talked SOX and the requirements that the SEC sets forth for organizations to ensure financial compliance. This was a topic that I had quite a bit if firsthand knowledge with because when out SOX was first introduced our organization took it seriously and each employee of the company from the top down was responsible to attend the training and would be held accountable for their actions at every level of the organization. We also had good discuss about lease versus purchase and which option is better for individuals. It was interesting to see the different outlooks and opinions that other people had relating to whether they preferred leasing or purchasing. We had our week four calculation problems again which I struggled with several of them this week but not quite as many as the week before. I have watched the videos and utilized other sources to answer the financial questions; but I am still having difficulties coming to the correct answer. Even though, I was able to utilize the resources available to me this was
Still the most challenging part of week four.
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This week in chapters 14 & 15 I found the readings to be a less interesting and, therefore, harder to follow. I understand how to view and consider companies' capital structures - which are essentially the values listed in the right-hand column of a balance sheet - when doing financial planning and/or evaluating, but I guess the readings were just a little dry for me. One thing I did find a little misleading, and maybe the author should consider this, is in Chapter 15 under the section "Bankruptcy and Financial Distress" the author mentions companies being forced into bankruptcy. I think that "being forced into bankruptcy" and "being forced into filing bankruptcy" really are two distinctly different scenarios. There are two types of bankruptcy petitions that can be filed to initiate a bankruptcy case - a voluntary and an involuntary. In a voluntary petition the debtor initiates the bankruptcy. Conversely, when an involuntary bankruptcy petition is filed, a debtor's creditors initiate the bankruptcy filing. I think that it is important to make this distinction because filing for bankruptcy is a choice that can be made, but an entity can also be forced into bankruptcy.

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Within week four I found this week to be much more difficult for me. I have never been good with math let alone interest rates so I found it a struggle. I learned about the differences in the leasing vs. buying and which one would be better depending on the circumstance. We discussed the SOX and what requirements the SEC establishes for a company or business to ensure their financial situation and to ensure they are in compliance with the SEC. For me I went over and over the discussions, the videos, and materials and I still could not grasp the whole computing the math. I hope this last week will give me a light bulb that turns on for me to be able to understand it in the future when I establish my career.
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This week I really enjoyed learning about corporate responsibility and the Sarbanes Oxley act, which was supposed to restore confidence back into the security markets. The Sarbanes Oxley act was developed in response to the abuse of the accounting practices and fraud. Corporate responsibility is t the CFO and CEO of the company have to certify that when an audit occurs they certify that all of the statements are true. The provisions in the encompass are; corporate responsibility and disclosure, independence of the auditors and the creation of the public company accounting oversight board, and conflicts of interest and corporate fraud and accountability. Problem arose with the investment bankers and securities analysts because there was a conflict of interest because often times they both work for the same financial company. Before the Oxley act was created, the investment bankers were responsible for how the firm raises money and the analyst determined weather the securities are over or undervalued. After the Oxley act was created it created a firewall between the two so the conflict of interest would not be there.
Conclusion
At the end of this week we all took away something interesting and learned new objectives when it comes to financing. Some of us within the team found some topics difficult while trying to solve financial problems or calculating interest rates. Overall, At the conclusion of week 4 our team learned about the responsibilities of the corporations, what the differences in leasing vs. buying is, capital budgeting and structuring. We can take what we learned this week and apply it to our careers and personal lives.