Corporate Risk Management

More than thirty leading scholars and finance practitioners discuss the theory and practice of using enterprise-risk management (ERM) to increase corporate values. ERM is the corporate-wide effort to manage the right-hand side of the balance sheet—a firm's total liability structure-in ways that enable management to make the most of the firm's assets. While typically working to stabilize cash flows, the primary aim of a well-designed risk management program is not to smooth corporate earnings, but to limit the possibility that surprise outcomes can threaten a company's ability to fund its major investments and carry out its strategic plan. Contributors summarize the development and use of risk management products and their practical applications. Case studies involve Merck, British Petroleum, the American airline industry, and United Grain Growers, and the conclusion addresses a variety of topics that include the pricing and use of certain derivative securities, hybrid debt, and catastrophe bonds.

Contributors: Tom Aabo (Aarhus School of Business); Albéric Braas and Charles N. Bralver (Oliver, Wyman & Company); Keith C. Brown (University of Texas at Austin); David A. Carter (Oklahoma State University); Christopher L. Culp (University of Chicago); Neil A. Doherty (University of Pennsylvania); John R. S. Fraser (Hyrdo One, Inc.); Kenneth R. French (University of Chicago); Gerald D. Gay (Georgia State University); Jeremy Gold (Jeremy Gold Pensions); Scott E. Harrington (University of South Carolina); J. B. Heaton (Bartlit Beck Herman Palenchar & Scott LLP); Joel Houston (University of Florida); Nick Hudson (Stern Stewart & Co.); Christopher James (University of Florida); A. John Kearney and Judy C. Lewent (Merck & Co., Inc.); Robert C. Merton and Lisa K. Meulbroek (Harvard Business School); Merton H. Miller (University of Chicago); Jouahn Nam (Pace University); Andrea M. P. Neves (CP Risk Management LLC); Brian W. Nocco (Nationwide Insurance); André F. Perold (Harvard Business School); S. Waite Rawls III (Continental Bank); Kenneth J. Risko (Willis Risk Solutions); Angelika Schöchlin (University of St. Gallen); Betty J. Simkins (Oklahoma State University); Donald J. Smith (Boston University); Clifford W. Smith Jr. (University of Rochester); Charles W. Smithson (Continental Bank); René M. Stulz (Ohio State University); D. S

All the articles that comprise this book were first published in the Journal of Applied Corporate Finance. Morgan Stanley's ownership of the journal is a reflection of its commitment to identifying outstanding academic research and promoting its application in the practicing corporate and investment communities.

Donald H. Chew is the founding editor of the Journal of Applied Corporate Finance, which was acquired by Morgan Stanley in August of 2004. Before joining Morgan Stanley three years ago, Chew was one of the founding partners of Stern, Stewart, and Co., a New York-based corporate finance advisory firm started in 1982. He has spent the past 25 years editing this journal and its predecessors, the Midland Corporate Finance Journal and the Chase Financial Quarterly. He has published over ten books on corporate finance, including The New Corporate Finance—Where Theory Meets Practice and (with Joel Stern) The Revolution in Corporate Finance, which are widely used in business schools throughout the United States and Europe. Chew has a Ph.D. in English as well as an MBA from the University of Rochester.

Tom King, Vice President-Finance, Progressive Insurance Co.:
The Journal of Applied Corporate Finance truly bridges the gap between leading thinking and practical solutions. The articles are uniformly well written, with a clear eye to showing practitioners how financial management can be used to increase shareholder value.

Peter Bernstein, editor of the Journal of Portfolio Management and author of Against the Gods: The Remarkable Story of Risk:
Just plain terrific. The selection of contributors is outstanding, the presentations extraordinarily lucid and stimulating, and the story told a mighty impressive one.