Running Head: The Role of the Financial Manager Paper
The Role of the Financial Manager
The role of the financial is to maximize a shareholder's value. A shareholders' wealth is represented by the market price of a firm's common stock. The financial manager should seek to maximize the present value of the expected future returns to the owners of the firm. In an efficient market, a financial manager maximizes stock prices and identifies and implements projects that add value to the firm (i.e. projects that contribute more than they cost). Lastly, financial managers also raise financing by issuing financial instruments that cost less than the financing raised.
The financial manager of a firm is synonymous with financial planning. The basic components of financial planning comprise of the investment opportunities the firm elects to take advantage of, the amount of debt the firm chooses to employ, and the amount of cash the firm must decide upon for its growth and profitability (Anonymous, 2000).
The financial manager's role starts from the flow of cash from investors to the firm and back to the investor again. Financial managers should always use the net present value (NPV) rule. The NPV rule is defined as the value of a dollar today to the value of that same dollar in the future, taking inflation and returns into account (Ross, et al). If the NPV of a prospective project is positive, it should be accepted. However, if NPV is negative, the project should probably be rejected because cash flows will also be negative. The manager, as a stockholder's agent, is instructed to find and invest in all positive NPV projects open to the firm.
The ...