IEO R4003

4 problem sets, given at least two weeks in advance 1 3-hour midterm 1 non-cumulative final Participation points

4 homeworks 1 midterm 1 non-cumulative final

This course was co-taught by professors Kachani and Sadighian. Kachani was fast-paced and more interesting to listen to. Sadighian was much more textbook, much slower paced, and always (annoyingly) waited to hear a verbal "yes" from the students before moving on. The lecture slides were online, but incomplete; you have to go to class to fill in the gaps. The course itself starts as a review of Accounting and Finance, and then moves into a broad array of other topics, like cash flow, beta valuation, and project valuation. The course as a whole didn't really have a coherent feel to it at all; the topics felt sort of medley. Some topics were heavily tested, otherwise were taught and never seen again, neither on homework nor on exams. Between two professors teaching two sections (undergraduate and graduate), there were 13 TAs. There's a near constant office hour Monday through Thursday, which is pretty helpful. Also, TAs are required to respond to e-mails quickly. The problem sets were mostly based on the material in the books, so having the books were most helpful in completing the problem sets. Students were allowed formula sheets during exams, which was a godsend. It's basically impossible to finish the exam in time, but they're designed such that the average is incredibly low (and weighted to an A-). 10% of the exams are based on current events, so chances are you'll come out…

He and the course deserve more praise than given below. Now the course is soley taught by Ali. It starts with a review of accounting and various transformations. The second part is more about finance and deterministic models. Overall, I think the course didn't cover as much material as I imagined and ended with a haste. However, Ali made this a very enjoyable experience reviewing what we learned in accounting and finance and mathematical programming. The course is competitive, but he grades very generously. It is important not to make mistakes in the exams.

1) 4-5 Problem Sets which take 6-12 hours. It teaches the material well but borders on impossible given the level of teaching. 2) 1 three hour midterm. Curved well but difficult and long 3) Final. Easier and much more straightforward than the midterm. This was due to the fact that Kachani realized no student understood the material.

This is more a review of Industrial Economics more so than a review of Kachani. As many students know, this class was co-taught by Kachani and Sadighian, which was definitely for the worse. I can agree that Kachani comes off as arrogant and while he is successful in business, there are smarter, more capable, and humbler members of the IEOR faculty. However, Kachani has historically cared about the class, what students learn, how the TA's grade, and whether people cheat. (Whether he cared in 2010 is debatable given he barely taught) The material in the class is mostly unnecessary. It's a review of Accounting and Finance for the first quarter, then cash flow analysis (to the point of being too quantitative to be useful), then project balances, and mathematical programming for budget allocation. Sadighian taught most of this material and is not a capable teacher. He butchered all the material he taught, which meant that most of the class had no idea what to do unless they struggled through the homework. The exams were long and difficult but with the curve were fairly easy. Overall, this class was a waste of time and I learned very little coming out. Kachani was definitely an entertaining lecturer who taught the material better so I hope that Sadighian either improves his teaching or steps aside. Regardless, it's a requirement in the IEOR department so this serves as a warning for…

Sometimes heavy but grading is fair often inflated due to self promotion.

Soulaymane Kachani is certainly an interesting member of the IEOR department. Initially, it is likely that you will be impressed with Kachani's style, largely because of his intimidation techniques and ability to indirectly praise himself so as to appear to be the most intelligent person on the planet. Kachani teaches an 'engineering' version of corporate finance, and the class is not bad and the grading is fair, often inflated. If you do the work, which tends to be heavy in terms of problem sets and a massive exam that often people do not finish, you will walk away with a good grade; at least a B+. However, you should be aware that there are plenty of options for taking corporate finance at Columbia without the egotistical self promotion that Kachani masks by his disingenuous care for students. It is no doubt Kachani is an accomplished academic with great practical work experience from McKinsey, however his brash and often not well thought out advice and opinions can often mis lead students who only realize later the folly of , revering him as IEOR's most brilliant, because there are plenty other professors who do not present with the same flair as Kachani but have as much if not more to offer students willing to dig a little deeper and go the extra step.

The exams were ridiculously hard, I was actually afraid of failing and somehow rolled off with a good grade; I am not often that much mistaken by grading scales.

I liked Professor Kachani's style, but I can understand how it does not mesh with everyone. He can come off as unforgiving, but I don't know him well enough to support that with any facts. The class was very well prepared and obviously in an area of Kachani's expertise. He showed us how to use methods we've already learned in other classes and apply them to financial problems. He's a pretty busy person, so try to grab him right after class if you have any questions.