This book is an introduction to optimal stochastic control for continuous time Markov processes and the theory of viscosity solutions. It covers dynamic programming for deterministic optimal control problems, as well as to the corresponding theory of viscosity solutions. New chapters in this second edition introduce the role of stochastic optimal control in portfolio optimization and in pricing derivatives in incomplete markets and two-controller, zero-sum differential games.

Modern businesses generate huge volumes of accounting data on a daily basis. The recent advancements in information technology have given organizations the ability to capture and store these data in an efficient and effective manner. However, there is a widening gap between this data storage and usage of the data. Business intelligence techniques can help an organization obtain and process relevant accounting data quickly and cost efficiently. Such techniques include, query and reporting tools, online analytical processing (OLAP), statistical analysis, text mining, data mining, and visualization. Business Intelligence Techniques is a compilation of chapters written by experts in the various areas. While these chapters stand of their own, taken together they provide a comprehensive overview of how to exploit accounting data in the business environment.

As more applications are found, interest in Hidden Markov Models continues to grow. Following comments and feedback from colleagues, students and other working with Hidden Markov Models the corrected 3rd printing of this volume contains clarifications, improvements and some new material, including results on smoothing for linear Gaussian dynamics.

In Chapter 2 the derivation of the basic filters related to the Markov chain are each presented explicitly, rather than as special cases of one general filter. Furthermore, equations for smoothed estimates are given. The dynamics for the Kalman filter are derived as special cases of the authors general results and new expressions for a Kalman smoother are given. The Chapters on the control of Hidden Markov Chains are expanded and clarified. The revised Chapter 4 includes state estimation for discrete time Markov processes and Chapter 12 has a new section on robust control.

An evolving agenda of Information Technology Auditing is subject of this book. The author presents various current and future issues in the domain of IT Auditing in both scholarly as well as highly practice-driven manner so as to make those issues clear in the mind of an IT auditor. The aim of the book is not to delve deep on the technologies but the impact of these technologies on practices and procedures of IT auditors. Among the topics are complex integrated information systems, enterprise resource planning, databases, complexities of internal controls, and enterprise application integration - all seen from an auditor's perspective. The book will serve a big purpose of support reference for an auditor dealing with the high-tech environment for the first time, but also for experienced auditors.

Franz Michael Fischer investigates the relationships between the application of the controllability principle and managers' cognitive, affective, and behavioral responses. The author further explores the impact of several important contextual factors on the basic relationships and, thus, develops moderated mediation models. He reveals that the application of the controllability principle has a significant effect on role stress and role orientation which, in turn, are related to managerial performance and affective constructs.

Mit der Zielsetzung, Aufgaben und Losungen anzubieten, die sowohl Studenten zum Selbststudium als auch Dozenten zur Unterstutzung von Lehrveranstaltungen dienen konnen, stellt das Studien- und Ubungsbuch "Controlling" eine Reihe von typischen Anwendungsfallen und Kooerdinationsinstrumenten bereit. An den 17 Kapiteln wirkten 19 Autoren von 11 Universitaten und einer Fachhochschule mit."

Once an obscure niche of the investment world, private equity has grown into a juggernaut, with consequences for a wide range of industries as well as the financial markets. Private equity funds control companies that represent trillions of dollars in assets, millions of employees, and the well-being of thousands of institutional investors and their beneficiaries. Even as the ruthlessness of some funds has made private equity a poster child for the harms of unfettered capitalism, many aspects of the industry remain opaque, hidden from the normal bounds of accountability. The Myth of Private Equity is a hard-hitting and meticulous expose from an insider's viewpoint. Jeffrey C. Hooke-a former private equity executive and investment banker with deep knowledge of the industry-examines the negative effects of private equity and the ways in which it has avoided scrutiny. He unravels the exaggerations that the industry has spun to its customers and the business media, scrutinizing its claims of lucrative investment returns and financial wizardry and showing the stark realities that are concealed by the funds' self-mythologizing and penchant for secrecy. Hooke details the flaws in private equity's investment strategies, critically examines its day-to-day operations, and reveals the broad spectrum of its enablers. A bracing and essential read for both the financial profession and the broader public, this book pulls back the curtain on one of the most controversial areas of finance.

This book looks at the provision of finance in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) by the IMF and World Bank in return for economic liberalization, exploring the political motivations of funding and geo-politics in recipients. The effectiveness of funding is questioned, with evidence from four MENA countries.

Sub-Saharan Africa faces three big challenges over the next generation. It will double its population to two billion by 2045. By then more than half of Africans will be living in cities. And this group of mostly young people will be connected through mobile devices.

Properly harnessed and planned for, these are positive forces for change. Without economic growth and jobs, they could prove a political and social catastrophe. Old systems of patronage and muddling through will no longer work.

Making Africa Work is a practical account of how to ensure growth beyond commodities, and to create jobs. It’s a handbook for dynamic leadership inside and outside the continent.

Es gibt sie wirklich: junge Grunder mit einer erfolgversprechenden Idee und einem Plan. Doch meistens fehlen ihnen die finanziellen Mittel, um ihren Plan in die Tat umzusetzen. Auf der anderen Seite stehen Investoren, die gerne in solch ein Startup finanzieren wurden. Wenn diese beiden Gruppen zueinander finden und sich einig werden, ist das ein Venture Deal. Wie kommen Venture Capital-Deals zustande? Das ist eine der haufigsten Fragen, die von jeder Jungunternehmer-Generation gestellt wird. UEberraschenderweise gibt es wenig zuverlassige Informationen zu diesem Thema. Niemand weiss es besser als Brad Feld und Jason Mendelson. Die Grunder der Foundry Group - eine Risikokapitalfirma, die sich auf Investitionen in Unternehmen der Informationstechnologie in der Fruhphase konzentriert - waren an Hunderten von Risikokapitalfinanzierungen beteiligt. Ihre Investitionen reichen von kleinen Start-ups bis hin zu grossen Risikofinanzierungsrunden der Serie A. In "Venture Deals" zeigen Brad Feld und Jason Mendelson Jungunternehmern das Innenleben des VC-Prozesses, vom Risikokapital-Term Sheet und effektiven Verhandlungsstrategien bis hin zur ersten Seed- und spateren Development-Phase. "Venture Deals" - gibt wertvolle, praxisnahe Einblicke in die Struktur und Strategie von Risikokapital - erklart und verdeutlicht das VC-Term Sheet und andere missverstandene Aspekte der Kapitalfinanzierung - hilft beim Aufbau kooperativer und unterstutzender Beziehungen zwischen Unternehmern und Investoren - vermittelt die jahrelange praktische Erfahrung der Autoren "Venture Deals" ist unverzichtbar fur jeden aufstrebenden Unternehmer, Risikokapitalgeber oder Anwalt, der an VC-Deals beteiligt ist und fur Studenten und Dozenten in den entsprechenden Studienbereichen.

The ideal companion to Investment Banking Investment Banking WORKBOOK is the ideal complement to Investment Banking: Valuation, LBOs, M&A, and IPOs, Third Edition-enabling you to truly master and refine the core skills at the center of the world of finance. This comprehensive study guide provides an invaluable opportunity to explore your understanding of the strategies and techniques covered in the main text before putting them to work in real-world situations. The WORKBOOK, which parallels the main book chapter by chapter, contains over 500 problem-solving exercises and multiple-choice questions. Topics reviewed include: - Valuation and its various forms of analysis, including comparable companies, precedent transactions, and DCF analysis -Leveraged buyouts-from the fundamentals of LBO economics and structure to detailed modeling and valuation -M&A sell-side tools and techniques, including an overview of an organized M&A sale process -M&A buy-side strategy and analysis, including a comprehensive merger consequences analysis that includes accretion/dilution and balance sheet effects -IPOs, including valuation, structure, and process, as well as SPACs and direct listings The lessons found within will help you successfully navigate the dynamic world of investment banking, LBOs, M&A, IPOs, and professional investing. Investment Banking WORKBOOK will enable you to take your learning to the next level in terms of understanding and applying the critical financial tools necessary to be an effective finance professional.

Provides a detailed analysis of the achievements and disappointments of the modern Indian economy, and an exploration of the issues which are shaping India's economic future. Offers a comprehensive overview of the state of India's economy in the twenty-first century and is essential for postgraduates and scholars interested in this area.

Dieses Buch richtet sich an Studenten und Praktiker, die einen schnellen, aber dennoch umfassenden Einstieg in das komplexe Gebiet der Absicherung und Finanzierung von Auslandsgeschaften suchen. Nach der Durcharbeitung des Buches sollte der Leser die mit dem kurzfristigen, mittelfristigen und langfristigen Aussenhandelsgeschaft verbundenen finanziellen Probleme und Risiken abschatzen und geeignete Losungsmoglichkeiten aufzeigen konnen."

This is the new and totally revised edition of L tkepohl 's classic 1991 work. It provides a detailed introduction to the main steps of analyzing multiple time series, model specification, estimation, model checking, and for using the models for economic analysis and forecasting. The book now includes new chapters on cointegration analysis, structural vector autoregressions, cointegrated VARMA processes and multivariate ARCH models. The book bridges the gap to the difficult technical literature on the topic. It is accessible to graduate students in business and economics. In addition, multiple time series courses in other fields such as statistics and engineering may be based on it.

This collection of exclusive articles presents the latest research in the area of mergers and acquisitions. It presents what drives corporate performance under different economic conditions, both in the US and across the globe, and examines the role of mergers and acquisitions in maintaining the efficiency of world markets.

Management has always been part of human organization, but it is only in the last two centuries or so that it has been the central driver of economic activity, as companies have moved from family firms to hugely complex, multinational corporations with many layers of management. The term management is commonly used in three ways: as a process or activity; as a structure in any organization; and as a group or class of people carrying out certain roles in an organization. This book is the first detailed account of the evolution of management in all three senses. The focus is mainly on the UK, but throughout the broader question of why corporate management structures developed so impressively in the USA, Germany and Japan is borne in mind, while arguably little progress was made in this regards in the UK. Equally the authors consider why, given that management is now so widely studied, so little careful research has been undertaken into the evolution of the practice and the profession of management. The book is divided into four sections. Part One provides An Introduction to Management History; Part Two, Management and Organization, explores the historical development through the 19th and 20th centuries; Part Three, Managers in Context, looks at the social and cultural context of management and managers; and Part Four considers three key functional areas, labour, marketing, and accounting and finance. This rich, detailed, and path-breaking book will be essential reading for anyone wanting to understand the evolution of management as we now understand it, whether academics, students or managers themselves.

Christiane Strohm investigates the effects of the Sarbanes-Oxley-Act and the revised 8th EU-Directive on auditing. She shows that there is a difference in the communication and safeguarding effects of a regulation, depending on the precision of its wording and that safeguarding effects also depend on auditors' monetary incentives and on perceived costs of litigation.

Since 1981, over 100 governments around the world have raised over $1 trillion through the sale of SOEs to private investors. Privatization programs have transformed the role of the state in virtually all-major economies, and have massively increased the capitalization and liquidity of all non-U.S. stock markets. The focus of this book lies on where privatization stands today and what are the next frontiers, the why and how behind countries who privatize certain industries, whether privatization works as an economic tool and important insights relevant to financial institutions such as how to value privatized industries, how share offerings differ from private offerings, and how countries go about harnessing private capital. The book will also represent a key and unique source for information related to the details of asset sales privatization, a summary of statistics of privatized companies from 54 international stock exchanges, regulatory changes and sources for privatization information for investors, government officials, bankers and financial specialists. The volume will serve as an invaluable reference for professionals and as a core or supplementary text in privatization courses.

Emerging market stock issuance relative to GDP rose in the late twentieth century to levels that roughly matched that of advanced, industrial markets. Nonetheless, the connection between owning shares of emerging market stock and the ability to influence the management of these firms remains fundamentally different from the analogous institutional connection that has evolved in industrial markets. The reasons for the differences in emerging markets are both historical and political in nature. That is, local equity markets have had the objective of providing for some degree of local ownership and control of large economic entities since the late nineteenth century. However, local markets have operated under different global political structures since that time, ranging from imperialism, to world wars, to sovereign developmental states, to neo-liberal states. Shares issued under these different structures have been reconfigured over time, resulting in a lack of convergence along either the Anglo-American or Continental models of corporate governance. The author uses a political science paradigm to explain the growth of emerging equity markets. She departs from conventional economic explanations and examines politics at the micro-level of large issues of emerging market stock. The second half of the book presents case studies dealing with emerging market countries in Latin America, Asia, Russia and Eastern Europe, Africa and the Middle East. The case studies connect the regional, state, and firm levels to detail the multiple ownership and control arrangements, and to dispel the notion that mere quantitative growth of these markets will lead to a convergence in financial institutional structures along the lines of the industrial core of the world economy.

As the U.S. Population ages, retirement is becoming an increasingly important life stage. Pension and retirement plans are crucial to the financial well-being of older citizens and key determinants of their standard of living. Many varieties of pension plans are currently offered, and employers have an interest in these plans because a good pension plan can help an employer attract, retain, and motivate a competent workforce. In some cases, the employer's financial health can depend significantly on the financial health of its pension plan. When employers make decisions regarding pension and retirement plans, they are making decisions that have high stakes for both their employees and the employer itself. Poor decisions can lead to intense scrutiny, sometimes by the media or in the courtroom. Good pension decision making can provide a secure future for the employer and its employees.
Managing Pension and Retirement Plans: A Guide for Employers, Administrators and Other Fiduciaries covers the essential financial issues surrounding pension plans. It discusses investment policy and strategy, performance measurement, fiduciary responsibilities, and labor market issues, among other topics. Anyone responsible for any aspect of pension plan management will profit from reading this book.

This book provides the first summary and critical appraisal of the thinking that currently informs the management of business relationships, from the perspectives of both the buyer and supplier. The authors argue that these approaches are one-dimensional and instead recommend a more holistic approach based on power, interaction and portfolio perspectives. The book provides evidence of how relationships can be aligned and misaligned in practice, using eighteen examples drawn from a variety of business cases and circumstances.

A detailed look at the worst M&A deals ever and the lessons learned from them
It's common knowledge that about half of all merger and acquisition (M&A) transactions destroy value for the buyer's shareholders, and about three-quarters fall short of the expectations prevailing at the time the deal is announced. In Deals from Hell, Robert Bruner, one of the foremost thinkers and educators in this field, uncovers the real reasons for these mishaps by taking a closer look at twelve specific instances of M&A failure. Through these real-world examples, he shows readers what went wrong and why, and converts these examples into cautionary tales for executives who need to know how they can successfully navigate their own M&A deals. These page-turning business narratives in M&A failure provide much-needed guidance in this area of business. By addressing the key factors to M&A success and failure, this comprehensive guide illustrates the best ways to analyze, design, and implement M&A deals. Filled with in-depth insights, expert advice, and valuable lessons gleaned from other M&A transactions, Deals from Hell helps readers avoid the common pitfalls associated with this field and presents them with a clear framework for thinking about how to make any M&A transaction a success.

India has realised, later than many other nations, that in order to prosper in the new world economy it will need to successfully manage its knowledge assets. This book investigates the rise of entrepreneurship and knowledge management. It looks at the high tech sector, how it is at present and it's prospects for growth. It then goes onto analyse the effect that the knowledge economy will have on labour, business strategy and corporate restructuring and highlights the challenges that India will face, not least whether it can offer enough employment potential for 1 billion people.

Focuses on the study of the accounting problems and issues of emerging economies DESCRIPTION: This series arose out of the belief that the international accounting literature should devote more attention to the study of the accounting problems and issues of emerging economies (developing and newly industrialized countries). The volumes raise the level of interest in the specific problems of accounting in emerging economies and the awareness of real issues, so that accounting in these countries will not just be seen as a matter of copying what is done in the industrialized countries. These works have become relevant to the actual needs of its readers, and is making real contributions to the accounting development process of emerging economies. TABLE OF CONTENTS: Accounting and Control in Gulf Countries; Accounting and Banking in Africa; Accounting in South Asia.