Utilizing FinGame within a Case-Oriented Advanced Managerial Finance Course

FinGame Online 5.0 is an experiential learning simulation game which allows students to plan, formulate strategies, and make sets of sound decisions sequentially through time.(Brooks, 2008) This simulation allows the student to assume three roles for his/her firm simultaneously to maximize the wealth of the firms shareholders; chief executive officer, chief operating officer, and chief financial officer. The integration of these responsibilities moves students away from a silo mentality which focuses only on an individual component of corporate finance, for example capital budgeting, to a more complex, interrelated decision-making strategy. In addition, as the student runs the firm over multiple quarters, he/she is also made aware of the uncertainty presented by an ever changing economy. A major area of difficulty in implementing this pedagogical method involves creating an adequate link between the FinGame simulation and the new corporate finance topics being presented in class. This paper will present a method to actively use FinGame by providing individual cases, developed by the authors, that allow the student to assess his/her FinGame firm as it relates specifically to the course material being presented. This two-tiered teaching method, simulation and corresponding cases, will reinforce the students critical thinking skills, allowing them to analyze complex problems within a real-worldenvironment. In addition, each student will be required to communicate his/her individual results either through a written assignment or an in-class presentation, to reinforce each students ability to articulate and defend his/her position