Corporate Finance – A Focused Approach (book and student solution) Ehrhardt and Brigham，651頁，6.87M

In a beauty contest for companies, the winner is . . . General Electric.
Or at least General Electric is the most admired company in America, according
to Fortune magazine’s annual survey. The other top ten finalists are Cisco Systems,Wal-
Mart Stores, Southwest Airlines, Microsoft, Home Depot, Berkshire Hathaway, Charles
Schwab, Intel, and Dell Computer.What do these companies have that separates them
from the rest of the pack?
According to more than 4,000 executives, directors, and security analysts, these
companies have the highest average scores across eight attributes: (1) innovativeness,
(2) quality of management, (3) employee talent, (4) quality of products and services,
(5) long-term investment value, (6) financial soundness, (7) social responsibility, and (8)
use of corporate assets.
These companies also have an incredible focus on using technology to reduce
costs, to reduce inventory, and to speed up product delivery. For example, workers at
Dell previously touched a computer 130 times during the assembly process but now
touch it only 60 times. Using point-of-sale data,Wal-Mart is able to identify and meet surprising
customer needs, such as bagels in Mexico, smoke detectors in Brazil, and house
paint during the winter in Puerto Rico. Many of these companies are changing the way
business works by using the Net, and that change is occurring at a break-neck pace. For
example, in 1999 GE’s plastics distribution business did less than $2,000 per day of business
online. A year later the division did more than $2,000,000 per day in e-commerce.
Many companies have a difficult time attracting employees. Not so for the most
admired companies, which average 26 applicants for each job opening. This is because,
in addition to their acumen with technology and customers, they are also on the leading
edge when it comes to training employees and providing a workplace in which people
can thrive.
In a nutshell, these companies reduce costs by having innovative production
processes, they create value for customers by providing high-quality products and
services, and they create value for employees through training and fostering an environment
that allows employees to utilize all of their skills and talents.
Do investors benefit from this focus on processes, customers, and employees?
During the most recent five-year period, these ten companies posted an average annual
stock return of 41.4 percent, more than double the S&P 500’s average annual return
of 18.3 percent. These exceptional returns are due to the ability of these companies
to generate cash flow. But, as you will see throughout this book, a company
can generate cash flow only if it also creates value for its customers, employees, and
suppliers.

This chapter should give you an idea of what corporate finance is all about, including
an overview of the financial markets in which corporations operate. But before
getting into the details of finance, it’s important to look at the big picture. You’re
probably back in school because you want an interesting, challenging, and rewarding
career. To see where finance fits in, let’s start with a five-minute MBA。。。

Part One: Building Blocks to Corporate Finance
1 Overview 1
2 Time Value of Money 53
3 Risk and Return 99
Part Two: Valuing Securities and Projects
4 Bonds and Their Valuation 145
5 Stocks and Their Valuation 183
6 The Cost of Capital 221
7 The Basics of Capital Budgeting 257
8 Cash Flow Estimation and Risk Analysis 295
Part Three: Corporate Valuation
9 Financial Statements, Cash Flow, and Taxes 333
10 Analysis of Financial Statements 371
11 Financial Planning and Forecasting Statements 405
12 Corporate Valuation, Value-Based Management, and Corporate Governance System 435
Part Four: Corporate Financing
13 Capital Structure Decisions 473
14 Distributions to Shareholders: Dividends and Repurchases 507
Part Five: Special Topics
15 Multinational Financial Management 539
16 Working Capital Management 575
17 Option Pricing with Applications to Real Options

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