Short Introduction to Corporate Finance

by Raghavendra Rau

Overview

The Short Introduction to Corporate Finance provides an accessibly written guide to contemporary financial institutional practice. Rau deploys both his professional expertise and experience of teaching MBA and graduate-level courses to produce a lively discussion of the key concepts of finance, liberally illustrated with real-world examples. Built around six essential paradigms, he builds an integrated framework covering all the major ideas in finance over the past half-century. Ideal for students and practitioners alike, it will become core reading for anyone aspiring to become an effective manager.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781107461482
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	12/24/2016
Series:	Cambridge Short Introductions to Management
Pages:	194
Product dimensions:	5.59(w) x 8.58(h) x 0.43(d)

About the Author

Raghavendra Rau is the Sir Evelyn de Rothschild Professor of Finance at the Judge Business School, University of Cambridge. He is a director of the Cambridge Center for Alternative Finance, past president of the European Finance Association, and past editor of the journal Financial Management. Professor Rau was Principal at Barclays Global Investors, then the largest asset manager in the world, from 2008–9. His research has frequently been covered by the popular press including the New York Times, the Financial Times, the Wall Street Journal, and the Economist, among others.

Table of Contents

Preface; Acknowledgements; 1. Who are the players in corporate finance?; 2. NPV and the investment decision of the firm; 3. Portfolio theory and the discount rate; 4. Capital structure theory; 5. Option pricing theory; 6. Asymmetric information; 7. Market efficiency; 8. Wrapping it up; Index.

Editorial Reviews

'Raghavendra Rau has written a witty and thoroughly accessible introduction to how financial markets work and why they may fail to deliver. Highly recommended.' Sanjeev Goyal FBA, Fellow at Christ's College, University of Cambridge

'To laypersons, finance often sounds like a bewildering array of jargon. Rau brilliantly explains key finance concepts using vivid real-world examples. Importantly, the material is accessible to a broad population. Thus, this is a unique text which should have wide-ranging appeal for beginners trying to obtain their first exposure to finance.' Avanidhar Subrahmanyam, Goldyne and Irwin Hearsh Chair in Money and Banking, Anderson School of Management, University of California, Los Angeles

'Long overdue and very much welcome, Professor Rau’s new handbook on the investment and financing decisions of a firm is logical, elegant, and remarkably easy to read. Reducing what we need to know into the six big ideas of corporate finance is bold, but audiences populated by undergraduates, graduate students or executives alike seeing it all for the first time will appreciate the simplicity. His humorous quips scattered throughout surely help to lift the burden of our field’s more difficult concepts.' Andrew Karolyi, Harold Bierman Jr Distinguished Professor of Management, Cornell University, New York

'Professor Rau successfully distils Corporate Finance into six basic ideas and through an understanding of these core tenets he has been able to cut through much of the complexity of Corporate Finance theory. Each of the six areas are explained in considerable detail but without an over reliance on mathematical models. The book will be equally valuable for financial professionals, students of finance theory and layman who are simply interested in how financial markets work.' Paul Warren, Clare College, University of Cambridge

'Raghavendra Rau opens the gateway to an understanding of corporate finance in this book, moving us lucidly towards that nirvana of universal financial literacy - when people will not need a priesthood to work the world of finance for them. This gem of a book should be compulsory reading for everyone.' Indira Rajaraman, World Resources Institute, India and formerly a Member of the Thirteenth Finance Commission

'Professor Rau provides a concise, coherent introduction to corporate finance that should be essential reading for current and aspiring managers. The text is interjected with examples that borrow from pop culture, which are only accentuated by Professor Rau’s biting wit and quirky charm.' Kathleen M. Kahle, University of Arizona

From the Publisher