Guidelines for Group Project

The group project will be an important and crucial part of your learning experience. The group
projects provide an opportunity to research and in-depth study of the selected topics as well as
investigate how the concepts learned in the course are applied in the real corporate world. They
also promote team-work and help in transforming PRM participants into effective managers. The
following rules will be applicable to group projects:

Choice of a topic/company: Your group is expected to choose a firm/company/industry

and then zero-in on a live problem related to corporate finance. Some ideas for group
projects may include: [i] Working capital financing by XYZ bank; [ii] Dividend policy in
the IT industry; [iii] Financial evaluation of an investment project: A case study of a steel
company; [iv] Comparative analysis of capital structure of ABC Company vs. DEF
Company, or [v] Applying CAPM model to estimate cost of capital: case of XYZ
Company. These are only indicative topics and you are welcome to add some innovative
topics to the list.
Important: As far as possible, try to choose a company where you could approach some
managers for some information or a personal interview/discussion. This will help you tap
primary sources of information and add lots of value to your project.

Progress report submission: Choose your project topic quickly so that you can start
collecting the information required from primary and/or secondary sources. Groups
should finalize their project title by the Third week of the term. By the midterm each
group needs to submit a brief description (3-4 pages, called the Progress report) of
their project which may include: Introduction/Background of the study, the objective(s)
of the study, the scope and Methodology, likely conclusions and recommendation, and
selected references.
As a part of the project, your group would tap primary/secondary sources of information
and analyze the firms performance in relevant areas, study trends, investigate issues and
problems facing the company, measures taken by the company and also try to suggest
how the company could improve its future systems and/or performance.
Project presentations: Each group will be required to present their project work which
should cover both the analysis of primary and secondary data, as applicable. Each
presentation will be of 10 minutes with 7-8 minutes given to the group to highlight the
key findings and 2-3 minutes for questions/discussion in the class.
The final project report: Final project report, must be submitted as per the suggested
deadline, and should not exceed 20 pages. It may include the following:

The Executive Summary

Introduction/Background of the study
The conceptual framework.
Existing system and/or the objective(s) of the study
Scope and Methodology.
Data collection

Data analysis
Conclusions and recommendation.
References.

The above format may be modified as necessary.

Important dates/deadlines:
Project topic finalization: 15th January 2015 (You need to discuss with the faculty member
about the project that you are planning to take)
Progress report: 31st January 2015
Final Report: 5th March 2015
Presentation: 10th and 11th March 2015

Caution: Please note that plagiarism or cut-paste from available reports will be penalized
heavily. It might even lead to rejection of the report. Grading of the report will be done
on the strength of the analysis and explanation therein, as well as quality of primary &
secondary sources tapped. All group members must contribute to the project work;
piggyback riders might be penalized. It is important to adhere to the deadlines and
non-adherence to the dates will be penalized.