Agency theory is often described in terms of the relationships between the various interested parties in the firm. The agency theory examines the duties and conflicts that occur between parties who have an agency relationship. Agency relationships occur when one party, the principal, employs another party, called the agent, to perform a task on their behalf. Agency theory is helpful in explaining the actions of the various interest groups in the corporate governance debate. For example, managers can be seen as the agents of shareholders, employees as the agents of managers, managers and shareholders as the agents of long and short-term creditors, etc. In most of these principal-agent relationships conflicts of interest is seen to exist. It has been widely observed that the conflicts between shareholders and managers and in a similar way the objectives of employees and managers may be in conflict. Although the actions of all the parties 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.
Optimum Level of Working Capital
A firm has to maintain an adequate level of working capital to run its operations smoothly and effectively. It should be adequate in the sense that it shall not be more than the requirements nor it shall be less than the requirements. Both the excessive as well as inadequate working capital positions are dangerous from the firm’s point view. We know that the current liabilities are met out of the current assets. So the level of current assets shall be sufficient enough to meet the current liabilities. Excessive working capital refers to the position where when the level of current assets is much higher to meet current liabilities. The excessive capital has opportunity cost for the firm, as this excessive capital remains idle in the firm, which earns no profit for the firm. If these funds shall be invested in some profitable project, it adds the profitability of the Company. Continue reading
The National Stock Exchange of India Limited (NSE)
The National Stock Exchange of India Limited (NSE) was set up by leading institutions to provide a modern, fully automated screen-based trading system with national reach. The Exchange has brought about unparalleled transparency, speed & efficiency, safety and market integrity. It has set up facilities that serve as a model for the securities industry in terms of systems, practices and procedures. The National Stock Exchange of India Limited has played a catalytic role in reforming the Indian securities market in terms of micro-structure, market practices and trading volumes. The market today uses state-of-art information technology to provide an efficient and transparent trading, clearing and settlement mechanism, and has witnessed several innovations in products & services viz. demutualisation of stock exchange governance, screen based trading, compression of settlement cycles, dematerialisation and electronic transfer of securities, securities lending and borrowing, professionalization of trading members, fine-tuned risk management systems, emergence of clearing Continue reading
Definition of Budgetary Control
Budgetary control is the process of determining various budgeted figures for the enterprise for the future period and then comparing the budgeted figures with the actual performance for calculating variances, if any. It is a continuous process, which helps in planning and coordination. It provides a method of control too. The Institute of Cost and Management Accountants, England defines budgetary control as “the establishment of budgets relating to the responsibilities of executives to the requirements of a policy, and the continuous comparison of actual with budgeted results, either to secure by individual action the objective of that policy or to provide a basis for its revision”. According to J.A.Scott, “it is the system of management control and accounting in which all operations are forecast and so far as possible planned ahead and the actual results compared with the forecast and planned ones”. Thus, budgetary control involves the following: Establishment of Continue reading
Capital Gearing and It’s Significance
Definition of Capital Gearing The most important factor which must be taken into account by the promoters while drafting the financial plan of a company is capital gearing. Gearing means the ration of different types of securities to total capitalization. The term, when applied to the capital of a company, means the ratio of equity share capital to the total capital and is known as capital gear ratio or capital gearing. J. Batty defines the term ‘capital gearing’ as “The relation of ordinary shares (equity shares) to preference share capital and loan capital is described as the capital gearing.” Thus the term capital gearing is used to indicate the relative proportion of fixed cost bearing securities such as preference shares and debentures to the ordinary share capital in the capital structure. Interest of equity share holders is represented by the amount of share capital plus retained earnings and undistributed profits. Continue reading
The Pros and Cons of Securitization
Securitization forces banks to compete with institutional investors and other financial institutions for the business of prime borrowers. In response, banks are beginning to provide borrowers with a range of fee-earning services that facilitate the sale of debt instruments to investors. For example, banks offer borrowers note-issuing or underwriting facilities instead of loans and agree to help borrowers sell their debt instruments to investors as and when needed. Banks may also agree to purchase only the unsold portion of the debt issue. Thus, securitization is moving banks away from performing traditional banking functions, such as extending credit in exchange for periodic interest payments. In addition, securitization provides the creditor with two significant benefits. Because the lender can choose whether to trade the notes or to hold them to maturity, the lender can better manage its credit limits and asset portfolio. The bank also earns a major part of its income Continue reading