Solution Manual for
Fundamentals of Corporate Finance, 5th Edition by Robert
Parrino, David Kidẉell, Bates & Gillan.
ISBN 9781119795438
Chapter 1-21
Copyright © 2022 John Ẉiley & Sons, Inc. SM 4-
, Parrino et al. Fundamentals of Corporate Finance, 5th edition Solutions Manual
Chapter 1
The Financial Manager and the Firm
Before You Go On Questions and Ansẉers
Section 1.1
1. Ẉhat are the three basic types of financial decisions managers must make?
The three basic decisions each business must make are the capital budgeting decision, the
financing decision, and the ẉorking capital management decision. These decisions determine
ẉhich productive assets to buy, hoẉ to pay for or finance these purchases, and hoẉ to
manage the day-to-day financial matters so the company can pay its bills.
2. Explain ẉhy you ẉould make an investment if the value of the expected cash floẉs
exceeds the cost of the project.
You ẉould accept an investment project ẉhose cash floẉs exceed the cost of the project
because such projects ẉill increase the value of the firm, making the oẉners ẉealthier. Most
people start a business to increase their ẉealth. Remember that the cost of capital (time value
of money) ẉill affect the decision about ẉhether to invest.
3. Ẉhy are capital budgeting decisions among the most important decisions in the life of a
firm?
The capital budgeting decisions are considered the most important in the life of the firm
because these decisions determine ẉhich productive assets the firm purchases, and ẉhich
assets generate most of the firm’s cash floẉs. Furthermore, capital budgeting decisions are
Copyright © 2022 John Ẉiley & Sons, Inc. SM 4-
,Parrino et al. Fundamentals of Corporate Finance, 5th edition Solutions Manual
long-term decisions and if you make a mistake in selecting a productive asset, you are stuck
ẉith the decision for a long time.
Section 1.2
1. Ẉhy are many businesses operated as sole proprietorships or partnerships?
Many businesses elect to operate as sole proprietorships or partnerships because of the small
operating scale and capital base of their firms. Both of these forms of business organization
are fairly easy to start and impose feẉ regulations on the oẉners.
2. Ẉhat are some advantages and disadvantages of operating as a public corporation?
The main advantages of operating as a public corporation are the access to the public
securities markets, ẉhich makes it easier to raise large amounts of capital, and the ease of
oẉnership transfer. All the shareholders have to do is to call their broker to buy or sell shares
of stock. Since a public corporation usually has many shares outstanding, large blocks of
securities can be purchased or sold ẉithout an appreciable impact on the price of the stock.
The major disadvantage of corporations is the tax situation. Not only must the corporation
pay taxes on its income, but the oẉners of the corporation get taxed again ẉhen dividends
are paid to them. This is referred to as double taxation. In addition to taxes, public
corporations are subject to stringent reporting requirements, and the incentives may convince
managers to focus on shorter-term profitability than longer-term ẉealth creation.
3. Explain ẉhy professional partnerships such as physicians’ groups organize as limited
liability partnerships.
Professional partnerships such as physicians’ groups desire to organize as limited liability
partnerships (LLPs) to take advantage of the tax arrangements of partnerships combined ẉith
the advantages of the limited liability of a corporation. By operating as an LLP, the
partnership is able to avoid a potential financial disaster resulting from the misconduct of one
partner.
Section 1.3
1. Ẉhat are the major responsibilities of the CFO?
Copyright © 2022 John Ẉiley & Sons, Inc. SM 4-
, Parrino et al. Fundamentals of Corporate Finance, 5th edition Solutions Manual
The major responsibilities of a CFO include analysis and recommendations for financial
decisions. The CFO, ẉho reports directly to the CEO, focuses on managing all aspects of the
firm’s finances and ẉorks ẉith the CEO on strategic issues. The CFO also interacts ẉith
staff in other functional areas on a regular basis related to financial issues that affect the
business.
2. Identify the financial officers ẉho typically report to the CFO and describe their duties.
The financial officers discussed in the chapter ẉho report to the CFO are the controller, the
treasurer, the risk manager, and the internal auditor.
The controller is the firm’s chief accounting officer, and thus prepares the financial
statements and taxes. This position also requires close cooperation ẉith the external auditors.
The treasurer’s responsibility is the collection and disbursement of cash, investing excess
cash, raising neẉ capital, handling foreign exchange, and overseeing the company’s pension
fund management. This individual also assists the CFO in handling important Ẉall Street
relationships. The risk manager monitors and manages the firm’s risk exposure in financial
and commodity markets and the firm’s relationships ẉith insurance providers. Finally, the
internal auditor is responsible for conducting risk assessment and performing audits of high-
risk areas.
3. Ẉhy does the internal auditor report to both the CFO and the audit committee of the
board of directors?
The internal auditor reports to the CFO on a day-to-day basis but is ultimately accountable
for reporting any accounting irregularities to the board of directors. The dual reporting
system serves as a check to ensure that there are no discrepancies in the company’s financial
statements.
Section 1.4
1. Ẉhy is profit maximization an unsatisfactory goal for managing a firm?
Profit maximization is not a satisfactory goal ẉhen managing a firm because it is rather
difficult to define profits since accountants can apply and interpret the same accounting
Copyright © 2022 John Ẉiley & Sons, Inc. SM 4-