Financial Management Practices: An Empirical Study of Indian Corporates

Financial management practices are likely to have a marked effect on the financial performance of a corporate enterprise. Therefore, sound financial decisions/practices can contribute towards meeting the desired objective of having profitable operations. This subject assumes paramount significance in view of the present dynamic and turbulent business environment, which has produced more intense competition and smaller profit margins across the world. In this context, the financial management practices of the corporates in India, a country with a vast potential for economic growth, can offer valuable insights.

The present study explores whether there has been a major change in the financial performance (measured in terms of profitability) and financial policies/decisions of the sample companies over a fixed period (2000-2001 to 2010-2011), with a special focus on pre and post-recession analysis. It delves deeper into current research areas such as zero working capital, real options in capital budgeting, pecking order in capital structures, and clause 49 as reflected in the financial management decisions of sample companies, and provides a broader perspective by identifying trends (if any) in certain aspects of financial decision-making over the past two decades.

A comprehensive study, covering all the major aspects of financial management practices, also contains an inter-sectoral study (among the sample companies) and develops an index of professionalism in financial management based on the practices of the sample companies.

The book is primarily targeted at teachers/students of finance, management, commerce, accounting and related professional disciplines/fields. Practitioners/professionals will find it an invaluable text that helps guide them to better decision-making.

P.K. Jain is a Professor of Finance and the Modi Chair Professor at the Department of Management Studies, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT Delhi), India. He has been the Dalmia Chair Professor as well. Recently, he has been awarded with ‘Best

Faculty Award’ at IIT Delhi. He has more than 40 years of teaching experience in subjects related to Management Accounting, Financial Management, Financial Analysis, Cost Analysis and Cost Control. He has been a visiting faculty at the AIT Bangkok; University of Paris; Howe School of Technology Management at Stevens Institute of Technology, New Jersey; and ICPE, Ljubljana. He has authored three well-known text books published by TMH and more than ten research monographs. He has contributed more than 150 research papers in journals of national and international

repute.

Shveta Singh is an Assistant Professor of fi nance at the Department of Management Studies, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT Delhi), India. She teaches Managerial Accounting and Financial Management, Indian Financial System and Security Analysis and Portfolio Management. Overall, she has more than a decade of professional experience, having spent three years in the corporate sector prior to joining

academics. She has published research papers in journals of national and international repute.

Surendra S. Yadav is a Professor of Finance at the Department of Management Studies, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT Delhi), India. He teaches Corporate Finance, International Finance, International Business and Security Analysis and

Portfolio Management. He has been a visiting professor at the University of Paris, Paris School of Management, INSEEC Paris, and the University of Tampa, USA. He has published nine books and contributed more than 150 papers to research journals and conferences. He has also contributed more than 30 papers to financial/ economic newspapers. He is the editor-in-chief of the Journal of Advances in Management Research (JAMR) published by Emerald Publishing, UK.