Short-Term Financial Management

The sixth edition of covers material pertinent to courses covering the management of firm liquidity, working capital, and the treasury function. The textbook provides a comprehensive overview of these vital topics and also introduces many of the topics that must be mastered to earn the Certified Treasury Professional (CTP) certification. Unit I examines the relationship between firm value and short-term financial management and provides in-depth coverage of the tools used to assess and benchmark firm liquidity. Throughout this unit, the cash conversion cycle is used as a pedagogical tool to connect liquidity management to overall firm value. Unit II reviews the costs and benefits of carrying inventory, accounts receivable, and accounts payable on the balance sheet. Unit III covers the essentials of corporate cash management, including payment systems, bank relationship management, and optimizing liquidity flows (e.g., disbursements, collections, and concentration cash flows). Lastly, Unit IV reviews cash flow forecasting, short-term investing, short-term borrowing, and financial risk management. The Test Your Understanding activities in each chapter reinforce critical topics, and end-of-chapter review questions and problems encourage critical thinking. Introducing students to practical applications of short-term financial management, the text is ideal for courses in financial management and corporate finance.