An introduction to the essential and widely-studied subject of corporate finance, organised around six key ideas.This book provides a concise examination of the six key areas of corporate finance, explaining in simple terms why these areas are important. It is aimed at executives, managers and industry professionals, as well as students studying courses in finance, banking, investment, corporate finance and corporate governance.This book provides a concise examination of the six key areas of corporate finance, explaining in simple terms why these areas are important. It is aimed at executives, managers and industry professionals, as well as students studying courses in finance, banking, investment, corporate finance and corporate governance.The Short Introduction to Corporate Finance provides an accessibly written guide to contemporary financial institutional practice. Rau deploys both his professional expertise and experience of teaching MBA and graduate-level courses to produce a lively discussion of the key concepts of finance, liberally illustrated with real-world examples. Built around six essential paradigms, he builds an integrated framework covering all the major ideas in finance over the past half-century. Ideal for students and practitioners alike, it will become core reading for anyone aspiring to become an effective manager.Preface; Acknowledgements; 1. Who are the players in corporate finance?; 2. NPV and the investment decision of the firm; 3. Portfolio theory and the discount rate; 4. Capital structure theory; 5. Option pricing theory; 6. Asymmetric information; 7. Market efficiency; 8. Wrapping it up; Index.'Raghavendra Rau has written a witty and thoroughly accessible introduction to how financial markets work and why they may fail to deliver. Highly recommended.' Sanjeev Goyal FBA, Fellow at Christ's College, University of Cambridge'To laypersons, finance often sounds like a bewildering array of jargon. Rau brilliantly explains key finance conceptlCÔ