Principles of contemporary corporate finance

Finance is often associated with market excesses, systemic crises, and the short-sighted pursuit of profit. Yet there is another kind of finance―perhaps less visible but far more decisive―that sup-ports businesses, together with strategic choices, and safeguards long-term equilibrium. This volume arises from the need to restore attention to that dimension: corporate finance as a discipline at the service of the real economy.
Through a critical reflection on the past decades, the authors question the growing dominance of technical formalism and model-driven approaches that have gradually distanced theory from the realities of organizations. Corporate finance is not an abstract exercise or a laboratory of formulas; it is a “surgical” discipline that requires a deep understanding of the firm (but also of any other organized entity like a family or a government) as a living organism―its structure, dynamics, and vulnerabilities. At the heart of the book lies the concept of value, freed from rhetorical inflation and superficial interpretations. Value is presented as the result of efforts targeted to generating growth (both organically and through M&A); to reaching and maintaining profitability and monetary sustainability; to identifying, facing and managing risk; to properly collecting resources and shaping capital structure. Value is also constantly looking for a solid balance between shareholders and stakeholders interests, a long-term economic and financial equilibrium that guides responsible decision-making. Sustainability (or even better: respect) is not the usual expression to comply with the mainstream but a foundational principle embedded in every financial choice.
Rigorous in its theoretical framework and firmly grounded in operational reality, this treatise speaks to students, scholars, and professionals who seek to rediscover the authentic role of finance: to create and preserve value over time, strengthening enterprises and, through them, society as a whole.