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’Ownership versus control of corporations
It is often not feasible for the owners of a corporations to have direct control of the firm because there are sometimes many owner, each of whom can freely trade his or her stock. That is in corporation, direct control and ownership are often separate. Rather than the owner, the board of director and chief executive officer possess direct control of the corporations.
The corporate management team
The shareholders of a corporation exercise their control by electing a board of directors, a group of people who have the ultimate decision-making authority in the corporation.
Example: Goldman Sachs ultimately decided to go public for three main reasons: to secure permanent capital to grow; to be able to use publicly traded securities to finance strategic acquisitions and to enhance the culture of ownership and gain compensation flexibility.
Goldman Sachs’ distinctive culture of teamwork and excellence has thrived in public form and our equity compensation programs turned out better than we could have hoped.
The board of directors makes rules on how the corporation shall be run (including how the top managers in the corporation are compensated) set policy and monitors the performance of the company. The board of directors delegates most decisions that involve day-to-day running of the corporation to its management. The chief executive officer CEO is charged with running the corporation by instituting the rules and policies set by the board of directors.
The separation of powers within corporations between the board of directors and the CEO is not always distinct. In fact, it is not uncommon for the CEO also to be the chairman of the board of directors. The most senior financial manager is the chief financial officer (CFO) who often reports directly to the CEO.
The financial Manager is responsible for three main tasks: making investment decisions, making financing decisions, and managing the firm’s cash flow.
Investment decisions the financial manager’s most important job is to make the firm’s investment decision. The financial manager must weigh the cost and benefits of all investments and projects ad decide which of them qualify as good uses of the money stockholders have invested in the firm. These investment decisions fundamentally shape what the firm does and whether it will add value for its owners.
Financing decisions: once the financial manager has decided which investments to make he or she also decides how to pay for them. Large investments may require the corporation to raise additional money. The financial manager must decide whether to raise more money from new and existing owners by selling more shares of stocks (equity) or to borrow the money debt. This book will discuss the characteristics of each source of funds and how to decide
Cash Management. The financial manager must ensure that the firm has enough cash on hand to meet its day-to-day obligation. This job, also commonly known as managing working capital, may seem straightforward but in a young and growing company, it can mean the difference between success and failure.
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