Finance is essentially the management of money in the financial and capital markets. It deals with investment decisions (eg. portfolio selection, mergers and acquisitions) and corporate financing decisions (eg. dividend policy, debt and equity structures, and lease decisions) within those markets.
It involves determining the values (or prices) of financial assets and making decisions in the face of uncertainty in an ever-changing, fast-paced environment. It is also concerned with the development of risk-hedging strategies as an important mechanism to manage adverse movements in share prices, interest rates and other financial uncertainties.