Wealth maximization is a decision criterion and not a goal of a business firm.

Goals are the missions or basic purpose of a firm. These goals direct the firm's course of action. The firm designs its strategy on the basis of these goals. Again, to support this strategy the firm frames policies in the fields of production, purchase, marketing, finance and so on. The first step in making any decision is to see that is it consistent with the strategy of the business firm and also in line with its policy framework. At this juncture, wealth maximization can be considered as a decision criterion which will enable to ensure that the financial decisions meet the minimum standard of economic performance. Thus the wealth maximisation criterion would simply indicate whether an action undertaken by the management of a firm is economically viable or not.