1. A method for managing financial accounts, comprising the steps of: collecting account data for a plurality of financial accounts, where the account data are associated with a plurality of variables; establishing at least one control variable and at least one behavior variable based on the plurality of variables; determining a plurality of interval breakpoints for the at least one control variable and the at least one behavior variable; defining a plurality of account states based on the at least one control variable, the at least one behavior variable and the plurality of interval breakpoints; forming a transition matrix based at least in part on the account data and the plurality of account states; generating a Markov Decision Process (MDP) model based at least in part on the transition matrix; and using the Markov Decision Process model to effect a change in the at least one control variable resulting in a desired effect on the plurality of account states.