GRAHAM PEIRSON is Emeritus Professor of Accounting and Finance at Monash University (Clayton campus). He has published widely in academic and professional journals and is also co-author of Issues in Financial Accounting; Accounting: An Introduction; Financial Accounting: An Introduction and Financial Accounting Theory. Graham is a graduate of Adelaide University, and has taught at Adelaide University, the University of California, Berkeley, the University of Illinois, the University of Florida and the University of Washington. He has also taught on short courses for a range of clients, including the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission and the National Australia Bank.

ROB BROWN is Professor of Finance at the University of Melbourne. He has published many research papers in international journals, including Economica, the Journal of Banking and Finance, the Journal of Multinational Financial Management and the Journal of Fixed Income. He is a former associate editor (finance) of Accounting and Finance, the research journal of the Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand. He has taught at the University of Sydney, Lancaster University and Monash University and been a visiting scholar at the University of British Columbia (Canada) and the University of Manchester (UK). His current research interests are analysts’ investment recommendations and the time series behaviour of banks’ financial statement ratios.

STEVE EASTON is Professor of Finance at the University of Newcastle, where he has previously served as Head of the Department of Accounting and Finance and Dean of the Faculty of Economics and Commerce. His research work has been accepted for publication in a wide range of journals, including the Journal of Futures Markets, Economica, and the Journal of Banking and Finance. Steve has taught at Adelaide University, Lancaster University and Monash University. He has also provided short courses for a range of private and public sector organisations, including Australia Post, Macquarie Generation, State Forests of New South Wales and the Tasmanian Chamber of Commerce and Industry. His current research interests are in derivative securities and corporate governance.

PETER HOWARD taught finance at Monash University (Clayton Campus) for more than 25 years. Before this he worked for eight years as an engineer in the petrochemical and mining industries. He has extensive experience in project evaluation and has taught on short courses for a range of clients, including BHP Billiton and the National Australia Bank. Peter has published in academic and professional journals on lease evaluation and the effects of imputation on payout and financing decisions. He has extensive teaching experience at both postgraduate and undergraduate levels. Since retiring from Monash University he has maintained a strong interest in the finance literature and the operation of Australian financial markets.

SEAN PINDER is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Finance at the University of Melbourne. Prior to this he held positions at Monash University and the University of Newcastle and taught at the postgraduate level at Lancaster University in England, the Melbourne Business School and the Adelaide Graduate School of Business. He has undertaken a range of consulting activities for international firms and has developed and delivered professional short courses on treasury risk management, derivatives and capital budgeting issues for major Australian and international companies. Sean has an extensive research profile, with his work appearing in leading Australian and international journals. He has received a number of prizes for his research and teaching.