Derivatives are the power tools that enable users to analyze components of risk and return inherent in an investment or a business. The popularity of derivative use in the marketplace has surged in recent years, spurring financial innovation and better risk management. Yet this popular instrument is double-edged: derivatives are as risky as they are beneficial. In light of recent, highly publicized disasters - the Orange County bankruptcy and the Barings fiasco - it is imperative that business and finance professionals have a current and basic knowledge of this complicated and venturesome field. If you are a shareholder, director, or other decision maker in a company utilizing derivatives, it is important that you know how to maximize the benefits of derivatives and minimize the damage that they can cause. Now, two leading financial experts provide the solid principles you need to understand and properly use derivative products and structured financing.