Finance and Accounting
• The finance function is responsible for managing the firm’s
financial assets, such as cash, stocks, bonds , and other
investments, to maximize the return on these financial assets.
The finance function is also in charge of managing the
capitalization of the firm (finding new financial assets in stocks,
bonds, or other forms of debt). To determine whether the firm
is getting the best return on its investments, the finance
function must obtain a considerable amount of information
from sources external to the firm.
• The accounting function is responsible for maintaining and
managing the firm’s financial records—receipts,
disbursements, depreciation, payroll—to account for the flow
of funds in a firm.
• Finance and accounting systems share related problems—how
to keep track of a firm’s financial assets and fund flows.