Whois & Analysis for cfo.com

Corporate finance is the area of finance dealing with the sources of funding and the capital structure of corporations, the actions that managers take to increase the value of the firm to the shareholders, and the tools and analysis used to allocate financial resources.

The primary goal of corporate finance is to maximize or increase shareholder value.

Although it is in principle different from managerial finance which studies the financial management of all firms, rather than corporations alone, the main concepts in the study of corporate finance are applicable to the financial problems of all kinds of firms.

The chief financial officer (CFO) or chief financial and operating officer (CFOO) is a corporate officer primarily responsible for managing the financial risks of the corporation.

This officer is also responsible for financial planning and record-keeping, as well as financial reporting to higher management.

In some sectors the CFO is also responsible for analysis of data.

The title is equivalent to finance director (FD), a common title in the United Kingdom.

The CFO typically reports to the chief executive officer and to the board of directors, and may additionally sit on the board.

In marketing, lead generation is the initiation of consumer interest or enquiry into products or services of a business.

Leads can be created for purposes such as list building, e-newsletter list acquisition or for sales leads.

The methods for generating leads typically fall under the umbrella of advertising, but may also include non-paid sources such as organic search engine results or referrals from existing customers.

Advertising is an audio or visual form of marketing communication that employs an openly sponsored, nonpersonal message to promote or sell a product, service or idea.

Sponsors of advertising are often businesses who wish to promote their products or services.

Advertising is differentiated from public relations in that an advertiser usually pays for and has control over the message.

It is differentiated from personal selling in that the message is nonpersonal, i.e., not directed to a particular individual.

Senior management, executive management, or a management team is generally a team of individuals at the highest level of management of an organization who have the day-to-day tasks of managing that organization - sometimes a company or a corporation.

They hold specific powers delegated to them with and by authority of a board of directors and/or the shareholders.

Generally, higher levels of responsibility exist, such as a board of directors and those who own the company (shareholders) - but they focus on managing the senior or executive management instead of on the day-to-day activities of the business.

The executive management typically consists of the heads of a firm's product and/or geographic units and of functional executives such as the chief financial officer, the chief operating officer, and the chief strategy officer.

In project management, senior management authorises the funding of projects.