In finance, capital structure refers to the way a corporation finances its assets through some combination of equity, debt, or hybrid securities. A firm's capital structure is then the composition or 'structure' of its liabilities. For example, a firm that sells $20 billion in equity and $80 billion in debt is said to be 20% equity-financed and 80% debt-financed. The firm's ratio of debt to total financing, 80% in this example, is referred to as the firm's leverage. In reality, capital structure may be highly complex and include dozens of sources. Gearing Ratio is the proportion of the capital employed of the firm which come from outside of the business finance, e.g. by taking a short term loan etc.

The Modigliani-Miller theorem, proposed by Franco Modigliani and Merton Miller, forms the basis for modern thinking on capital structure, though it is generally viewed as a purely theoretical result since it disregards many important factors in the capital structure decision. The theorem states that, in a perfect market, how a firm is financed is irrelevant to its value. This result provides the base with which to examine real world reasons why capital structure is relevant, that is, a company's value is affected by the capital structure it employs. Some other reasons include bankruptcy costs, agency costs, taxes, and information asymmetry. This analysis can then be extended to look at whether there is in fact an optimal capital structure: the one which maximizes the value of the firm.

Father Jimmy (James) Tompkins (September 7, 1870 – May 4, 1953) was a Roman Catholic priest who founded the Antigonish Movement, a progressive effort that incorporated adult education, cooperatives and rural community development to aid the fishing and mining communities of northern and eastern Nova Scotia, Canada. The Antigonish Movement later evolved into the Extension Department (now the Coady International Center) of St. Francis Xavier University.

Father Tompkins believed in the emancipating power of education and sought to improve economic conditions through study groups and co-operative action. "It is not enough to have ideas, we have to put legs on them", he often said. He started the first regional library in Nova Scotia along with the first credit union and a cooperative housing association in Reserve Mines that was dubbed "Tompkinsville". Father Tompkins was the Spiritual founder of the Antigonish Movement.

Jimmy Tompkins was born in Margaree Forks, Nova Scotia, a small farming community on Cape Breton Island. From 1888-1895, he attended St. Francis Xavier University in alternate semesters while teaching there to support himself teaching Greek and Mathematics. He attended the Urban College of the Congregatio de Propaganda Fide (Papal Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith) in Rome from 1897 to 1902. On his return, he continued teaching at St. Francis Xavier University and became the vice-rector in 1907.