Goals of a Multinational Corporation and the Role of a Financial Manager

Abstract:     
Multinational corporations (MNCs) are firms that engage in some form of international business. Their managers conduct international financial management which involves international investing and financing decisions that are intended to maximize the value of the MNC. Management is motivated to achieve a number of goals and objectives, some of which conflict with each other. However, the commonly accepted objective of an MNC is to maximize stockholder wealth on a global basis, as reflected by stock price.

Managers of an MNC may make decisions that conflict with the firm’s goal to maximize shareholder wealth. This conflict of goals between firm’s managers and shareholders’ is often referred to as the agency problem. For the firm to achieve its goals, it needs to put in place mechanism for control of agency problem.

While the financial manger might be known under a variety of names; budget officer, vice-president for financial affairs, or some other designation, the chief financial officer is one of the most important positions in any firm, company or corporation. Financial managers have many responsibilities and much may be expected from them. Apart from the traditional role of financial planning and control, forecasting and planning, allocation of funds and acquisition of funds, the financial manger’s role has expanded in recent years. He must now concern himself with issues like; corporate strategy, strategic planning, protection of the firm’s assets among others. The author concludes by observing that with the advancement in technology, the role of the financial manager is bound to continue changing.

Number of Pages in PDF File: 20

Keywords: Corporate Goals, MNCs, Financial Managers, Corporate Law

working papers series