This manual aims to present fundamental concepts and functions of finance in businesses (corporate finance) and in markets (financial markets). Initially, the basic concepts of the global financial system, the 100 key terms of finance, and the 100 terms related to the financial crisis of 2008 are mentioned.

Next, it addresses the new challenges of financial management and presents the concepts of financial leverage, efficiency, solvency, and bankruptcy risk of businesses. Simultaneously, the manual highlights the contribution of mathematics to corporate finance and portfolio risk management.

Financial accounting with the new international IFRS, GAAP, illustrates the changes in the financial statements of businesses. Finally, it references the banks of the future and the new relationship being created between finance and climate change.

The manual is intended for undergraduate and graduate students engaged in financial science, as well as for executives of businesses, organizations, and financial institutions, and for financial/stock analysts/investors.

Edited by: Professor Konstantinos Zopounidis, Academic of the Technical University of Crete & Audencia Business School

Konstantinos Zopounidis is a Professor and Associate Dean of the School of Production Engineering and Management at the Technical University of Crete. He is also the Director of the Financial Management Systems, Data Analysis, and Forecasting Laboratories at the same university and, since 2012, a Distinguished Research Professor at Audencia Business School (France). He has received numerous international honors for his research activities.

In 2018, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki awarded him an Honorary Doctorate for his work in Multicriteria Analysis and Financial Decisions. He has an extensive publication record, which includes 95 books published by Greek and international publishing houses and more than 500 scientific papers in reputable international journals in the fields of operations research, financial risk management, multicriteria analysis, and financial management – areas that are the focus of his primary research interests.