Corporate Investment Appraisal (1 º Sem 2020/2021)

Please read carefully this note. It is long but intends define the stage of the exam online and make you feel more confortable with the situation.

All exams are now online. ISEG is using TEAMS. You will receive a link to access to the online classroom for the exam.

Being online I have decided the CIA exam should be open book. I think this is fairer as it is equal to everyone. I do not have the guarantee that all students would comply with the rule of using the formulas A4 sheet only, as is in the classroom. That’s why I think is better to be open book. In addition, you may also use the excel as a basis for calculations which make everything related to calculus much easier and quicker. Even if you need to correct anything that you find wrong. 

Notice the microphone and specially the camara must be on all the time. The camara is a requirement for the exam. So, try to find a quite place, as you need to concentrate adequately, and ask cooperation from people living with you as they care about you. 

I will upload a word file with the questions of the exam, just before the minute the exam starts. You will answer the question in the space available for that follwing the question. you use as must space as required. The questions will be in blue and your answers in black. You do copy past from the excel to the word file to evidence data on tables or graphs to make your analysis and conclusions. I advise you to save from time time, to resduce the risk of a computer failure. When you finish the exam you should send it to my email. When I receive the your word file, I reply confirming the good reception. Please do not leave the remote classroom before receiving my confirmation of good reception. 

Arrive a little before 9:00 am to make sure everything is fine with the tecnology, and that you have all you need in the desk. 

Now issues related to technology. Before the time of the exam, and to avoid access difficulties, you should take the following precautions:

1. Check your "default" browser
2. In this "default" browser, make sure you have any authentication done with an account other than your ISEG      institutional account. If you have it, register outside this account! If you access the exam with an account other than your account, the test will not be considered.
3. Access to http://portal.office.com sign  in to the  institutional account. Keep the browser open with the login done, which will make the whole process more fluid.
4. Supported browsers are:
   • Microsoft Edge Chromium
   • Google Chrome
   • Mozilla Firefox

Any other browser may cause incompatibilities, making it difficult to access the exam. In particular, Safari has demonstrated several issues of incompatibilities.

Students usually ask what is the degree of difficulty and structure of the exam. the degree of difficulty is similar to the 1sr sit exam to be fair. What is easier now is being open book, can use the excel for computation and is easier to move around in word that in a sheet of paper.

Concerning matters for study: Performance assessment and capital budgeting is always part of a CIA exam in one way or another. But Capital structure and dividends are also for study.

The oral examination is set to 11^th Feb. starting at 9:30, but I will send an email with more details for those that will attend the oral examination with a proper schedule. 

I wish the best for all