Financial management has a long and distinguished history. Consider, for example, that Socrates wrote about the universal function of management in human endeavors in 400 B.C. and that Plato developed the concept of specialization for efficiency in 350 B.C. Evidence of sophisticated financial management exists for much earlier times: the Chinese produced a planning and control system in 1100 B.C., a minimum-wage system was developed by Hammurabi in 1800 B.C., and the Egyptians and Sumerians developed planning and record-keeping systems in 4000 B.C.1 Many managers in early history discovered and rediscovered managerial principles while attempting to reach their goals. Because the idea of management thought as a discipline had not yet evolved, they formulated principles of management because certain goals had to be accomplished. As management thought became codified over time, however, the building of techniques for management became more organized. Management as a discipline for educational purposes began in the United States in 1881. In that year, Joseph Wharton created the Wharton School, offering college courses in business management at the University of Pennsylvania. It was the only such school until 1898, when the Universities of Chicago and California established their business schools. Thirteen years later, in 1911, 30 such schools were in operation in the United States.2 Over the long span of history, managers have all sought how to make organizations work more effectively. Financial management is a vital part of organizational…