This book is a thorough, balanced, and insightful study of what is happening and what should be happening in health care financing. Americans want unlimited access to the best care at affordable prices. Fiscal pressures in American health care point in all different directions, like a pile of jackstraws. This important book analyzes how new payment incentives stimulate planned competition or reregulation; and the far-reaching impact these changes have on hospitals, physicians, long-term care facilities, HMOs, public health clinics, and multihospital systems. Tools for survival include better financial planning, productivity improvement, better scheduling systems, and total quality management.

Steven R. Eastaugh begins his book with a general overview of cost management, accounting, product-line selection, and new payment incentives. Part II provides an in-depth survey of fiscal trends in long-term care, managed care, HMOs, and PPOs. Part III analyzes five basic strategies that a provider may consider; with special focus on market analysis, diversification, and pricing. The next part reviews physician payment options, the new Medicare 1992 payment systems for hospitals and physicians, and cost analysis of hospital patient care, research, and education. Part V considers productivity enhancement methods, incentives to assist productivity programs, and the Deming method of total quality management. Part VI focuses on investment, financing, and capital structure decisions in health care institutions and also in large multifacility systems. The last part summarizes major strategies for success in the 1990s, future policy alternatives, and suggests a number of alternative roads to universal entitlement and national health care reform. As Eastaugh suggests in this book, Our health system faces . . . immense opportunity and danger in a reformation on four fronts: access, efficiency, effectiveness, and quality of life. The challenge for providers and managers during this period of unparalleled opportunity is to win a clear victory on all four fronts, and not erode either access or quality in the name of efficiency. The range of coverage in Health Care Finance is extremely wide and detailed--making it essential and useful reading for health care professionals and students alike.

The purpose of this paper is to incorporate both skewness and kurtosis explicitly through extending Zhang (1994) to provide bounds for the prices of and expected payoffs for options, given the first two moments of skewness and kurtosis. The rest of this paper is organized as follows. Section II - distributions of terminal stock prices with given expected prices, standard deviation, skewness, and kurtosis under the assumption that the underlying asset price is continuously distributed. Similar to the results given in (1), the bounds derived in this paper depend on the information of the cumulative distribution of the underlying asset. However, it is shown in Section II that for each set of moments, there always exists one semi-parametric upper bound which is independent of the information of any distribution of the underlying asset. This semi-parametric upper bound has the same property as that in the case of the first two moments in Zhang (1994), that is, it is always greater than, or equal to, the distribution dependent bounds.

Credit Risk Pricing Models - now in its second edition - gives a deep insight into the latest basic and advanced credit risk modelling techniques covering not only the standard structural, reduced form and hybrid approaches but also showing how these methods can be applied to practice. The text covers a broad range of financial instruments, including all kinds of defaultable fixed and floating rate debt, credit derivatives and collateralised debt obligations.This volume will be a valuable source for the financial community involved in pricing credit linked financial instruments. In addition, the book can be used by students and academics for a comprehensive overview of the most important credit risk modelling issues.

Praise for "Praise for Performance Management: Integrating Strategy Execution, Methodologies, Risk, and Analytics"

"A highly accessible collection of essays on contemporary thinking in performance management. Readers will get excellent overviews on the Balanced Scorecard, strategy maps, incentives, management accounting, activity-based costing, customer lifetime value, and sustainable shareholder value creation."
--Robert S. Kaplan, Harvard Business School; coauthor of "The Balanced Scorecard: Translating Strategy into Action, The Execution Premium," and many other books

"Gary Cokins demonstrates in this book that performance management is not a mysterious black art, but a structured, process-oriented discipline. If you want your performance management system to be a smoothly running analytical machine, read and apply the ideas in this book--it's all you need."
--Thomas H. Davenport, President's Distinguished Professor of Information Technology and Management, Babson College; coauthor of "Competing on Analytics: The New Science of Winning"

"Drawing on a deep reservoir of knowledge and experience gained from hundreds of customer engagements around the world, Gary Cokins offers an authoritative examination of the major dimensions of performance management. Cokins not only paints a rich and textured view of the major principles and concepts driving performance management implementations, he offers a nuanced look at the important subtleties that can spell the difference between success and failure. This is an informative and enjoyable text to read "
--Wayne Eckerson, Director of Research, The Data Warehouse Institute (TDWI); author of "Performance Dashboards: Measuring, Monitoring, and Managing Your Business"

" In this] very insightful book, the view of an integrated performance management framework with a goal to link various operational activities with business strategy is an excellent approach to manage and improve business. Gary's explanation of risk-based performance management, for providing the capability to achieve long-term objectives with reliably calculated risks, is definitely thought provoking."
--Srini Pallia, Global Head and Vice President of Business Technology Services, Wipro Technologies, Bangalore, India

"Gary Cokins is clearly one of the world's thought leaders in the area of performance management, and the need for integrated performance management, improvement and execution is clearly at a premium in these challenging economic times. This book is a must read for CEOs, CFOs, and management accountants around the globe seeking higher levels of sustainable business performance for their stakeholders."
--Jeffrey C. Thomson, President and CEO, Institute of Management Accountants

The 15th edition allows students to think critically, just as they will in their careers and preparing for the CPA exam. It provides a well-balanced appreciation of the accounting profession and focuses on past controversies and present resolutions. It shows the development of financial reporting as a product of intense and considered debate that continues today and will in the future. It is praised for its easy comprehension and engaging, lively and conversational tone, and has relatable examples from Forbes, Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg Business Week throughout. Discussion questions (like mini cases) help explain the issues in practical terms. Often these cases demonstrate to students why a topic is problematic and worth considering. Strong end of chapter questions like develop your skills help students master Research, Analysis, Spreadsheet and Communication needed to pass the CPA Exam. In Connect students have UWorld CPA Review questions, SmartBook, Integrated Excel and more!

The emphasis of Managerial Accounting, 13th edition, is on teaching students to use accounting information to best manage an organization. Consistent with the practice Hilton pioneered in the first edition, each chapter is written around a realistic business or focus company that guides the reader through the topics of that chapter. Known for balanced examples of Service, Retail, Nonprofit and Manufacturing companies, Hilton/Platt offers a clear, engaging writing style that has been praised by instructors and students alike. The 13th edition of Managerial Accounting offers significant coverage of contemporary topics such as activity-based costing, target costing, the value chain, customer profitability analysis, and throughput costing while also including traditional topics such as job-order costing, budgeting and performance evaluation.

Who enjoys statutory preferred creditor status? What justifications exist for jurisdictions to maintain statutes that favour 'priority' creditors over other creditors and contributories? This book examines preferential debts derived from specific legislative provisions applying to corporate insolvency. In exploring the concept of preferential treatment, Statutory Priorities in Corporate Insolvency Law includes chapters that provide a doctrinal, theoretical and historical analysis of who enjoys preferred creditor status. As well as examining the traditional major categories of priorities, this work also identifies potential new categories for priority status such as environmental clean-up costs, international creditors, tort claimants and consumers among other non-consensual creditors. While the study focuses on Australian corporate insolvency law, where appropriate, comparisons are made with other common law jurisdictions, particularly the UK, Canada, New Zealand and the US.

U.S. firms doing business in Germany are succeeding far better than usually reported. Indeed, 14 of the top 1,700 American companies with direct investment in Germany placed among the top 100 German industrial firms in sales in 1994, a fact that made big news in Germany but was never mentioned in the U.S. press. Here now, in one succinct, readable volume, is all of the vital information that American companies, and companies elsewhere, will need to enter and succeed in this lucrative German market. Certainly there are drawbacks, but attorneys James A. Hart and Dieter Schultze-Zeu make clear there are significant advantages as well, and in certain important ways it may be even easier to do business there than in other major industrial countries such as Japan.

The authors look carefully at the scope of U.S.-German business, and then compare the three economic superpowers -- Germany, Japan, and the United States -- in terms of such variables as gross domestic product, economic growth, and industrial production. They review the political, economic, and social considerations that have emerged from the unification of West and East Germany, and show their effects on the ways in which business in Germany is now done. They examine the principle methods of selling to Germany, the impact of the German government and legal system on American businesses. Then they discuss in detail specifics such as the legal forms of business, Germany's accounting and tax laws, and laws relating to product liability, anti-trust, labor, and social security. Also covered are the German banking and accounting systems, stock markets, and the presence of U.S. commercial banks in Germany. Of special interest are case histories of several important U.S. companies doing business there. An exceptionally useful guide for corporate executives, attorneys, and a cogent introduction to the German business environment for students, researchers, and analysts in the academic community.

Using examples from finance and modern warfare to the flocking of birds and the swarming of bacteria, the collected research in this volume demonstrates the common methodological approaches and tools for modeling and simulating collective behavior.

Thetopics presented point toward new and challenging frontiers of applied mathematics, making the volume a useful referencetext forapplied mathematicians, physicists, biologists, and economists involved in the modeling of socio-economic systems."

One of the most important trends in information systems today is the increasing use of electronic data interchange whereby paper is replaced by electronic communication for transactions between companies. Written for financial and accounting professionals as well as the MIS managers with whom they interface, this book offers a comprehensive discussion of the elements of EDI systems that are particularly useful in finance and accounting applications. Thierauf introduces the underlying framework for EDI, comparing it to the present paper operating mode; explains the fundamentals of national and international electronic communication, and explores the hardware and software necessary as well as the typical costs involved. Numerous real-world case studies are included to demonstrate the feasibility, development, and implementation of EDI systems in finance, accounting, and banking operations.

The text's structure follows a logical sequence from concept through application designed to assist the typical end user in the design and installation of an EDI system. Part One shows the relationship of EDI systems to various types of management information systems and discusses factors underlying both U.S. and international systems. In Part Two, Thierauf investigates the currently available EDI hardware and software and presents a custom-designed approach to software. In the final chapter of Part Two, Thierauf provides in-depth treatment of typical EDI applications as well as the design considerations for their development. The feasibility of undertaking an EDI system and detailed procedures for developing and implementing such a system form the focus of Part Three. Separate chapters cover EDI in strategic planning, banking, finance, and accounting. Numerous figures amplify points made in the text. In addition to providing a thorough guide to EDI for accounting, finance, and MIS professionals, this volume will also be ideal as a supplemental text for undergraduate and graduate courses in business information systems.

Major themes in theoretical financial economics since 1973 are presented through reprinted articles, each followed by a substantial essay by a leading scholar in the field. These original papers were written expressly for these volumes and provide a critical discussion and overview of the topic. The books thus present a broad spectrum of viewpoints with an emphasis on the work on valuation, economics of uncertainty, and taxation which pertains to the problems of financial markets and corporations.

This book introduces readers to the basic concepts of and latest findings in the area of differential equations with uncertain factors. It covers the analytic method and numerical method for solving uncertain differential equations, as well as their applications in the field of finance. Furthermore, the book provides a number of new potential research directions for uncertain differential equation. It will be of interest to researchers, engineers and students in the fields of mathematics, information science, operations research, industrial engineering, computer science, artificial intelligence, automation, economics, and management science.

A fieldwork-based sociological study of how participants in City of London financial markets view the markets in which they work and the market mechanism in general. It is more than a narrow study of financial market participants because it is also an empirical investigation into how ideologies function and it develops a critique of pro-market ideologies such as "Thatcherism". Finally, it is a sociological study into the privileged world of high earners and the wealthy.

The book discusses the mechanisms by which securities are traded, as well as examining economic models of asymmetric information, inventory control, and cost-minimizing trading strategies.

The 1990s saw a rapid rise in the proportion of market value represented by Internet companies. At the peak of the market, the value of US internet stocks alone exceeded $2 trillion, making these stocks nearly as valuable as the entire UK market. However, since March 2000 many internet stock values have declined precipitately. This book establishes a robust cashflow based methodology for internet valuation in relation to strategic issues, and includes compelling and topical case studies of leading players including Amazon.com and NTT DoCoMo.

This book is useful, readable and intelligent survey of the emerging field of behavioral accounting, a field that is doing much to narrow the gap between accounting and behavioral scholars and practitioners.

"Personnel Psychology"

The relatively new field of behavioral accounting relies on the application of behavioral concepts from the social sciences for an understanding of the forces that underlie the accounting environment. Here, Belkaoui presents the first comprehensive survey of behavioral accounting theories and findings, organizing them into a systematic framework for the further study of behavioral accounting issues and questions. The result is a new understanding of the behavioral environment of accounting and a guide to solving practical behavioral problems that result from the preparation and use of accounting information.

As Belkaoui demonstrates, the quality of accounting information is often adversely affected by human perceptions, attitudes, predispositions, and other behavioral characteristics. Belkaoui fully explores the behavioral underpinnings of the problem by examining the behavioral dimensions of a wide range of accounting issues and practices including: contingency approaches to the design of accounting systems; functional and data fixation; the practice of slack; accounting and language; goal setting, participative budgeting and performance; the human resource considerations in public accounting firms; and, finally, cultural determinism in accounting. By offering both a realistic appraisal of the theories behind behavioral accounting and a cogent statement of the questions still left unanswered, Belkaoui makes a major contribution to the ongoing inquiry into the influence of behavioral factors on accounting practice.

Currency trading techniques you can bank on

Forex trading can be remarkably lucrative--and complex, confusing, and risky. Too many investors dive right into Forex, suffering big losses. If you want to trade currencies successfully, read this book, take your time, and plan accordingly. The $4 trillion Forex market will be waiting.

"All About Forex Trading" walks you through everything you need to know to make currency trading a vibrant part of your diversified portfolio and generate handsome returns--regardless of what is happening to stocks and bonds. Whether your investing style is conservative or aggressive, this no-nonsense guide has what you need to build a powerful Forex trading strategy. Learn all there is to know about: What (and who) drives currency prices Investment vehicles for Forex trading Technical analysis techniques Key fundamental indicators Navigating the economic calendar All the traded currencies--from the Americas to Europe to Asia

This textbook gives a comprehensive introduction to stochastic processes and calculus in the fields of finance and economics, more specifically mathematical finance and time series econometrics. Over the past decades stochastic calculus and processes have gained great importance, because they play a decisive role in the modeling of financial markets and as a basis for modern time series econometrics. Mathematical theory is applied to solve stochastic differential equations and to derive limiting results for statistical inference on nonstationary processes. This introduction is elementary and rigorous at the same time. On the one hand it gives a basic and illustrative presentation of the relevant topics without using many technical derivations. On the other hand many of the procedures are presented at a technically advanced level: for a thorough understanding, they are to be proven. In order to meet both requirements jointly, the present book is equipped with a lot of challenging problems at the end of each chapter as well as with the corresponding detailed solutions. Thus the virtual text - augmented with more than 60 basic examples and 40 illustrative figures - is rather easy to read while a part of the technical arguments is transferred to the exercise problems and their solutions.

Understanding the New Global Economy: A European Perspective argues that globalisation is facing economic and political headwinds. A new global economic geography is emerging, cross-border relationships are changing, and global governance structures must come to terms with a new multipolar world. This book clarifies the fundamental questions and trade-offs in this new global economy, and gives readers the tools to understand contemporary debates. It presents a range of possible policy options, without being prescriptive. Following a modular structure, each chapter takes a similar approach but can also be read as a stand-alone piece. State-of-the-art academic research and historical experiences are weaved throughout the book, and readers are pointed towards relevant sources of information . This text is an accessible guide to the contemporary world economy, suited to students of international economics, political economy, globalisation, and European studies. It will also be valuable reading for researchers, professionals, and general readers interested in economics, politics, and civil society.

Bonds are a vital part of the global capital markets and are essential for any investor's portfolio. In this book leading expert Moorad Choudhry demystifies bonds once and for all. This guide explains, in a simple, clear fashion, the importance of bonds and why all private investors should include them as part of their investment strategy. Many bonds offer secure returns at a lower risk than equities. Readers will gain insight into the advantages of holding bonds and why they should always form part of any savings portfolio. Covering, among other topics, government bonds, the yield curve and what drives the market, in an easy, accessible style, this book is a must for anyone who wants to adopt a sound investment strategy.

Kiyosi Ito, the founder of stochastic calculus, is one of the few central figures of the twentieth century mathematics who reshaped the mathematical world. Today stochastic calculus is a central research field with applications in several other mathematical disciplines, for example physics, engineering, biology, economics and finance.

The Abel Symposium 2005 was organized as a tribute to the work of Kiyosi Ito on the occasion of his 90th birthday. Distinguished researchers from all over the world were invited to present the newest developments within the exciting and fast growing field of stochastic analysis. The present volume combines both papers from the invited speakers and contributions by the presenting lecturers.

A special feature is the Memoirs that Kiyoshi Ito wrote for this occasion. These are valuable pages for both young and established researchers in the field.