10 AXIOMS OF FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT

- serve as the foundations of Financial Decision Making. Every decision to be made in finance could all be related to
these 10 Axioms of Finance.

1. The Risk-Return Trade-off

The higher the risk, the higher the expected return. When Floyd Mayweather and Connor McGregor were
about to fight, people who would bet on McGregor would get higher returns than betting on Mayweather. A lot of
people expected Mayweather to win the match because he was more experienced and had more boxing talent than
Mayweather. In order to entice people to bet on McGregor, a higher reward would be given to those who bet on the
MMA star. If you would invest in a risky business-like junk bonds or oil wells, you should demand a greater return.
Risk evaluation should always be present in every decision you make.

2. The Time Value of Money

The peso you have today is worth more than a peso you will have in the future. This is because of inflation.
The value of goods and services increases constantly every year. How many candies could a peso buy back in the
80s? How many candies can your peso buy now? A peso in the past could purchase more candies than today. The
money you have today could be invested in order to earn more. This would compensate for inflation. The sooner you
invest, the better.

 Imputed Cost – hypothetical cost/income - is a cost that is incurred by virtue of using an asset instead
of investing it or undertaking an alternative course of action. An imputed cost is an invisible cost that is
not incurred directly, as opposed to an explicit cost, which is incurred directly.
 Inflation Rate - is a measurement of inflation, the rate of increase of a price index (in this case:
consumer price index). It is the percentage rate of change in prices level over time. The rate of
decrease in the purchasing power of money is approximately equal.

3. Cash is King
You cannot entirely spend “profit” or “net income”. These accounts are only paper figures and includes both
realized and unrealized gains, cash and receivables. Cash is the primary asset of an entity that can be reinvested or
used to pay bills.
Cash flow could be more vital than the income statement because it shows the actual amount that could be used in
the regular business operations. Cash flow does not equal net income. This is due to the timing differences in
accrual accounting between the recording of a transaction and the receipt or disbursement of cash. In finance,
cash is king.

4. Incremental Cash Flows

The increase or decrease in cash is what really counts and not the increase or decrease in profit. When
deciding on whether to invest in a certain project or not, the difference between the cash flows if the project is
pushed through vs the scenario if the project is not done is what matters. Will the purchase of a photocopying
machine increase your cash throughout the years? What will be the effect on your cash if you construct a new
building?
5. Curse of Competitive Markets
Easy enter, easy exit. There are many sellers in the market, therefore the businesses have no power to
manipulate the prices. It’s a fact that it is hard to find and maintain exceptionally profitable projects. That is
because high profit projects attract competition. If you do find a highly profitable project, it is highly probable
that you have a lot of competitors. You’ll have to use different techniques to stay relevant in a highly competitive
market like using product differentiation (e.g. Apple), providing low cost of products and services (Toyota), and
providing high service quality (Mercedes).
6. Efficient Capital Markets
The stock markets are quick and the prices are right. Information is incorporated into security prices at
the speed of light! That’s the reason why stock prices rise and fall all the time. Assuming the information is
correct, then the prices will reflect all publicly available information regarding the value of the firm. The Exploding
Samsung Galaxy Note 7 immediately affected Samsung’s stock prices. The death of Steve Jobs had an effect in
Apple’s stock too.

 Capital – funds used by a company to operate or expand their business.

7. The Agency Problem

In general, managers are not the owners of a company. They are merely employees. The owners of a
corporation are called stockholders. The primary purpose of creating a corporation is to increase shareholder’s
wealth. However, managers may make decisions that are in their best interests and may be in conflict with the
goals of the shareholders. This is a problem that is existent in almost all businesses. The manager and the owner of
business has a different goal.

8. Taxes Bias Business Decisions

As the saying goes, there are only two things that are certain in this world – Death and Taxes. When
there’s a business, there’s also tax. And because cash is king, businesses must always consider the after-tax cash
flow on an investment (cash flow after deducting taxes). The tax consequences of a business decision will impact
(reduce) cash flow. Companies are given tax incentives by the government to influence their decisions.

9. All Risk is Not Equal

There are some risk that can be diversified away and there is some risk some cannot be diversified and
minimized. Diversification can be explained by the adage – don’t put all your eggs in one basket. Diversification can
create offsets between good results and bad results.

10. Ethical Behavior Means Doing the Right Thing

In finance, ethical dilemmas are everywhere. Unethical behavior and bad image eliminate trust, which
results in the loss of public confidence. In turn, Shareholder value suffers and it takes a long time to recover. If
corporations do the right thing, the value of the business would increase.