Learn to understand the language of finance so you can confidently make the correct financial decisions within your business.

It is essential for managers to understand financial information such as departmental budgets, forecasts, strategy plans and targets, this book will show readers how to transform seemingly complex financial information and statistics into data that makes sense.

Readers will learn the language of finance, helping them identify the warning signals and understand key performance indications and ratios. They will learn how to make better financial decisions, identify ways to increase profits and increase their confidence in approaching capital projects and making sound business decisions.

The FT Guide to Finance for Non-Financial Managers will help readers:

• Understand finance and financial reports
• Communicate more coherently and comprehensively with financially astute third parties such as shareholders and investors
• Be better positioned to understand the health of their business or business unit
• Take a more proactive role in helping the business achieve its goals
• Have a better understanding of finance which will allow them to enhance their own careers
• Have a more comprehensive understanding of accountancy and appreciate that data has strengths and weaknesses.

This book is a study of earnings management, aimed at scholars and professionals in accounting, finance, economics, and law. The authors address research questions including: Why are earnings so important that firms feel compelled to manipulate them? What set of circumstances will induce earnings management? How will the interaction among management, boards of directors, investors, employees, suppliers, customers and regulators affect earnings management? How to design empirical research addressing earnings management? What are the limitations and strengths of current empirical models?

The book WealthTech: Wealth and Asset Management in the Fintech Age is the primary resource for the wealth and asset management technology revolution. It examines the rise of financial technology and its growing impact on the wealth and asset management industry. Written by thought leaders in the global WealthTech space, this volume offers an analysis of the current tectonic shifts happening in wealth and asset management and aggregates diverse industry expertise into a single informative book. It provides practitioners such as wealth managers, bankers and investors with the answers they need to capitalize on this lucrative market. As a primer on WealthTech it offers academics clear insight into the repercussions of profoundly changing business models. It furthermore highlights the concept of the ongoing democratization of wealth management towards a more efficient and client-centric advisory process, free of entry hurdles. This book aggregates facts, expertise, insights and acumen from industry experts to provide answers on various questions including: Who are the key players in WealthTech? What is fueling its exponential growth? What are the key technologies behind WealthTech? How do regulators respond? What are the risks? What is the reaction of incumbent players? This book not only seeks to answer these questions but also touches on a series of related topics: Get up to speed on the latest industry developments Understand the driving forces behind the rise of WealthTech Realize the depth and breadth of WealthTech Discover how investors react to the growth in WealthTech Learn how regulators influence the evolution of WealthTech business models Examine the market dynamics of the WealthTech revolution Grasp the industry's potential and its effects on connected sectors Build acumen on investment and entrepreneurial opportunities A unique product for the marketplace Digital transformation is creating game-changing opportunities and disruptions across industries and businesses. One industry where these game-changing opportunities will have profound impacts is wealth and asset management. For generations, wealth and asset management was a privileged service provided to co-operations and wealthy individuals. The informational advantages that wealth managers held vis-a -vis their clients provided a key competitive differentiator. In the current digital transformation climate, this differentiator is vanishing and the setting is changing. A top priority on the agenda for any wealth and asset manager must therefore be how to respond and prepare for the ramifications of this fast changing business environment. This book (one of the first to be published in this area) will provide the reader with a head start in adapting to this new digital environment.

This book provides a current overview and discussion about the meaning of the financing of the companies. It discusses the related challenges and provides ways to overcome them. The focus is on increasing the company's value. The book uses case studies to show how financial restructuring can be implemented in practice, thus paving the way for successful expansion. The book is written for restructuring professionals.

Cost models underlie all the techniques used in construction cost and price forecasting, yet until relatively recently industry has been unfamiliar with their characteristics and properties. An understanding of the various types of cost model is vital to enable effective cost control and the development of future forecasting techniques. This volume brings together more than 20 seminal contributions to building cost modelling and introduces the major landmarks in progress and thinking in this field: * strategies and directions * explorations in cost modelling * cost-product/process modelling * dealing with uncertainty The strong techniques bias of this book will appeal to construction professionals involved in estimating, as well as researchers and students of building economics.

This book critically engages with how the conservation of tropical rainforests is financed. Beginning with the context of tropical deforestation, alongside an overview of tropical ecology, global environmental policy and finance, the book reviews several conservation financing instruments. These include ecotourism and private reserves, debt-for-nature swaps and government domestic budgetary expenditures for state and national parks. Tropical deforestation and forest degradation are serious global environmental issues, contributing to global climate change, species extinction, and threatening the livelihoods of forest-dependent communities. Yet, many leading companies, individuals and governments are making a positive impact on tropical forest conservation to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions through the use of conservation finance. Conservation of Tropical Rainforests tells the history of international conservation finance and provides a variety of options for individuals, businesses, and governments to support conservation financing projects.

The IPO Decision is an exciting new book that clarifies how the initial public offering (IPO) process actually works. It separates fact from fiction and imposes a logical structure on the most up-to-date IPO-related research. All major topics pertaining to the going-public process are included: IPO timing, the financial, strategic, and corporate governance benefits and costs of public ownership, corporate restructuring, valuation, the role of the investment bank in the primary and secondary markets, the optimality of IPO mechanisms (book-building vs. auctions), analyst coverage, and the long-run performance of IPOs. IPOs garnered unprecedented positive attention in the 1990s for their spectacular returns and central role in entrepreneurial activity. Subsequent revelations of unscrupulous IPO allocation and promotion practices cast a less favorable shadow. The latest significant event in the IPO market is Google's unconventional use of an auction for its offering. Public discussion and debate about these developments has often taken place in an information vacuum, leading to misunderstandings and false conclusions. Unparalleled in its scope, The IPO Decision presents the findings from theoretical and empirical research in a rigorous yet accessible manner. In doing so, it develops the intellectual foundation necessary for a constructive dialogue about reforming the IPO process. Scholars, students and industry professionals interested in the economics of IPOs will find this volume a comprehensive and engaging addition to their library.

Originally published in 1976, this book discusses the management skills needed to evaluate, implement and control computer-based operation. Every chapter contains detailed check lists which guide the reader to formulate policies to deal with real situations. It provides a practical look at an indispensable tool of management, with a set of guidelines to help get the most out of the available technology.

The acknowledged bible on investor relations

Investor relations is an essential facet of any publicly traded company, inevitably affecting its stock price, investments, and liquidity. Maximizing Your Investor Relations provides practical guidance needed to master this complex undertaking and advocate persuasively on your company's behalf to achieve greater recognition and value. Comprehensive and thoughtful, it focuses on controlling the day-to-day mechanics of investor relations to more effectively compete for capital.

BRUCE W. MARCUS (Easton, Connecticut) has held senior executive positions with Mobil Corporation, Arthur Young & Co., and Coopers and Lybrand. SHERWOOD LEE WALLACE (Northbrook, Illinois) is President and CE of the Investor Relations Company.

This book, first published in 1983, stresses the need for libraries to weed out expenditures which do not contribute to their basic role - the collection and organization of information - when planning where and when to spend money. It illustrates how priorities and goals must change in accordance with changes in libraries' roles in the information world.

The recent global financial crisis has indicated that the conventional dominant paradigm in finance is unable to cope with the problems of financial systems, markets, and behaviour of financial institutions, and failed to understand the proper role of finance in society and the economic system as a whole. Drawing on the recent movements of corporate social responsibility, socially responsible investing and sustainable development, this volume goes further to examine the ongoing making of financial reality towards social responsibility and sustainability, and aims at a better understanding of finance as a collective construct and endeavour embedded in societal context. Bringing together leading scholarly thinking, this collection opens new avenues of comprehending corporate social responsibility, reveals mechanisms and strategies in shaping the reality of responsible finance, searches alternative approaches towards financial sustainability, and explores new thinking of coping with complex financial choice and financial risks. Moving away from the conventional financial paradigm, this volume demonstrates paradigm shifting in the financial world and provides fresh insights on how we may reshape the financial reality to enable societal betterment and prevent any future financial crisis.

John Cammack presents practical ways to build financial management capacity in an international development context. It is written for (NGOs), larger community-based organizations (CBOs), and charities. It provides challenging questions, both for their own organization and for the way in which they work with others.

This book presents practical ways to build financial management capacity in an international development context (although much of it applies to any non-profit organization). It describes good practice in the specific tasks of financial management for example, planning and budgeting and financial controls. It gives examples of how groups and organizations build their own capacity.Strengthening financial management capacity is key to achieving more effective organizations. With strong financial management capacity, the group or organization becomes more able to control its own affairs. Without it, the future is often uncertain: it may be impossible to predict when money will be short and, crucially, it may become impossible to fund programs. "Building Financial Management Capacity" should be read by program staff and managers of non-government organizations, larger community-based organizations (CBOs), and charities, as well as for large NGOs and donors working with their partner NGOs and CBOs. The content can also be used in training courses, and university and college courses for international development workers."

Successful security professionals have had to modify the process of responding to new threats in the high-profile, ultra-connected business environment. But just because a threat exists does not mean that your organization is at risk. This is what risk assessment is all about. How to Complete a Risk Assessment in 5 Days or Less demonstrates how to identify threats your company faces and then determine if those threats pose a real risk to the organization. To help you determine the best way to mitigate risk levels in any given situation, How to Complete a Risk Assessment in 5 Days or Less includes more than 350 pages of user-friendly checklists, forms, questionnaires, and sample assessments. Presents Case Studies and Examples of all Risk Management Components Based on the seminars of information security expert Tom Peltier, this volume provides the processes that you can easily employ in your organization to assess risk. Answers such FAQs as: Why should a risk analysis be conducted? Who should review the results? How is the success measured? Always conscious of the bottom line, Peltier discusses the cost-benefit of risk mitigation and looks at specific ways to manage costs. He supports his conclusions with numerous case studies and diagrams that show you how to apply risk management skills in your organization-and it's not limited to information security risk assessment. You can apply these techniques to any area of your business. This step-by-step guide to conducting risk assessments gives you the knowledgebase and the skill set you need to achieve a speedy and highly-effective risk analysis assessment in a matter of days.

Until now there were no published analyses of the recent solvency work conducted in Europe, specifically the risk categories proposed by the International Actuarial Association (IAA). Answering the insurance industry's demand in the wake of the EU Solvency II project, Solvency: Models, Assessment and Regulation provides a concrete summary and review of solvency and inspires additional work in the field. Following an introduction to the concept, the first section of the book provides a historical review of solvency, detailing solvency regulation and accounting within the EU. A review of the steps leading to Solvency II looks at accounting, supervision, the actuarial field, the first phase of Solvency II, international approaches to banking, and the solvency systems of 12 major nations. The second section explores the current basis for solvency modeling, focusing on the valuation of assets and liabilities, dependency and various conservative approaches, as well as a baseline and benchmark approach. This section also provides examples of risk structure and the effects of diversification. The final section discusses groups and internal modeling as it relates to EU Solvency II. It addresses insurance groups, financial conglomerates, reinsurance, the importance of internal modeling and stress testing, and the current state of the second phase of EU Solvency II.

Were you looking for the book with access to MyFinanceLab? This product is the book alone, and does NOT come with access to MyFinanceLab. Buy Essentials of Corporate Financial Management with MyFinanceLab access card, 2/e (ISBN 9780273759027) if you need access to the MyLab as well, and save money on this brilliant resource. Essentials of Corporate Financial Management supports courses designed to cover the core topics of finance in 15 to 30 hours of lectures. The book is suitable for undergraduate students studying finance as part of a business related degree, MBA students, and others studying finance at business schools. It also provides the foundation elements needed by students going on to study more advanced finance. The step-by-step learning approach enables students to achieve a high level of financial knowledge without assuming a prior knowledge of finance. Selected core topics and key concepts are delivered with depth, allowing students to gain an understanding of the topical debates within this field, where disagreement or alternative perspectives lead to lively discussion. Need extra support? This title can be supported by MyFinanceLab, an online homework and tutorial system which can be used by students for self-directed study or fully integrated into an instructor's course. This product is the book alone, and does NOT come with access to MyFinanceLab. You can benefit from MyFinanceLab by speaking to your local Pearson Account Manager about setting up a version that is customised to suit your course via www.pearsoned.co.uk/replocator For educator access, contact your Pearson Account Manager. To find out who your account manager is, visit www.pearsoned.co.uk/replocator

In this book, first published in 1971, the author develops and tests a productivity system based on Added Value as the measure of company income and output. The theory behind the system is that the behaviour of a company can best be explained in terms of its need to create an income. From this, it follows that its effectiveness depends on the efficiency with which it uses all the resources at its disposal to create this income. If it is accepted that the need is to create an income, then the efforts of the employees, the objectives of individuals, the pricing procedures, and the control systems must be co-ordinated to achieve this end. This title will be of interest to students of management, economics, and business studies.

This book provides coherent theoretical and empirical analysis of firms' investment and financing decisions. It assesses the role of uncertainty, financial imperfections, corporate governance and taxation. Evidence is obtained using several unique and high quality microeconomic data-sets, which explore features seldom addressed. Overall, the empirical results confirm theoretical precedents. Some firms are indeed financially constrained, for fixed investment as well as for R&D projects. The 'free cash-flow' hypothesis holds, that is managers divert excess funds away for their own interests, but less so in closely controlled companies. In accordance with the real option theory, the results suggest that uncertainty leads firms to adopt a 'wait and see' strategy which eventually reduces investment, especially for irreversible investment. Corporate governance features are shown to affect managers, discipline and companies' restructuring plans. Finally, different tax reforms are evaluated, and an alternative tax structure that would stimulate growth is proposed. Scholars, including those with an interest in microeconomics and econometrics, and staff within central banks and national and international organisations will also find the book of interest, as will policymakers and decision-makers concerned with the role of financing, corporate governance and taxation on firm's decisions.

This title presents a fast track route to strategic cash flow management. It covers the key areas of cash flow, from developing a strong understanding of cash flow within the business cycle and the origins of cash flow analysis to maximising cash flow efficiencies and cash flow returns on capital investments. It provides examples and lessons from some of the world's most successful businesses, including Dell Corporation, and ideas from the smartest thinkers, including DuPont, Philip Kotler, Igor Ansoff, Gahlon and Vigeland and Dropkin and Hayden. It includes a glossary of key concepts and a comprehensive resources guide.

Liquid markets generate hundreds or thousands of ticks (the minimum change in price a security can have, either up or down) every business day. Data vendors such as Reuters transmit more than 275,000 prices per day for foreign exchange spot rates alone. Thus, high-frequency data can be a fundamental object of study, as traders make decisions by observing high-frequency or tick-by-tick data. Yet most studies published in financial literature deal with low frequency, regularly spaced data. For a variety of reasons, high-frequency data are becoming a way for understanding market microstructure. This book discusses the best mathematical models and tools for dealing with such vast amounts of data.
This book provides a framework for the analysis, modeling, and inference of high frequency financial time series. With particular emphasis on foreign exchange markets, as well as currency, interest rate, and bond futures markets, this unified view of high frequency time series methods investigates the price formation process and concludes by reviewing techniques for constructing systematic trading models for financial assets.

Using theoretical frameworks to explore the political, organizational, and cultural dynamics of performance budgeting, this book examines the adoption of performance budgeting in a variety of countries, how it has been implemented, and why it succeeded or failed. Chapters include case studies from a wide range of continents and regions including the U.S., Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, Latin America, and the Middle East. Each case study pays careful attention to the unique historical, political, and cultural contexts of reform and closely examines how performance informed the budgetary process. Chapters investigate theory-driven analysis, focusing on common themes related to international policy diffusion, organizational change, stakeholder politics and gaming, communication and information management, principal-agent dynamics, and institutional constraints. Contributors include both scholars and seasoned practitioners with extensive experience in implementing or advising performance budgeting reforms. With emphases on both theories and practices, this book is written for graduate courses in public budgeting and comparative public administration, providing theoretical insights into budgeting reforms in developing countries, as well as practice-relevant and actionable recommendations for current and future policymakers and budget reformers.

Energy Risk Modeling is a primer on statistical methods for managers, students and anybody interested in the field. Illustrated through elementary and more advanced statistical Methods, it is primarily aimed at those individuals who need a gentle introduction in how to go about using statistical methods for modeling energy price risk. Statistical ideas are presented by outlining the necessary concepts and illustrating how these ideas can be implemented. This is the first energy risk book on the market to focus specifically on the role of statistical methods. Its practical approach makes the book a very useful reference and an interesting read.

This lecture notes provides an overview of budgeting and financial management in the public and non-profit sectors. Fundamental concepts and practices of budgeting, financial management and public finance are introduced, with special emphasis on state and local government budgeting and financial management in the United States. The objectives of courses in Public Budgeting and this title are to teach the basic concepts and nomenclature of public finance, to develop an understanding of budget processes as well as the sources and uses of public revenues, and to make relatively simple, but useful computations in an intelligent way. Key course learning outcomes include the abilities to: There are no indispensable pre-requisites by the reader, and it has been designed for students from a wide variety of backgrounds and undergraduate majors. Although this works well as an introductory text to a broader public administration curriculum, it also can make sense for students to take after some more basic courses in economics, policy analysis, and public organizations. Issues of tax incidence and the effect of taxes on economic efficiency can be covered in greater depth.

If your institution's like most and your gap position (the difference between the repricing periods of a bank's assets and liabilities) is the only interest rate risk you currently measure - then you should be warned: the regulators are coming. New banking regulations require that you keep a close eye not only on gap, but also on other key risks, less obvious on the balance sheet, such as basis risk and imbedded options. Simple gap analysis just isn't enough anymore. And that's just the beginning of what regulators are now asking for. But - even though the array of available sophisticated simulation models and financial tools is bewildering - you needn't worry thanks to this remarkable how-to guide from two leading authorities of the asset/liability management world. Step by step, Bitner and Goddard take you through a concise history of asset/liability management science since the early '80s to help orient newcomers to the field; comprehensive guide to jump-starting an asset/liability management program, including organizing an A/L management committee, writing an interest rate management policy (that states your interest rate risk exposure parameters), and selecting the best risk modeling system; comprehensive arsenal of techniques for identifying, measuring, and managing interest rate risk, including critical forecasting and self-analysis methods that ensure your institution stays on track; total framework for integrating your asset/liability management processes and putting them into action; and helpful section of advice and insights from leading A/L management practitioners. With a record number of failed or failing banks and thrifts on their hands, the regulator's vigilance hasnever been greater. That's why your financial institution needs to identify and measure the impact of a broad range of interest rate movements on its earnings and net value - and why you need Successful Bank Asset/Liability Management.