As per the definition of Reserve Bank of India, money market is “a market for short terms financial assets that are close substitute for money, facilitates the exchange of money in primary and secondary market”. Indian money market was highly regulated and was characterized by limited number of participants. The limited variety and instruments were available. Interest rate on the instruments was under the regulation of Reserve Bank of India. The sincere efforts for developing the money market were made when the financial sector reforms were started by the government. Money markets are the markets for short-term, highly liquid debt securities. Examples of these include bankers’ acceptances, repos, negotiable certificates of deposit, and Treasury Bills with maturity of one year or less and often 30 days or less. Money market securities are generally very safe investments, which return relatively; low interest rate that is most appropriate for temporary cash storage 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.
Concept of Bridge Finance
Bridge financing is a method of financing, used to maintain liquidity while waiting for an anticipated and reasonably expected inflow of cash. Bridge financing is commonly used when the cash flow from a sale of an asset is expected after the cash outlay for the purchase of an asset. For example, when selling a house, the owner may not receive the cash for 90 days, but has already purchased a new home and must pay for it in 30 days. Bridge financing covers the 60 day gap in cash flows. Another type of bridge financing is used by companies before their initial public offering, to obtain necessary cash for the maintenance of operations. These funds are usually supplied by the investment bank underwriting the new issue. As payment, the company acquiring the bridge financing will give a number of stocks at a discount of the issue price to the underwriters Continue reading
Limitations of Ratio Analysis
Ratio analysis is useful, but analysts should be aware of these problems and make adjustments as necessary. Ratios analysis conducted in a mechanical, unthinking manner is dangerous, but if used intelligently and with good judgement, it can provide useful insights into the firm’s operations. Limitations of Ratio Analysis 1. Accounting Information Different Accounting Policies The choices of accounting policies may distort inter company comparisons. Example IAS 16 allows valuation of assets to be based on either revalued amount or at depreciated historical cost. The business may opt not to revalue its asset because by doing so the depreciation charge is going to be high and will result in lower profit. Creative accounting The businesses apply creative accounting in trying to show the better financial performance or position which can be misleading to the users of financial accounting. Like the IAS 16 mentioned above, requires that if an asset is Continue reading
Committee on Indian Banking Sector Reforms: Narasimham Committee Report I & II
The banking sector reforms in India were started as a follow up measures of the economic liberalization and financial sector reforms in the country. The banking sector being the life line of the economy was treated with utmost importance in the financial sector reforms. The reforms were aimed at to make the Indian banking industry more competitive, versatile, efficient, productive, to follow international accounting standard and to free from the government’s control. The reforms in the banking industry started in the early 1990s have been continued till now. The Narasimham Committee laid the foundation for the reformation of the Indian banking sector. Constituted in 1991, the Committee submitted two reports, in 1992 and 1998, which laid significant thrust on enhancing the efficiency and viability of the banking sector. The purpose of the Narasimham Committee I was to study all aspects relating to the structure, organization, functions and procedures of the Continue reading
Value Added Statements – Definition, Advantages and Disadvantages
Meaning and Definition of Value Added Statements The main thrust of financial accounting development in the recent decades has been in the area of `how’ we measure income rather than `whose’ income we measure. The common belief of the traditional accountants that profit is a reward of the proprietors has been considered as a very narrow definition of income. This was so because previously the assets were assumed to be owned by the proprietor and liabilities were thought as proprietor’s obligations. This notion of proprietorship was accepted and practiced so as long as the nature of business did not experience revolutionary changes. However, with the emergence of corporate entities and the legal recognition of the existence of business entities separate from the personal affairs and interest of the owners led to the rejection of proprietary theory. Value added is now reported in the financial statements of companies in the form Continue reading
Optimal Capital Structure
The capital structure of a company refers to the mix of the long-term finances used by the firm. It is the financing plan of the company. Financing the firm’s assets is a very crucial problem in every business and as a general rule there should be a proper mix of debt and equity capital along with equity shares is called financial leverage or trading on equity. The long term fixed interest bearing debts is employed by a firm to earn more from the use of these sources than their cost so as to increase the return on owner’s equity. It is true that capital structure cannot affect the total earnings a firm but is can affect the share of earnings available for equity shareholders. The capital structure decision can influence the value of the firm through the cost of capital and trading on equity or leverage. The optimal capital structure Continue reading