Business Finance Business Finance

Lecture 3
Review of the Previous Lecture Review of the Previous Lecture
Finance
Components
Significance
Financial Management Decisions
Capital Budgeting
Capital Structure
Working Capital nvestment
Role of Financial Manager
%opics under Discussion %opics under Discussion
Forms of Business Organization
Proprietorship
Partnership
Corporation
Goals of the Corporate Firm
Agency Problem
Firm and the Financial Markets
%he Corporate Firm %he Corporate Firm
The corporate form of business is the
standard method for solving the problems
encountered in raising large amounts of
cash.
However, businesses can take other
forms.
Forms of Business Organization Forms of Business Organization
Three major forms
Sole proprietorship
Partnership
General
Limited
Corporation
Limited liability company
$ole Proprietorship $ole Proprietorship
Advantages
Easiest to start
Least regulated
Single owner keeps
all the profits
Taxed once as
personal income
Disadvantages
Limited to life of
owner
Equity capital
limited to owner's
personal wealth
Unlimited liability
Difficult to sell
ownership interest
A business owned by one person
Partnership Partnership
Two or more owners (partners)
General partnership: all partners share in
gains and losses and all have unlimited
liability for all partnership debts
Limited partnership: one or more general
partners will run the business and have
unlimited liability but there will be one or more
limited partners who do not actively
participate in the business and their liability is
limited to their contribution.
Partnership Partnership
Advantages
Two or more
owners
More capital
available
Relatively easy to
start
ncome taxed once
as personal income
Disadvantages
Unlimited liability
General partnership
Limited partnership
Partnership
dissolves when one
partner dies or
wishes to sell
Difficult to transfer
ownership
Corporation Corporation
A business created as a distinct legal
entity owned by one or more individuals or
entities.
Forming of corporation involves preparing
Charter including corporation's name,
intended life, business purpose and number
of shares
Set of byIaws which describes the
regulations for the business
$eparation of Ownership and
Control
$eparation of Ownership and
Control
Board of Directors
Management
Assets
Debt
Equity
S
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Corporation Corporation
Advantages
Limited liability
Unlimited life
Separation of
ownership and
management
Transfer of
ownership is easy
Easier to raise
capital
Disadvantages
Separation of
ownership and
management
Double taxation
(income taxed at
the corporate rate
and then dividends
taxed at personal
rate)
oal of the Corporate Firm oal of the Corporate Firm
The traditional answer is that the
managers of the corporation are obliged to
make efforts to maximize shareholder
wealth.
Alternatively, the goal of the financial
manager is to maximize the current value
per share of the existing stock
%he $et-of-Contracts
Perspective
%he $et-of-Contracts
Perspective
The firm can be viewed as a set of contracts.
One of these contracts is between shareholders
and managers.
The managers will :8:, act in the
shareholders' interests.
The shareholders can devise contracts that align the
incentives of the managers with the goals of the
shareholders.
The shareholders can monitor the managers
behavior.
This contracting and monitoring is costly.
%he Agency Problem %he Agency Problem
Agency relationship
Principal hires an agent to represent their
interest
Stockholders (principals) hire managers
(agents) to run the company
Agency problem
Conflict of interest between principal and
agent
Management goals and agency costs
anagerial oals anagerial oals
Managerial goals may be different from
shareholder goals
Expensive perquisites
Survival
ndependence
ncreased growth and size are not
necessarily the same thing as increased
shareholder wealth.
Do $hareholders Control
anagerial Behavior?
Do $hareholders Control
anagerial Behavior?
Shareholders vote for the board of directors,
who in turn hire the management team.
Contracts can be carefully constructed to be
incentive comp,tibe.
There is a market for managerial talentthis
may provide m,7et di8cipine to the
managersthey can be replaced.
f the managers fail to maximize share price,
they may be replaced in a hostile takeover.
anaging anagers anaging anagers
Managerial compensation
ncentives can be used to align management
and stockholder interests
The incentives need to be structured carefully
to make sure that they achieve their goal
Corporate control
The threat of a takeover may result in better
management
Other stakeholders
$ummary $ummary
Forms of Business Organization
Proprietorship
Partnership
Corporation
Goals of the Corporate Firm
Agency Problem
&pcoming %opics &pcoming %opics
Firm and the Financial Markets
Financial Statements
Balance Sheet
Assets
Liabilities and Owners Equity
Working Capital
Liquidity
Market Value vs Book Value
ncome Statement
GAAP
Non-cash tems
Time and Costs