Financial management (also called finance or corporate finance) is the job of acquiring funds for a firm and managing them to accomplish the firm's objectives. An important aspect is the risk-return trade-off, balancing the firm's risk with expected returns from its investments. Without a carefully calculated financial plan, a firm has little chance for survival, regardless of its product or marketing effectiveness. The people responsible for planning and controlling the acquisition and uses of funds are called financial managers. Financial managers continually try to balance the firm's investment risk with the expected return, or payoffs, from its investments.