Financial Management and Financial Institutions

Finance is a branch of science that encompasses an array of economic and financial principles, aiming to increase the value of an individual, business company, or public entity. It focuses on money and the level of risk associated with many of the financial ventures. Finance studies and explains the processes through which money is saved, used, or spent.

Personal finance explores the application of a variety of financial principles to persons and family units. It deals with how the money is obtained and how it is spent. The process of decision making is often associated with time and level of risk. Personal finance involves credit cards, personal loans, bank accounts, insurance policies, tax management, and personal investments.


Corporate finance deals with the task of administering funds for the corporation's different activities. At the level of corporate finance, financial concepts are applied to increase the overall value of the company. As part of the process, the decision makers also take into account the management of risks. All business entities deal with and try to predict potential risks. It is the elimination of these risks that determine whether or not a company will be ultimately successful on the market.


Finance covers three major areas: investments, financial markets and institutions, and investments. Financial management deals with how a business entity or an individual budgets or allocates funding in order to ensure a sufficient inflow of cash. This involves maintaining and administrating a person's or a business's financial assets. The companies hire financial managers to assess the financial circumstances of the business and to come up with strategies to increase profit generation. Financial management is the task of one manager or a team of experts. The cash flow of the business depends on the performance of this individual or group.


There are various financial institutions among which investment funds, insurance companies, credit unions, and banks. These bodies work as intermediaries for both capital markets and debt markets, and lenders and borrowers. They help facilitate the flow of cash from businesses, investors, clients, and many other entities. Financial institutions operate to provide financing to businesses, earning profit as part of the lending process. These institutions also provide financial security in different forms such as savings and insurance. Financial markets provide the tools for people to buy and sell services and products. These can be various commodities and goods. Thanks to the existence of markets, sellers and buyers meet each other. Financial markets facilitate international trade, the raising of funds, and the transfer of financial risks.


Budgets document the company's plan and may include the objectives of the business entity, the set targets, financial results, the required investment level to achieve the planned sales, and the funding sources. While long term budgets span over 5 to 10 years, short-term budgets focus on the functioning of businesses during one financial year.


Investments allow individuals or companies to buy assets in exchange for profit in various forms, for example income, interest, or appreciation. Financial management and the management of risks also play role in investments. The careful ROI and investment analysis will bring positive results to the companies and individuals who venture in the field of investment. All fields of finance are interrelated. Individuals who specialize in different branches of finance typically have working knowledge that spans over the whole science of investment.