The Time Value of Money: A Clarifying and Simplifying Approach

The concept of time value of money is critical for business students, financial managers, and anyone who deals with money.  Financial managers must be able to employ TVM concepts competently in order to value both financial and real assets as they make decisions regarding capital budgeting, capital structure, and working capital management. Therefore business students must come to understand and apply correctly time value of money concepts.   This brief note suggests a clarification and a simplification of the pedagogy of TVM, which will result in greater understanding for the student.  These suggestions include redefining the variable "n" in two of the TVM equations; dispensing with the pointless and purely semantic discussion of whether payments occur "at the beginning" or "at the end" of each period; and emphasizing the use of multiple-step problems.    &nbsp

Introduction to Financial Analysis

This Open Textbook is a dynamic guide incorporating the essential skills needed to build a foundation in Financial Analysis. Students and readers will learn how to insightfully read a Financial Statement, utilize key financial ratios in order to derive forward-looking investment-related inferences from the accounting data, engage in elementary forecasting and modeling, master the theory of the Time Value of Money, and learn to price stocks and bonds in an environment in which interest rates constantly change. Ample problems and solutions, and review questions are provided to the student so that s/he can gauge his/her progress. This text will be continually updated in order to provide novel information and enhance students’ experiences.https://touroscholar.touro.edu/opentextbooks/1001/thumbnail.jp

Understanding why complex projects overrun: developing a framework for identifying and managing risks

Despite a growing wealth of experience and knowledge concerning projects they experience cost overruns. Answering a call from leading academics for new research perspectives on projects, this thesis examines project cost overruns using a systemic modelling perspective and a case study design. The findings suggest that feedback dynamics involving loss of client trust; delay triggers such as design changes; and contextual conditions such as human resource policies, form a complex system that can induce overruns

Moving Forward as a Family: Crafting a 2-Generation Strategy for Central Texas, PRP 192

United Way for Greater Austin commissioned this policy research project to guide their focus on helping low socioeconomic families achieve greater financial stability through the development of a Two-Generation (2-Gen) strategy for the Central Texas region. Two-Gen programs emphasize the importance of education as a means for better economic outcomes. High-quality early childhood education programs allow children to make critical neural connections during a period of substantial growth and development, ultimately better preparing them for pre-kindergarten programs and academic success in subsequent years. Adults working low-paying jobs encounter barriers to career advancement due to lacking credentials or relevant education. It is not uncommon for parents working long hours for low wages to have at least one child in need of high-quality early childhood education, yet they are unable to enroll their child in such programs due to issues such as cost, transportation, and time away from work. Two-Gen programs seek to resolve the issues complicating this problem of financial instability by providing high-quality educational and training programs for both parents and children, which are even more effective when intentionally coordinated so that the family develops as a single unit in a positive direction. The research consisted of a literature review; a program scan at the local, state, and federal levels; and site visits within Austin, Dallas, and San Antonio, as well as Boston and Miami. Data collected specific to the Central Texas region include a labor market analysis, a needs assessment, and a mapping of current organizational assets. Obtaining and analyzing this data allowed the team to better understand 2-Gen program development, outcomes, impact measurements, and areas for improvement. The research team developed practical applications for the information collected, ultimately contributing to the proposed anti-poverty strategy through the intentional coordination of 2-Gen services by leveraging existing organizational assets to best address the area’s most salient needs. In addition, the team proposed an evaluation strategy involving cost-benefit equations, program evaluation metrics, and a screening tool to predict the likelihood of a program achieving successful outcomes. The report concludes with policy recommendations at the local, state, and federal levels, as well as a summary of the populations affected by financial instability and future directions for this field.United Way for Greater AustinPublic Affair

Pharmacist Services

The overall goal of this book is to give the reader a state-of-the-art synopsis of the pharmacist services domain. To accomplish this goal, the authors have addressed the social, psychosocial, political, legal, historic, clinical, and economic factors that are associated with pharmacist services. In this book, you will gain cutting-edge insights from learning about the research of experts throughout the world. The findings have relevance for enhancing pharmacist professionalism, pharmacist practice, and the progression of pharmacist services in the future

The Value Driven Pharmacist: Basics of Access, Cost, and Quality 2nd Edition

https://digitalcommons.butler.edu/butlerbooks/1017/thumbnail.jp

Business Finance Essentials

Business Finance Essentials is a text designed to provide students with an opportunity to learn the fundamentals of business finance without the additional cost of a textbook. This book has been developed with over a decade of classroom use in both face-to-face and online classes at Pittsburg State University. The goal was to create a resource to introduce students to the important elements that go into financial decision making which applies to corporations and their own personal lives in a simple framework. Whether it is learning about time value of money, bonds, capital budgeting or retirement planning, this book should make that process as straight-forward as possible. With the explosion of Open Educational Resource materials over the past few years, we saw this as a tool that could be made available to faculty as a launching point for their courses. Using a Creative Commons license that allows users to modify it to their needs with their own additions or through adding other resources, it is intended as not the final product, but the starting point. We hope that this process will keep the material current and flexible enough to help students gain not only a better grasp of finance, but also an interest in the field.https://digitalcommons.pittstate.edu/oer-business/1000/thumbnail.jp

A decision support system for managing results-based financed mega infrastructure programs

International Financial Institutions are exploring solutions that can ensure the effectiveness of funds with respect to the achievement of desired results/outputs. Results-Based finance (RBF) considers this goal through linking desired outputs to the disbursement of funds. This may require borrowers to pre-finance programs and then receive their allocated disbursements after results are achieved, which could form cash flow gaps. The management of this type of programs requires the integration of multiple projects management and finance-based scheduling with the financial requirements of results-based funding mechanisms. For proper management of received funds, this research introduces a framework for the simulation and optimization of RBF funded programs, that serves as a Decision Support System (DSS) for borrowers while implementing RBF. The Program-For-Results (P4R) mechanism, offered by the World Bank (WB), was used as one of the RBF mechanisms for verifying the developed framework. A model was developed for guiding borrowing governments through the full processes of P4R. The proposed model provides governments a step-by-step guide through each stage from initiation to program closing. For verification, the model was applied on a case study for presenting its capabilities. It was validated using the Sustainable Rural Sanitation Services Program (SRSSP) in Egypt, and it showed an improvement in the overall financial standing of the government. This model was developed and applied on the P4R mechanism; however, it applies to any other RBF mechanism as they share the same concepts and mechanisms

Financial Planning for High School Students

The global financial crisis of the early 21st century has taught us many things about human nature, our societal goals and the finance industry overall. Perhaps the most surprising finding, however, has been the observance of financial illiteracy among the general public. The combination of greed and ignorance towards financial responsibility has played an important role in the collapse of our financial system. The financial illiteracy of our society has been an epidemic in our country for some time. Financial planning is a topic that has been rarely taught in high schools. This has lead to an influx of adults who lack fundamental knowledge of how to manage their finances. In an attempt to combat this ever-growing trend in our society, Financial Planning for High School Students was conceived. Currently, there is nothing on the market that can be used as an educational tool to teach basic financial planning to high school students. The text is a beginner’s guide to the basics of financial planning. It is written in a concise and organized fashion to enable easy comprehension. Large sets of information have been condensed into helpful graphs and diagrams that are both visually appealing and informative. The text is divided into three sections based on age: Strategies for Young Adults, Adults and Old Age. This format helps to explain how the financial plan evolves as an individual progresses through life. Some major topics covered are: Budgeting, Credit Planning, Taxes, Investing, Insurance Planning and Estate Planning. Exposure to the basic concepts of financial planning should help address the issue of financial illiteracy and prevent another terrible global economic disaster