Corporate Decision-Making with Macroeconomic Uncertainty

Very few firms make any attempt in their annual reports to inform market participants about the impact of macroeconomic developments on performance. However, the market is not oblivious to this fact, so the firm, as well as financial analysts, need to pay attention. Corporate Decision-Making with Macroeconomic Uncertainty: Performance and Risk Management develops and presents in an easily comprehensible way the essential elements of a corporate strategy for managing uncertainty in the macroeconomic environment. This Macroeconomic Uncertainty Strategy, or MUST, enhances firm value by allowing management and external stakeholders to distinguish between changes in the intrinsic competitiveness of the firm and changes in performance caused by macroeconomic fluctuations. These fluctuations, manifested as changes in exchange rates, interest rates, and inflation rates, are beyond management's control, but they have a substantial impact on performance. The book includes methods to identify the impact of these fluctuations, to develop strategies for macroeconomic risk management, to develop reports to external stakeholders, to evaluate the relative performance of subsidiaries and business units in multinational companies, and to evaluate performance as part of the due diligence process in an M & A context. The authors' use of value-based management, various performance measurements, and the concept of real options makes the book rich and compelling.