财务报表及财务研究管理知识分析.ppt

* * * * * Note that unlimited liability applies to all partners in a general partnership but only to the general partner(s) in a limited partnership Written agreements are essential due to the unlimited liability. Limited partners cannot be actively involved in the business or else they may be deemed general partners. * Note that unlimited liability applies to all partners in a general partnership but only to the general partner(s) in a limited partnership Written agreements are essential due to the unlimited liability. Limited partners cannot be actively involved in the business or else they may be deemed general partners. * * * * * * Maximize profit – Are we talking about long-run or short-run profits? Do we mean accounting profits or some measure of cash flow? Minimize costs – We can minimize costs today by not purchasing new equipment, or by delaying maintenance, but this may not be in the best interest of the firm or its owners. Maximize market share – This has been a strategy of many of the companies. They issued stock and then used it primarily for advertising to increase the number of “hits” to their Web sites. Even though many of the companies may have huge market share (i.e. Amazon) that still does not guarantee positive earnings, so their owners may not be happy. Maximize the current value of the company’s stock There is no short run vs. long run here. The stock price should incorporate expectations about the future of the company and consider the trade-off between short-run profits and long-run profits. The purpose of a for-profit business should be to make money for its owners. Maximizing the current stock price increases the wealth of the owners of the firm. This is analogous to maximizing owners’ equity for firms that do not have publicly traded stock. Not-for-profits can also follow the same principle, but their “owners” are the constituencies that they were created to help. * It is important to remind students that net income is NOT cash flow