Chapter 1 The Role of Managerial Finance PDF

Chapter 1 The Role of Managerial Finance Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education.  Learning Goals LG1 Define finance and the managerial finance function. LG2 Describe the legal forms of business organization. LG3 Describe the goal of the firm, and explain why maximizing th...

Chapter 1 The Role of Managerial Finance Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education.  Learning Goals LG1 Define finance and the managerial finance function. LG2 Describe the legal forms of business organization. LG3 Describe the goal of the firm, and explain why maximizing the value of the firm is an appropriate goal for a business. © 2012 Pearson Education 1-2  Learning Goals (cont.) LG4 Describe how the managerial finance function is related to economics and accounting. LG5 Identify the primary activities of the financial manager. LG6 Describe the nature of the principle-agent relationship between the owners and managers of a corporation, and explain how various corporate governance mechanisms attempt to manage agency problems. © 2012 Pearson Education 1-3  What is Finance? Finance can be defined as the science and art of managing money. At the personal level, finance is concerned with individuals’ decisions about how much of their earnings they spend, how much they save, and how they invest their savings. In a business context, finance involves the same types of decisions: how firms raise money from investors, how firms invest money in an attempt to earn a profit, and how they decide whether to reinvest profits in the business or distribute them back to investors. © 2012 Pearson Education 1-4  Career Opportunities in Finance: Managerial Finance Managerial finance is concerned with the duties of the financial manager working in a business. Financial managers administer the financial affairs of all types of businesses—private and public, large and small, profit-seeking and not-for-profit. They perform such varied tasks as developing a financial plan or budget, extending credit to customers, evaluating proposed large expenditures, and raising money to fund the firm’s operations. © 2012 Pearson Education 1-5  Career Opportunities in Finance: Managerial Finance (cont.) The recent global financial crisis and subsequent responses by governmental regulators, increased global competition, and rapid technological change also increase the importance and complexity of the financial manager’s duties. Increasing globalization has increased demand for financial experts who can manage cash flows in different currencies and protect against the risks that naturally arise from international transactions. © 2012 Pearson Education 1-6  Legal Forms of Business Organization A sole proprietorship is a business owned by one person and operated for his or her own profit. A partnership is a business owned by two or more people and operated for profit. A corporation is an entity created by law. Corporations have the legal powers of an individual in that it can sue and be sued, make and be party to contracts, and acquire property in its own name. © 2012 Pearson Education 1-7  Table 1.1 Strengths and Weaknesses of the Common Legal Forms of Business Organization © 2012 Pearson Education 1-8  Matter of Fact © 2012 Pearson Education 1-9  Figure 1.1 Corporate Organization © 2012 Pearson Education 1-10  Table 1.2 Career Opportunities in Managerial Finance © 2012 Pearson Education 1-11  Goal of the Firm: Maximize Shareholder Wealth Decision rule for managers: only take actions that are expected to increase the share price. © 2012 Pearson Education 1-12  Goal of the Firm: Maximize Profit? Which Investment is Preferred? Profit maximization may not lead to the highest possible share price for at least three reasons: 1. Timing is important—the receipt of funds sooner rather than later is preferred 2. Profits do not necessarily result in cash flows available to stockholders 3. Profit maximization fails to account for risk © 2012 Pearson Education 1-13  Goal of the Firm: What About Stakeholders? Stakeholders are groups such as employees, customers, suppliers, creditors, owners, and others who have a direct economic link to the firm. A firm with a stakeholder focus consciously avoids actions that would prove detrimental to stakeholders. The goal is not to maximize stakeholder well-being but to preserve it. Such a view is considered to be "socially responsible." © 2012 Pearson Education 1-14  The Role of Business Ethics Business ethics are the standards of conduct or moral judgment that apply to persons engaged in commerce. Violations of these standards in finance involve a variety of actions: “creative accounting,” earnings management, misleading financial forecasts, insider trading, fraud, excessive executive compensation, options backdating, bribery, and kickbacks. Negative publicity often leads to negative impacts on a firm © 2012 Pearson Education 1-15  The Role of Business Ethics: Considering Ethics Robert A. Cooke, a noted ethicist, suggests that the following questions be used to assess the ethical viability of a proposed action: – Is the action arbitrary or capricious? Does the action unfairly single out an individual or group? – Does the action affect the morals, or legal rights of any individual or group? – Does the action conform to accepted moral standards? – Are there alternative courses of action that are less likely to cause actual or potential harm? © 2012 Pearson Education 1-16  The Role of Business Ethics: Ethics and Share Price Ethics programs seek to: – reduce litigation and judgment costs – maintain a positive corporate image – build shareholder confidence – gain the loyalty and respect of all stakeholders The expected result of such programs is to positively affect the firm’s share price. © 2012 Pearson Education 1-17  Managerial Finance Function The size and importance of the managerial finance function depends on the size of the firm. In small firms, the finance function is generally performed by the accounting department. As a firm grows, the finance function typically evolves into a separate department linked directly to the company president or CEO through the chief financial officer (CFO) © 2012 Pearson Education 1-18  Managerial Finance Function: Relationship to Economics (cont.) Marginal cost–benefit analysis is the economic principle that states that financial decisions should be made and actions taken only when the added benefits exceed the added costs Marginal cost-benefit analysis can be illustrated using the following simple example. © 2012 Pearson Education 1-19  Managerial Finance Function: Relationship to Economics (cont.) Nord Department Stores is applying marginal-cost benefit analysis to decide whether to replace a computer: © 2012 Pearson Education 1-20  Managerial Finance Function: Relationship to Accounting The firm’s finance and accounting activities are closely- related and generally overlap. In small firms accountants often carry out the finance function, and in large firms financial analysts often help compile accounting information. One major difference in perspective and emphasis between finance and accounting is that accountants generally use the accrual method while in finance, the focus is on cash flows. © 2012 Pearson Education 1-21  Managerial Finance Function: Relationship to Accounting (cont.) Finance and accounting also differ with respect to decision- making: – Accountants devote most of their attention to the collection and presentation of financial data. – Financial managers evaluate the accounting statements, develop additional data, and make decisions on the basis of their assessment of the associated returns and risks. © 2012 Pearson Education 1-22  Figure 1.3 Financial Activities © 2012 Pearson Education 1-23  Managerial Finance Function: Relationship to Economics The field of finance is closely related to economics. Financial managers must understand the economic framework and be alert to the consequences of varying levels of economic activity and changes in economic policy. They must also be able to use economic theories as guidelines for efficient business operation. © 2012 Pearson Education 1-24  Governance and Agency: Corporate Governance Corporate governance refers to the rules, processes, and laws by which companies are operated, controlled, and regulated. It defines the rights and responsibilities of the corporate participants such as the shareholders, board of directors, officers and managers, and other stakeholders, as well as the rules and procedures for making corporate decisions. © 2012 Pearson Education 1-25  Governance and Agency: Individual versus Institutional Investors Individual investors are investors who own relatively small quantities of shares so as to meet personal investment goals. Institutional investors are investment professionals, such as banks, insurance companies, mutual funds, and pension funds, that are paid to manage and hold large quantities of securities on behalf of others. Unlike individual investors, institutional investors often monitor and directly influence a firm’s corporate governance by exerting pressure on management to perform or communicating their concerns to the firm’s board. © 2012 Pearson Education 1-26  Governance and Agency: Government Regulation Government regulation generally shapes the corporate governance of all firms. During the recent decade, corporate governance has received increased attention due to several high-profile corporate scandals involving abuse of corporate power and, in some cases, alleged criminal activity by corporate officers. © 2012 Pearson Education 1-27  Governance and Agency: Government Regulation The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002: established an oversight board to monitor the accounting industry; tightened audit regulations and controls; toughened penalties against executives who commit corporate fraud; strengthened accounting disclosure requirements and ethical guidelines for corporate officers; established corporate board structure and membership guidelines; established guidelines with regard to analyst conflicts of interest; mandated instant disclosure of stock sales by corporate executives; increased securities regulation authority and budgets for auditors and investigators. © 2012 Pearson Education 1-28  Governance and Agency: The Agency Issue A principal-agent relationship is an arrangement in which an agent acts on the behalf of a principal. For example, shareholders of a company (principals) elect management (agents) to act on their behalf. Agency problems arise when managers place personal goals ahead of the goals of shareholders. Agency costs arise from agency problems that are borne by shareholders and represent a loss of shareholder wealth. © 2012 Pearson Education 1-29  The Agency Issue: Management Compensation Plans In addition to the roles played by corporate boards, institutional investors, and government regulations, corporate governance can be strengthened by ensuring that managers’ interests are aligned with those of shareholders. A common approach is to structure management compensation to correspond with firm performance. © 2012 Pearson Education 1-30