Capital Structure : Professional Management Guidance

Capital structure decisions rely on a complex array of theoretical foundations and practical considerations. At the managerial level, it is impractical to base decisions purely on theory. While one can develop a perception of an optimal capital structure, the decision is often obscured by practical limitations to the theoretical base. In order to be useful to practicing managers, policies and decision techniques need to be efficiently accomplished and based on available information. This paper provides that practical framework. We recount a simplified theoretical base for capital structure, highlight some of the problems encountered when applying the theory to reality, and suggest a framework for practical managerial decisions about capital structure