15 November 2005
Three UQ Business School academics have set out to develop an approach to capital management decisions that takes risk into account.
Principal researcher Professor Steve Gray said existing rules of thumb and benchmark ratios assumed no changes in the firms operating environment going forward.
He said, "Because there will inevitably be changes in the economic climate, a model that takes risk into account should allow companies to better position themselves in terms of their debt to equity ratios."
"For example, a small reduction in cash flow in a highly leveraged business could be the difference between success and failure."
"Any initiative that lowers the cost of capital of Australian firms will result in increased productivity and economic growth."
The project has been funded by an Australian Research Council (ARC) Discovery grant over three years. Co-researchers are UQBS academics Associate Professor Phil Gray and Dr Jamie Alcock.
Three other projects were successful in the intensely competitive ARC funding round.
Professor Janet McColl-Kennedy will work with colleagues in the US to further her work on customer rage.
Dr Damian Hine will work with colleagues at QUT to find out how the technology needs of small firms can be met by existing university knowledge and technologies.
Professor Phil Graham and UQBS colleagues Dr David Rooney and Dr Liz Ferrier will work with colleagues at QUT and partner organisation Ipswich City Council to develop technologies for collaborative production, exhibition, and evaluation of broadband content by grassroots creative producers.
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