* The first primer on investor stewardship, addressing both theoretical frameworks and practical considerations * Based on the renowned ICGN training course on stewardship, also developed by the authors * Includes a detailed case study on Volkswagen's 'Dieselgate' scandal, to highlight real-world corporate governance issues and inspire professionals and students to come up with their own ideas on ESG

In today's aggressive marketplace, listed companies can no longer rely on their numbers to do the talking. If companies can't communicate their achievements and strategy, mounting research evidence suggests, they will be overlooked, their cost of capital will increase and stock price will suffer. In Strategic Financial and Investor Communication: the stock price story Ian Westbrook, principal of Australia's leading independent financial communications firm, argues just this: stock price is more a story than a number. Moreover, the book will teach you how to tell your own story by guiding you through the fast-paced world of financial corporate communication with a professional's pragmatism as well as academic rigour. Whether you're a student or a professional of PR, investor relations or corporate communications, this much-needed guide will teach you how to tell a compelling story about your company that the stockbroker, fund manager and corporate media cannot ignore.

In recent years, stunning advances in telecommunications, capital mobility, and distribution channels have not only greatly increased the number of transactions and ventures subject to multiple taxation, but also have made it easier - for those who know what to look for - to plan around such taxes. Tax and legal professionals, entrepreneurs, and business managers must have a fundamental understanding of the state and local tax implications of key transactions. Those who are able to identify state and local tax issues also can make more effective use of tax consultants because challenges and opportunities can be spotted as they arise before basic negotiations are concluded and the outline of the deal solidified. Written by a team of CPAs, professors, and tax lawyers with over 120 years of combined experience, State and Local Taxation: Principles and Planning, Third Edition, covers the important tax issues of today's global business environment. The authors draw upon numerous real-life examples to identify and explain the fundamental principles of state and local taxation and how to incorporate these principles into strategic business planning. Key Features: Shows how to identify state and local tax issues and spot challenges and opportunities as they arise Details the principles of multi-state taxation and provides an understanding of their effect on business operations Explores the role of state and local tax issues in a strategic business environment and dis-cusses taxation from a strategic planning perspective Explains the economic implications of management decisions involving the application of tax laws Presents an overview of major state and local taxes including income tax, sales tax, property tax, and employment taxes WAV offers instructional material for classroom use

Large multinational corporations shape our lives to an enormous extent. How is the growth, power, and significance of big business to be explained and understood? Focusing on the issues of ownership, control, and class formation, Corporate Business and Capitalist Classes explores the implications of changes in the nature of big business, which affect both the businesses themselves, and the economic and political milieu in which these multinationals operate. Up-to-date empirical evidence is reviewed in a wide-ranging comparative framework that covers Britain and the United States, Germany, France, Japan, and many other societies, including emerging forms of capitalism in China and Russia. Unlike other specialist texts in the area, Corporate Business and Capitalist Classes relates its concerns to issues of social stratification and class structure. The first and second editions of the book (under the title Corportations, Classes and Capitalism) were enthusiastically received, and the present edition reviews new theoretical ideas and empirical evidence that has emerged in the ten years since the second edition appeared. The text has been completely re-written and re-structured, and it relates its concerns to contemporary debates over `disorganized capitalism' and post-industrialism.

This primer succinctly summarises key theoretical concepts in fiscal choice for both practitioners and scholars. The author contends that fiscal choice is ultimately a choice of both politics and economics. The book first introduces budget institutions and processes at various levels of government, which restrict budget decision makers' discretion. It also explains budget decision makers' efforts to make rational resource allocations. It then shows how and why such efforts are stymied by the decision makers' capacity and institutional settings. The book's unique benefit is its emphasis on all the essential topics, with short, module-type chapters which can be read in any order.

Corporate groups outside the US are often controlled by a complex of ownership links, which typically form a pyramidal structure: a private holding company sits at the top of a control pyramid of several tiers of companies; firms in the lowest tier are the group's publicly listed companies. The usual practice of expropriation in such groups is to pass bad assets to companies down the pyramid and to pass the proceeds up the pyramid via internal transactions. For this collection Larry Lang has selected some of the most significant previously published articles by leading academics which investigate this process and its consequences. The volume explores the nature of ownership structure in countries outside the US and examines how controlling owners expropriate minority shareholders. It includes articles which analyse the pros and cons of the various finance and accounting issues resulting from this separation of ownership and control, and presents some country-specific studies which examine the impact of this disjunction. The editor has written an authoritative introduction which provides explanatory information and points the way for future research in this area.

This unique collection of new, previously unpublished papers demonstrates the importance of corporate governance throughout the different stages of the life-cycle of firms and organisations, and in particular in the crucial transitions between stages. In so doing it redresses an imbalance created by the wealth of literature and research devoted to the study of corporate governance in mature firms only. The book gives equal consideration to the monitoring and control functions of corporate governance mechanisms, and to the resource and strategic roles of governance in the decision-making process. In so doing it attempts to provide a framework through which to understand the factors that affect the balance between the possible functions of corporate governance. It is suggested in these papers that an analysis of the firm's governance life-cycles cannot be separated from the economic and institutional dynamics in a particular country, and as such the book reviews the role of the corporate governance life-cycle in different industrial and institutional contexts.

Enables critical thinking about the current state of risk management and ERM Demonstrates contemporary shortcomings and challenges from real life cases Draws from a global selection of cases from well-known organisations Provides a basis for developing more effective risk management approaches

An accessible guide to the essential issues of corporate finance

While you can find numerous books focused on the topic of corporate finance, few offer the type of information managers need to help them make important decisions day in and day out.

"Value" explores the core of corporate finance without getting bogged down in numbers and is intended to give managers an accessible guide to both the foundations and applications of corporate finance. Filled with in-depth insights from experts at McKinsey & Company, this reliable resource takes a much more qualitative approach to what the authors consider a lost art.Discusses the four foundational principles of corporate financeEffectively applies the theory of value creation to our economyExamines ways to maintain and grow value through mergers, acquisitions, and portfolio managementAddresses how to ensure your company has the right governance, performance measurement, and internal discussions to encourage value-creating decisions

A perfect companion to the "Fifth Edition" of "Valuation, " this book will put the various issues associated with corporate finance in perspective.

Philip Brown is one of the most admired and respected accounting academics alive today. He was a pioneer in capital markets research in accounting, and his 1968 article, co-authored with Ray Ball, "An Empirical Evaluation of Accounting Income Numbers," arguably had a greater impact on the course of accounting research, directly and indirectly, than any other article during the second half of the twentieth century. Since that time, his innovative research has focused on issues that bridge accounting and finance, including the relationships between net profit reports and the stock market, the long-run performance of acquiring firms, statutory sanctions and voluntary corporate disclosure, and the politics and future of national accounting standards to name a few. This volume brings together the greatest hits of Brown's career, including several articles that were published in out-of-the-way places, for easier use by students and researchers in the field. With a foreword written by Stephen A. Zeff, and an introduction that discusses the evolution of Brown's research interests and explains the context for each of the essays included in the volume, this book offers the reader a unique look inside this remarkable 50-year career.

New edition of UK's market leading Real Estate Investment textbook, reorganised with renewed focus on hot topic of PropTech and innovations in the global market, including Brexit, Covid-19, and Crypto Currencies Every chapter begins with and is built around a real-world case study from: Japan, UK, US, Kuwait Packed with professional and technical approaches to building a global real estate portfolio from internationally renowned Professor of Practice at Said Business School, University of Oxford

The conditions for successful manufacturing have changed considerably in recent years. New technologies such as information technology and biotechnology are considered important players in eradicating poverty in developing countries, but the risky nature of projects based on new technologies forces firms to raise investment capital by means other than conventional capital markets. This book examines the role of venture capital institutions in financing technology-based ventures both in developed and developing countries. It also explores that part of venture capital activity which is hitherto vastly under-researched; namely the ability of venture capital institutions to render a whole host of value-added support functions. These include setting up management teams and designing strategic plans for fledgling enterprises. The latter issue is operationalized through a series of carefully chosen case studies. Financial Systems, Corporate Investment in Innovation, and Venture Capital will be a valuable text for scholars and students of the theory and practice of financing innovation. It will also be a valuable source for governments, NGOs, financial institutions and multilateral agencies interested in the practicalities of promoting technology-based small and medium enterprises.

This book analyzes the European Great Recession of 2008-12, its economic and social causes, its historical roots, and the policies adopted by the European Union to find a way out of it. It contains explicit debates with several economists and analysts on some of the most controversial questions about the causes of the crisis and the policies applied by the European Union. It presents the cases of Iceland, Greece and Ireland, the countries that first declined into crisis in Europe, each of them in a different way. Iceland is a case study for reckless banking practices, Greece of reckless public spending, and Ireland of reckless household indebtedness. At least seven other countries, mostly from the peripheries of Europe, had similarly reckless banking and spending practices. In the center of the book are the economic and social causes of the crisis. Contemporary advanced capitalism became financialized, de-industrialized and globalized and got rid of the "straitjacket" of regulations. Solid banking was replaced by high-risk, "casino-type" activity. The European common currency also had a structural problem - monetary unification without a federal state and fiscal unification. The other side of the same coin is European hyper-consumerism. A new lifestyle emerged during two super-prosperous periods in the 1950s to 1960s, and during the 1990s to 2006. Trying to find an exit policy, the European Union turned to strict austerity measures to curb the budget deficit and indebtedness. This book critically analyzes the debate around austerity policy. The creation of important supra-national institutions, and of a financial supervisory authority and stability mechanisms, strengthens integration. The correction of the euro's structural mistake by creating a quasi-fiscal unification is even more important. The introduction of mandatory fiscal rules and their supervision promises a long-term solution for a well-functioning common currency. These measures, meanwhile, create a two-tier European Union with a fast-track core. This book suggests that the European Union will emerge stronger from the crisis. This book will be of particular interest to students and researchers of economics, history, political science and international finance, but will also prove profitable reading for practitioners and the interested public.

This book analyzes the European Great Recession of 2008-12, its economic and social causes, its historical roots, and the policies adopted by the European Union to find a way out of it. It contains explicit debates with several economists and analysts on some of the most controversial questions about the causes of the crisis and the policies applied by the European Union. It presents the cases of Iceland, Greece and Ireland, the countries that first declined into crisis in Europe, each of them in a different way. Iceland is a case study for reckless banking practices, Greece of reckless public spending, and Ireland of reckless household indebtedness. At least seven other countries, mostly from the peripheries of Europe, had similarly reckless banking and spending practices. In the center of the book are the economic and social causes of the crisis. Contemporary advanced capitalism became financialized, de-industrialized and globalized and got rid of the "straitjacket" of regulations. Solid banking was replaced by high-risk, "casino-type" activity. The European common currency also had a structural problem - monetary unification without a federal state and fiscal unification. The other side of the same coin is European hyper-consumerism. A new lifestyle emerged during two super-prosperous periods in the 1950s to 1960s, and during the 1990s to 2006. Trying to find an exit policy, the European Union turned to strict austerity measures to curb the budget deficit and indebtedness. This book critically analyzes the debate around austerity policy. The creation of important supra-national institutions, and of a financial supervisory authority and stability mechanisms, strengthens integration. The correction of the euro's structural mistake by creating a quasi-fiscal unification is even more important. The introduction of mandatory fiscal rules and their supervision promises a long-term solution for a well-functioning common currency. These measures, meanwhile, create a two-tier European Union with a fast-track core. This book suggests that the European Union will emerge stronger from the crisis. This book will be of particular interest to students and researchers of economics, history, political science and international finance, but will also prove profitable reading for practitioners and the interested public.

A quantitative analyst's introduction to the theory and practice of ESG finance In Quantitative Methods for ESG Finance, accomplished risk and ESG experts Dr. Cyril Shmatov and Cino Robin Castelli deliver an incisive and essential introduction to the quantitative basis of ESG finance from a quantitative analyst's perspective. The book combines the theoretical and mathematical bases underlying risk factor investing and risk management with accessible discussions of ESG applications. The authors explore the increasing availability of non-traditional data sources for quantitative analysts and describe the quantitative/statistical techniques they'll need to make practical use of these data. The book also offers: A particular emphasis on climate change and climate risks, both due to its increasing general importance and accelerating regulatory change in the space Practical code examples in a Python Jupyter notebook that use publicly available data to demonstrate the techniques discussed in the book Expansive discussions of risk factor investing, portfolio construction, ESG scoring, new ESG-driven financial products, and new financial risk management applications, particularly those making use of the proliferation of "alternative data", both text and images A must-read guide for quantitative analysts, investment managers, financial risk managers, investment bankers, and other finance professionals with an interest in ESG-driven investing, Quantitative Methods for ESG Finance will also earn a place on the bookshelves of graduate students of business and finance.

Since the global financial crisis of 2007-8, new laws and regulations have been introduced with the aim of improving the transparency in financial reporting. Despite the dramatically increased flow of information to shareholders and the public, this information flow has not always been meaningful or useful. Often it seems that it is not possible to see the wood for the trees. Financial scalds continue, as Wirecard, NMC Health, Patisserie Valerie, going back to Carillion (and many more) demonstrate. Financial and corporate reporting have never been so fraught with difficulties as companies fail to give guidance about the future in an increasingly uncertain world aided and abetted by the COVID-19 pandemic. This concise book argues that the changes have simply masked an increase in the use of corporate PR, impression management, bullet points, glossy images, and other simulacra which allow poor performance to be masked by misleading information presented in glib boilerplate texts, images, and tables. The tone of the narrative sections in annual reports is often misleading. Drawing on extensive research and interviews with insiders and experts, this book charts what has gone wrong with financial reporting and offers a range of solutions to improve information to both investors and the public. This provides a framework for a new era of forward-looking corporate reporting and guidance based on often conflicting multiple corporate goals. The book also examines and contrasts the latest thinking by the regularity authorities. Providing a compelling exploration of the industry's failings and present difficulties, and the impact of future disruption, this timely, thought-provoking book will be of great interest to students, researchers, and professionals as well as policy makers in accounting, financial reporting, corporate reporting, financial statement analysis, and governance.

The book provides a rigorous introduction to corporate finance and the valuation of equity. The first half of the book covers much of the received theory in these areas such as the relationship between the risk of an equity security and the return one can expect from it, the effects of leverage (that is, the borrowing policies of the firm) on the return one can expect from the firm's shares and the role that dividends, operating cash flows and accounting earnings play in the valuation of equity. The second half of the book is more advanced and deals with the important role that "real options" (that is, as yet unexploited investment opportunities) play in the valuation of equity.

Actuarial Principles: Lifetables and Mortality Models explores the core of actuarial science: the study of mortality and other risks and applications. Including the CT4 and CT5 UK courses, but applicable to a global audience, this work lightly covers the mathematical and theoretical background of the subject to focus on real life practice. It offers a brief history of the field, why actuarial notation has become universal, and how theory can be applied to many situations. Uniquely covering both life contingency risks and survival models, the text provides numerous exercises (and their solutions), along with complete self-contained real-world assignments.

This book provides insight into the multi-dimensional process of coordinating and supervising mutual funds. This book focuses on the management of mutual funds within financial markets, with an emphasis on how corporate governance and benchmarking influence asset and portfolio management. Chapters explore four important aspects of this process in particular detail: corporate governance, benchmarking, asset management and portfolio management. The author shows that the mutual fund industry provides wider access to payment systems and to a savings safety-net that operates similarly to deposit insurance. Furthermore, he demonstrates that the Indian government's focus is on establishing the right of every person to have access to affordable basic financial services offered by banks and non-banks.

Leopardology TM - the art of Positive Predatory Thinking. Critical business strategy, gleaned from the hunt of the African leopard. Critical business thinking and strategy, gleaned from the hunting habits and techniques of the African leopard, perhaps the most successful predator on earth! Using the hunting habits and techniques of Africa's most successful predator, Leopardology TM draws metaphors of personal and business success that will simply leave you spellbound! Having the "lion's share" of market territories and clients, to which corporations have been accustomed, is no longer the case. Competitor predators are continually on the prowl for your market share and profit. On the plains of the African savannah, deficiencies of vision, strategy, trust and change-management are often the indicators that lead alert predators to easy prey. Not unlike the world of commerce, in the bushlands of Africa, if one is not hunting to survive, one will simply survive to be hunted!

This book demonstrates how the global market for Islamic financial services has shown strong growth in recent years and shown remarkable resilience during the global financial crisis. Drawing on a range of international perspectives from the Gulf Cooperation Council countries, Malaysia, Pakistan, Australia and Europe, this book explores the characteristics and performance of Islamic finance and banking and discusses future prospects. It offers a comprehensive theoretical framework for Shariah governance in Islamic financial institutions, explores Shariah-compliant equities, as well as issues in productivity, technology and efficiency. It includes a number of comparative studies on Islamic and conventional banks, Islamic and conventional unit trusts, and Islamic and conventional banks' product mixes. The challenges and opportunities for the expansion of Islamic finance and banking into Europe are explored through the contexts of the UK, Germany and Italy.

This book assesses the extent to which British news organizations gave exposure and credence to different political interpretations of economics and business news in the decade before the 2008 Financial Crisis. Through the content analysis of some 1,600 news items, this study provides compelling empirical evidence to inform often theoretical debates about neoliberal assumptions in the media. In each of the three pre-2008 case studies - economic globalization, private finance and public services, and Tesco - Merrill finds that the Telegraph, The Times, the Sunday Times and, to varying extents, the Guardian-Observer and the BBC gave limited exposure and credence to ideas from the left of the political spectrum. As such, he builds an important comparative picture of economic, business and financial journalism in the period before the defining event of the decade, the effects of which continue to resonate.

This open access book presents a comprehensive and up-to-date collection of knowledge on the state of crowdfunding research and practice. It considers crowdfunding models and their different manifestations across a variety of geographies and sectors, and explores the perspectives of fundraisers, backers, platforms, and regulators. Gathering insights from a wide range of influential researchers in the field, the book balances concepts, theory, and case studies. Going beyond previous research on crowdfunding, the contributors also investigate issues of community, sustainability, education, and ethics. A vital resource for anyone researching crowdfunding, this book offers readers a deep understanding of the characteristics, business models, user-relations, and behavioural patterns of crowdfunding.

This book provides an overview of the evolution and theories of the Austrian School of Economics and develops answers to current economic questions and the pressing problems of the 21st century from the Austrian perspective. Readers will learn about the fundamental ideas of the Austrian School, the current state of Austrian economics, and the intellectual figures and institutions that sustain it as a vibrant intellectual movement. International experts on Austrian economics cover topics such as the economic impact of pandemics, trade blocs, federalism and European integration, and the economic development of China. The book also discusses the influence of the Austrian School on modern economic thought and mainstream economics, as well as on policymakers. It will appeal to students and scholars of economics and to anyone interested in social and economic liberalism.

The objective of this textbook is to introduce students to basic principles of international corporate finance. This book stresses practical applications in a user-friendly format. It is suitable for both undergraduate and graduate level courses in international finance, and can be used in any part of the world as it does take a nationalistic viewpoint. This self-contained book and combines theory and applications. Students will be exposed to key tools and techniques of global corporate finance without a complex treatment of theoretical financial concepts.