Description
Enlist the help of a former CFO to introduce your students to the exciting world of financial management with the eighth edition of PRACTICAL FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT. Author, former CFO, and recognized authority William R. Lasher captivates students with unique insights into the issues and challenges facing financial managers every day. Lasher’s real world experience lets him include issues that others miss, such as the biases and hidden agendas decision makers often bring to the analysis of projects and proposals. Lasher’s practical, relevant and eminently accessible presentation has proven to keep students reading. This edition examines the latest financial developments, such as the influence of activist investors and our ever changing financial markets. Throughout the text, Lasher delivers an engaging, thorough presentation that’s perfectly matched to the needs of today’s business students. His treatment of math is particularly noteworthy. He explains equations with words first, and then presents solutions slowly, step by step, so even those with weak quantitative skills can follow easily. That presentation is backed up with numerous fully explained numerical examples. In addition, CengageNOW, a powerful course management and online homework tool, is available with the eighth edition. It provides easy yet effective instructor control and customization to optimize the student learning experience while measuring outcomes. Lasher’s PRACTICAL FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT, Eighth Edition, delivers the solid understanding of business finance that your students need for future success.
Features and Benefits
Concept Connections: End-of-chapter problems reference in-chapter examples to facilitate review. Students who are challenged by end-of-chapter problems can use convenient cross references that guide them back to corresponding in-chapter examples for review and clarification of concepts.
Step-by-step completed examples walk students through the processes: Numerous, detailed worked-out examples throughout the text ensure students understand each step as they walk through the processes. These practical learning tools ensure this book is a useful resource that students can use on their own for review and reinforcement.
“From the CFO” provides insights based on the author’s personal experience as a CFO: Take a true “insider’s look” at the role of CFO in business today. “From the CFO” features throughout the book highlight author Dr. Lasher’s personal experience as a successful CFO. You will examine finance in actual practice with tips and insights grounded in real business world experience.
What's New
To keep the book current, the author has added coverage of several important new topics throughout the book.
The treatment of the EVA/MVA approach to financial analysis has been greatly expanded. The changing character of securities markets has been recognized with an expansion of the treatment of exchanges to included off-exchange trading through Dark Pools as well as High Frequency Trading and SEC regulation.
To assist those students who have trouble getting started with time value problems, 15 very easy problems have been added to the end of the end-of-chapter problems in chapter 6.
There is expanded coverage of capital budgeting, estimating the optimal capital structure, and a new emphasis in payments to stockholders from dividends to distributions in general. The eighth edition also adds a major section on activist investors in the chapter on corporate restructuring.
Table of Contents Part I: INTRODUCTION TO FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT. 1. Foundations.
2. Financial Background: A Review of Accounting, Financial Statements, and Taxes.
3. Cash Flows and Financial Analysis.
4. Financial Planning.
5. The Financial System, Corporate Governance, and Interest.
Part II: DISCOUNTED CASH FLOW AND THE VALUE OF SECURITIES.
6. Time Value of Money.
7. The Valuation and Characteristics of Bonds and Leasing.
8. The Valuation and Characteristics of Stock.
9. Risk and Return.
Part III: BUSINESS INVESTMENT DECISIONS--CAPITAL BUDGETING.
10. Capital Budgeting.
11. Cash Flow Estimation.
12. Risk Topics and Real Options in Capital Budgeting.
13. Cost of Capital.
Part IV: LONG-TERM FINANCING ISSUES.
14. Capital Structure and Leverage.
15. Dividends and Repurchases.
Part V: OPERATIONS ISSUES--WORKING CAPITAL MANAGEMENT AND PLANNING.
16. The Management of Working Capital.
17. Corporate Restructuring.
18. International Finance.