Financial Management Research a Strategy for Sustainable Development in the Third World: Experiences and Future Plans of Intellectuals.

Abstract

Financial Management is the process of procurement and disbursement of funds, and remuneration of the owners of the enterprise. The function of procurement of the funds is called the financing function, while that of the control of the utilization of the funds is called the investment function. The function of remunerating the shareholders of the corporations is called the dividend function. The manager who performs the financial management function is called the Financial Manager. The modern day financial manager is instrumental to the success of the organization. As cash flows pulsate through the organization this individual is at the heart of what is happening. If finance is to play a General Management Role in the organisation, the Financial Manager must be a team player who is constructively involved in the operations, financing and liaising with the other functional areas of the enterprise such as Marketing, Production, Human Resource Management, Innovation, Research and Development, Materials Management and Accounting. The effect of Financial Management is the improvement in the financial performance of the firm which at the macro level leads to Economic Growth. Economic Growth as a concept is the rise in the output of a country from a given year taking the previous year as the base year. It does not however take recognition of the material well-being of the masses that will culminate in a change in the Economic Arrangement that will cause a increase in such macroeconomic variables as poverty alleviation, employment, income especially of people in the low income bracket and improvement in the human development index to result in a higher standard of living, education for all and longevity up to 85 years. The concept of Economic Development which starts with Economic Growth and adds the distribution of the proceeds from Growth and the Spontaneous change that galvanizes the improvement in the macroeconomic variable is more encompassing than the concept of Economic Growth. It is also one of the pillars of Sustainable Development. Sustainable Development entails meeting the needs of the present generation without jeopardizing the needs of the future generations. The needs include the eight needs of Maslow namely: the physiological needs, esteem needs, safety needs, love needs self-actualization needs and the needs for beauty and aesthetics, knowledge and understanding and transcendence. The specific objectives of the study are to do a Theoretical Review of Financial Management Research, a Theoretical Review of Sustainable Development in the Third World and to do a Theoretical Analysis to show how Financial Management Research could be used as a strategy for Sustainable Development in the Third World: Experiences and future plans of intellectuals.

Keywords: Sustainable Development, Economic development, Financial management