Essentials of Business Finance

Contents: Preface. I. Introduction: 1. Nature of business finance. II. Structural Aspects of Business: 2. Forms of business enterprises. 3. Business and finance interface. III. Sources of Funds: 4. Financial structure planning and policy. 5. Trading on equity. IV. Uses of Funds: Long-Term: 6. Capital budgeting process and practices. 7. Depreciation accounting. V. Uses of Funds: Short-term: 8. Planning of working capital. 9. Financing and control of working capital. 10. Liquidity trend. VI. Distribution of Profits: 11. Designing dividend structure. 12. Dividend policy. VII: Contemporary Issues in Business Finance: 13. Corporate governance. 14. Disinvestment. 15. Mergers and acquisitions. Index.

"In any sphere of activity, efficiency is the ratio of the result achieved to the means used. When one says that something is efficient, it means that it is capable of producing a desired effect and that it is not unequal to a task. The state of business finance shows the quality of skills and the degree of success achieved in the performance of financial operations of an enterprise. The performance of business enterprises, in the area of business finance, has been the subject of considerable discussion, criticism and controversy. There are a number of enterprises whose performance cannot, by any standard, be called satisfactory. On the other hand, there are enterprises which manage their financial affairs very efficiently. The difference in the performance of different enterprises indicates that the business enterprises in  themselves are not inefficient and there is considerable scope for improvement. So, it becomes altogether more important that the performance of different business enterprises should be carefully evaluated from time to time and corrective measures should be taken if necessary.

The present book highlights the importance of an efficient financial management in a business enterprise. An attempt has been made to give an insight to the readers into the various concepts and practices of business finance in business enterprises today.

The book will be useful not only to the academic community but also to the entire corporate world." (jacket)