We examine managerial views about the determinants of corporate cash holdings. We find their views support
an optimal tradeoff approach to cash holdings where firms with abundant investment opportunities and high
uncertainty in future cash flows hold more cash and large firms with strong access to the capital markets hold
less. Our evidence provides limited support for a financing hierarchy explanation and generally strong
disagreement with most agency explanations for cash holdings. We find mixed support for arguments that
financial constraints affect a firm's cash holdings.