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Just as your pulse is checked during a routine physical, free cash flow is used as an indicator of a company's health. It equals the cash brought in from operations minus the money needed to pay the bills. Think about leftover money in your checking account after you pay this month's bills.
Investors and analysts see this leftover money as a gauge of a company's ability to perform. It is available for transactions such as handing out dividends and working on new products.
Some argue free cash flow is wrongly overshadowed by the emphasis often placed on earnings. Earnings numbers can be manipulated and don't always tell the whole story -- and earnings don't mean much if there's nothing left over after a company pays its expenses. Even if you bring in a six-figure salary, but no money left after paying the bills, are you in great financial shape?
You don't have to be Einstein to figure out free cash flow. To calculate the number, subtract the company's expenditures and dividends from its operating cash flow.
If the free cash flow is written in red ink, it doesn't necessarily signal curtains. This is common for young companies looking to grow. It also could be a result of heavy investments, which in the long run could be worth a standing ovation.
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Tuesday, July 22, 2008
The Business-Higher Education Forum (BHEF) to Build National Leadership Network to Improve College Readiness, Access, and Success
Comtex
WASHINGTON, July 22, 2008 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ ----Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Invests $910,000 to Support BHEF Initiatives
WASHINGTON, July 22 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Business-Higher Education Forum (BHEF), a national organization of Fortune 500 CEOs, prominent college and university presidents, and foundation leaders working to advance innovative solutions to U.S. education challenges, has received a $910,000 grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to support BHEF's initiatives. BHEF is dedicated to ensuring that all students graduate from high school ready and able to succeed in college and work, particularly in the critical fields of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM), and have full access to higher education.
"By leveraging the combined strengths of business and higher education, BHEF is uniquely positioned to lead this effort to build a network of leaders who recognize that, in the 21st century, all students must be college and work-ready and to advocate for the adoption of practical policies to help realize this vision," said David Skorton, BHEF Chair and President of Cornell University.
The grant will support BHEF's ongoing efforts to build a national network of corporate and philanthropic leaders focused on college readiness, access, and success, particularly in STEM, through convenings and advocacy. It will also augment BHEF's existing work with regional and state business and higher education leaders to incubate and test innovative educational approaches; advance development of BHEF's Web-based knowledge management system to disseminate research and best practices; and help to refine and build out a systems dynamics model that will enable policy makers to analyze the effect of various policy options on the STEM education system.
"BHEF and its members look forward to continuing to build a cadre of leaders who are networked to influence their peers and the public, and to equip them with the information and tools they need to lead educational change," said Brian K. Fitzgerald, BHEF Executive Director.
Activities supported by the grant will build on work underway in BHEF's two major initiatives. The Securing America's Leadership in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Initiative, www.bhef.com/solutions/stem.asp, seeks to double the number of college graduates in STEM disciplines by 2015 through research, programmatic, and advocacy efforts. BHEF's College Readiness Initiative (CRI), www.bhef.com/solutions/CRI.asp, promotes college readiness, access, and success for underserved populations, particularly in science and math, harnessing the influence and resources of BHEF and its membership to address education issues spanning the pre-grade school to graduate school pipeline.
"If we are to ensure more young people earn high-value postsecondary STEM degrees, STEM education in the U.S. needs new champions. Because the corporate and higher education sectors have a considerable stake in the future of STEM, they are especially well-positioned to lead in this area," said Steve Seleznow, program director of Education at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. "By strengthening these interdependent relationships, BHEF can significantly advance its STEM and college-readiness initiatives and build a network that drives education innovation nationwide."
About the Business-Higher Education Forum
BHEF brings together an extraordinary coalition of corporate, academic, and foundation members to influence public policy and inspire other leaders to act. BHEF's board includes numerous nationally recognized corporate and higher education executives who provide leadership in education, nationally and locally, including: BHEF Chair, David Skorton, President, Cornell University; BHEF Vice Chair, William H. Swanson, Chairman and CEO, Raytheon Company; Warren Baker, President, California Polytechnic State University; Wes Bush, President & COO, Northrop Grumman Corporation; Winston J. Churchill, General Partner, SCP Private Equity Management, LP; M. Christine DeVita, President, The Wallace Foundation; David A. Jones, Jr., Chairman, Humana Inc.; W.G. Jurgensen, CEO, Nationwide; William E. Kirwan, II, Chancellor, University System of Maryland; Carl Kohrt, President and CEO, Battelle; David Maxwell, President, Drake University; Constantine Papadakis, President, Drexel University; Edward B. Rust, Jr., Chairman & CEO, State Farm Insurance Companies; Richard Stephens, Sr. Vice President, Human Resources & Administration, The Boeing Company; and Mark Wrighton, Chancellor, Washington University in St. Louis.
To learn more, visit BHEF's Web site at www.bhef.com. For BHEF publications, see www.bhef.com/publications/pubs.asp.
For more information about the Gates Foundation, see www.gatesfoundation.org.
SOURCE The Business-Higher Education Forum
http://www.bhef.com
Copyright (C) 2008 PR Newswire. All rights reserved
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