The Stress Test Every Business Needs

The Stress Test Every Business Needs: A Capital Agenda for confidently facing digital disruption, difficult investors, recessions and geopolitical threats is a comprehensive approach to creating value and flexibility in an increasingly volatile business environment that presents both great risks and opportunities every day. The authors extend the banking stress test concept to a company's "Capital Agenda"--how executives manage capital, execute transactions, and apply corporate finance tools to strategic and operational decisions. Long-term success comes from building resilience into each element and in the way those elements interact. The book considers traditional macroeconomic, sovereign-risk, and commodity-related shocks as well as how to deal with technological disruption, hostile takeovers, and activist shareholders. Companies that make poor strategic decisions or underperform operationally--even in a benign economic and geopolitical climate--will likely find themselves facing great stresses, not only from downside risks but from missed opportunities as well. Drawing upon the experience of an international group of EY Transaction Advisory Services colleagues, the book challenges readers to think differently about many of the issues facing company executives today, including: Setting corporate strategy in a digital world Pre-empting activist shareholders Using advisors wisely Proactively managing intrinsic value Allocating capital across the enterprise Acquiring and divesting for optimum value Liberating excess cash Integrating strategy, finance and operations to realize a company's full potential Time and time again, EY's Capital Agenda framework has proven to be a valuable tool to help boards and management teams make better, more informed decisions in today's ever-changing markets.