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April 2002 Dear Financial Decisions Readers: Welcome to the initial issue of the restructured Financial Decisions. This Journal, formerly the Journal of Financial and Strategic Decisions, seeks to publish articles of general interest in Finance. It is a blind-refereed journal sponsored by the Financial Decisions Association. The Association has as its sole purpose the publication of Financial Decisions and will publish the journal in an online format. I have selected three interesting and informative manuscripts for this issue. The first manuscript, "Enron: Market Exploitation and Correction," is a one-time only inclusion of work on which I am a co-author. It is included due to its timeliness and due to the importance of the issues surrounding the bankruptcy of the firm. Written specifically for this issue, the paper chronicles the rise and fall of Enron, Inc. In doing so, it examines the Star Wars oriented limited liability partnerships and the financial signals that indicated early difficulties for the firm. The Government's response to the dramatic fall is also considered with some admonitions for members of Congress considering the imposition of extensive new financial regulations. The second manuscript, "Refreshing Capital Loss Carry Forwards: A Case Study of Florida Power and Light," is an examination of the utility's attempt to push the envelope on the use of Generally Accepted Accounting Principles. The study is of added interest in light of the revelations surrounding Enron, Inc. The third manuscript, "Exogenous Determinants of Student Performance in First Finance Classes," examines some of the folklore surrounding student performance and, based upon a unique data base, considers variables such as class size, time of day of class meetings, class length and the status of the instructor (part-time versus tenured or tenure-track) in light of the impact on student performance on a standardized final exam. The findings of this study should make us all think about our purpose in education. I sincerely hope that you find the manuscripts published in Financial Decisions interesting and useful. I also hope that you will submit your research to us for evaluation and look forward to many outstanding manuscripts. Sincerely, |
