Working capital management is an important component of management of corporate finance; since it directly influences firm’s profitability as well as liquidity in everyday activities. In any business organization, it is obvious that there must be sufficient working capital to run day to day operation. Therefore, to operate the business activities smoothly, working capital of firm’s must be sufficient. Then, the concern of working capital management is setting sufficient (optimal level) of working capital and managing short term assets and liabilities of firms within a specified period of time, usually one year. It is obvious that, the importance of efficient working capital management is unquestionable to all business activities. Because, business capability relies on its ability to effectively use (manage) receivables, inventories and payables. If there are excessive stock, debtors and cash and very few creditors, there will be an over investment in current asset. The inefficiency of managing working Continue reading
Financial Management
Financial management entails planning for the future of a person or a business enterprise to ensure a positive cash flow, including the administration and maintenance of financial assets. The primary concern of financial management is the assessment rather than the techniques of financial quantification. Some experts refer to financial management as the science of money management. The five basic components of the Financial Management Framework are: Planning and Analysis, Asset and Liability Management, Reporting, Transaction Processing and Control.
The Concept of Financial Innovation
Financial intermediaries have to perform the task of financial innovation to meet the ever-changing requirements of the economy and to help the investors cope with the increasingly volatile market. Because of this reason there is a necessity for the financial intermediaries to innovate unique financial instruments. The following are the major reasons for financial innovation: Low Profitability: Profitability refers to the ability of a financial institution to maximize profits. The profitability of the major financial institutions have been declining in the recent times. So, the institutions are compelled to seek new products, which fetches high returns. Competition: The entry foreign and private players in the financial services sector have led to severe competition in the industry. This has compelled the institutions to innovate the financial instruments. Economic Liberalization: Economic liberalization such as, deregulation of exchange controls and interest rate ceilings etc, have made the industry more innovative. Customer service: To Continue reading
Working Capital – Definition and Factors Affecting Working Capital
Working capital is the amount of money that a company has tied up in funding its day-to-day operations. A company has to tie up money to fund its stocks, credit sales and other current assets, but this is offset by its ability to fund this from current liabilities liabilities such as purchases on credit. In the Annual Survey of Industries (1961), working capital is defined to include “Stocks of materials, fuels, semi-finished goods including work-in-progress and finished goods and by-products; cash in hand and bank and the algebraic sum of sundry creditors as represented by (a) outstanding factory payments e.g. rent, wages, interest and dividend; b) purchase of goods and services; c) short-term loans and advances and sundry debtors comprising amounts due to the factory on account of sale of goods and services and advances towards tax payments”. Modern industrial concerns produce an anticipation of demand. Payment has, therefore, to Continue reading
Accounting Basics : The Accounting Cycle Explained
The accounting cycle is a sequence of steps starting with recording transactions and takes it to the preparation of financial statements. The main purpose of recording transactions and keeping track of expenses and revenues. The accounting cycle is a set of steps that are repeated in the same order every period. The highest of these steps is the preparation of financial statements. Some companies prepare financial statements every three months while some complete twelve months. 10 Steps of Accounting Cycle Explained The first step is to analyze and record transactions in the journal. This step is where information must be carefully read to determine if a transaction is an asset, liability, common stock, retained earnings, revenue, dividend, or expense. In this step, each account must be determined to see if the amount increases or decreases. Those increases and decreases should be recorded as a credit or debit before entering the Continue reading
Separate Trading of Registered Interest and Principal of Securities (STRIPS)
STRIPS is the acronym for Separate Trading of Registered Interest and Principal of Securities. STRIPS let investors hold and trade the individual interest and principal components (also known as stripping) of eligible Treasury notes and bonds as separate securities. The origin of Strip Bonds can be traced to the 1960s, when Investment Dealers in the United States began (physically) clipping coupons from bearer government bonds and selling the individual pieces as separate securities. These clipped bonds gained immense popularity and their sales gained momentum in the early and mid 1980s as the interest rates surged to high levels. This was so because it allowed investors to lock in the very high yields that were available at that time, without worrying about the risk of not being able to re-invest future interest payments at the same high rates. The interest and principal steam of cash flow are deterministic and are known Continue reading
Some Facts about Over The Counter Exchange of India(OTCEI)
In 1992 , to provide improved services, the country’s first ring less, scrip less and electronic stock exchange Over The Counter Exchange of India(OTCEI) was created by some of the prominent financial institutions like UTI, ICICI, IDBI , SBI Capital Markets, IFCI, GIC, Canbank Financial Services. The trading at OTCEI is done over the centers across the country. The securities traded at OTCEI are classified into listed securities, permitted securities and initiated debentures. The feature of this exchange is that instead of share certificate, a counter receipt is generated out at the counter which substitutes the share certificate and the same is used for all transactions. Recommended Reading: Over The Counter Exchange of India(OTCEI) Trading on OTCEI Trading on Over The Counter Exchange of India(OTCEI) is the first of its kind in India. It is fully computerized set-up where trading takes place through a network of computers at the member/dealer Continue reading