AN ANALYSIS OF THE FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT TECHNIQUES CURRENTLY EMPLOYED BY LARGE U.S. CORPORATIONS

Abstract

Economic conditions have placed increased importance upon rigorous financial analysis. In order to determine which analytical techniques are currently emp loyed by management, a questionnaire was sent to each fm on the May 1980, FORTUNE 500 list. The researchsought to establish a profile of the respondents' organizational structure and to identify the primary procedures used in risk assessment, working capital management, capital budgeting, and operations research modeling. The results do suggest a basic profile of the more active employers of analytical techniques. Relatively sophisticated capital budgeting procedures appear to be accepted across most industries, and many firms support their decision making with a “package” of formal tools.