In this module, let's get introduced to the basics of finance. In order to learn finance, we first need to know some basics about the structure and role or firms. Firms are the center of finance because they create the wealth in society. Think about your daily life. In the morning, you may go to your favorite local cafe or Starbucks to get a cup of coffee for breakfast. The local cafe is a small business and Starbucks is the world's largest coffee house chain. They have something in common and they also have a lot of differences. You may be curious how they organize their business and why they organize it that way. If you want to start a new business, what is the best way to set it up? Where you go to work is very likely that you work for a company. Corporations provide a lot of employment opportunities for us. You may wonder, what is the government structure of the firm? Who are the owners of the corporation? Think about the goods and the services we use every day. We buy groceries from either local stores or a big retailer such as Walmart or Target. We shop online at Amazon. Our computers are made by Apple, Dell or Hewlett Packard. We watch movies produced by Disney, Warner Brothers or Universal. We use streaming services such as Netflix and Disney plus. We deposit our money in a local bank or national banks such as Bank of America, Chase Bank or Citibank. The car we drive to work, maybe Ford, Toyota or Volkswagen. When we want to travel to other cities, we may take an American Airlines or Delta Airline flight. We may stay at a local hotel or Hilton. All of these are examples of business. It's hard for us to imagine a world without business. Some of the companies even become American icons. Whenever we want to drink soft drinks, we think about Coke. Mcdonald is almost equivalent to hamburger and french fries. Hershey bars are just synonymous for candy bars. When we want to search for something from the Internet, we just say Google it. The Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City is named after the department store chain, Macy's. These companies not only satisfy our basic needs, but also shape our life and our culture. In this module, let me introduce you to three basic legal forms to organize firms and the advantages and disadvantages of each one. We will cover the goal of financial management and the structure of corporate governance. On top of that, we will discuss the agency problem and how companies mitigate agency problems. Now, let's get started.