Organization

A succinct, flexible 12-chapter structure fits EMBA, full-time, part-time, and evening MBA programs. This book provides students with the tools and insights necessary to make informed business decisions ranging from performance evaluation to firm valuation. The chapters are organized around a decision-focused structure.

The first three chapters introduce the basic financial statements and tools for analyzing accounting information:
I. The foundations of financial accounting and accounting analysis (Chapters 1–3)

The next five chapters provide the student the tools needed, along with a structure for financial valuations.

II. Interest rates and the time value of money (Chapter 4)
III. Risk and return (Chapter 5)
IV. Financial asset valuation (Chapters 6 and 7)
V. Financial markets and financial instruments (Chapter 8)

The following three chapters explore topics of financial corporate decisions.

VI. Capital structure (Chapter 9)
VII. Dividend policy (Chapter 10)
VIII. Mergers and acquisitions and leveraged buyouts (Chapter 11)

The book concludes with an introduction to international finance.

IX. International finance (Chapter 12)

What Makes this Textbook Different from Other Finance Texts?

Clear and Concise

Financial Management for Executives provides an extremely pragmatic approach to teaching what many consider a very difficult subject to grasp. Rather than overwhelming the student with dense theory, the textbook is written in a clear, conversational style with continuous references to real-world application. The combined aspects of readability, concise presentation, and simple organization make the material easy to digest. We find students from disciplines as diverse as financial engineering to art history are amazed at their ability to understand the topics presented in the textbook. We constantly receive comments such as “I was afraid of this class, but now I can honestly say I enjoy it,” or “I can finally understand what the finance people at my place of work are saying."

Grounded in the Context of Corporate Decisions

Financial information is an integral part of decision making at every level in business. Consequently, the book’s discussion of important finance and accounting concepts is grounded in the context of actual corporate decisions. To this end, the book contains an abundance of excerpts and illustrations from actual corporate financial reports and disclosures that highlight the role and impact of financial information in decision making. Following is an example found in the textbook in the context of valuation using the simple price-earnings multiples:

Reflects Contemporary Knowledge

In our experience, EMBAs and MBAs frequently seem interested in exploring realworld questions such “How do companies go public?” or “Does the market really follow fundamental analysis?” We discuss both the theory and the practical applications to these questions using real-world companies, such as Facebook and Green Mountain, to provide context.

Real Data and Examples

Each chapter opens with a vignette based on a real company example that immediately engages the reader in the chapter’s topics. Subsequent examples and end of chapter exercises incorporate real company data, further enhancing student comprehension.

Engaging Pedagogy

A Roadmap to the Chapter

The text includes many tools that reinforce an understanding of the chapter contents, beginning with a framework that orients the student to how the chapter coverage fits in with the rest of the course.

Takeaways define the learning objectives that the student will be able to master after reading the chapter.

Often, students lose sight of the big picture. The Past, Present, Future feature provides students with a snapshot of the topics that were just covered in the previous chapter and those to come.

The Executive Outline visually depicts the layout of the chapter and the key concepts to be covered.

Your Turn! boxes are integrated throughout each chapter as a means of reinforcing the material just presented and lend an interactive feel to the material. Questions are posed around a realistic financial scenario, and solutions are provided at the end of the chapter so students can check their work.

End of Chapter Material

At the end of each chapter, review materials include:

• Comprehensive Review Problem, with solution
• Executive Summary
• Key Terms
• Exercises
• Your Turn! Soultions