Finance is, in a real sense, the cornerstone of the enterprise system - good financial management is vitally important to the economic health of business firms, hence, to the nation and the world. Because of its important, finance should be widely and thoroughly understood, but this is easier said than done. The field relatively complex, and it is undergoing constant change in response to shifts in economic conditions. All of this makes finance stimulating and exciting, but also challenging and sometimes perplexing.