Meaning and Definitions of Value Added The traditional basic financial statements are balance sheet and Profit & Loss account. These statements generate and provide data related to financial performance only. They do not provide any information which shows the extent of the value or the wealth created by the company for a particular period. Hence, there arose a need to modify the existing accounting and financial reporting system so that the business unit is able to give importance to judge its performance by indicating the value or wealth created by it. To this direction inclusion of Value Added statement in financial reporting system is useful. The Value Added concept is now a recognized part of the accountant’s repertoire. However, the concept of Value Added (VA) is not new. Value Added is a basic and broad measure of performance of an enterprise. It is a basic measure because it indicates Continue reading
Financial Management Concepts
Exposures to Exchange Rate Fluctuations
International business is facilitated by markets that allow flow of funds between countries in different currencies. Multinational corporations are involved in international trade and receive and pay in various currencies. MNCs must constantly monitor exchange rates because their cash flows are highly dependent on them. The risk faced by these companies due to exchange rate movements after having already entered into financial obligations is called exchange rate risk. Such exposure to fluctuating exchange rates can lead to major losses for the firms. Exchange rate fluctuations cannot be forecast with accuracy. However, using various techniques, the amount of exposure can be measured and minimized. Exchange rate fluctuations can be broadly categorized into three types: Transaction exposure Economic exposure Translation exposure Transaction exposure arises when a firm’s contractual cash flows are affected by fluctuations in exchange rates of the currencies in which they are designated. Transaction exposures can have a great impact Continue reading
Revenue Management – Meaning, Benefits, Scope and Future
The phenomena of revenue management gained importance in recent years due to variable and discriminatory pricing schemes offered by various companies to their customers. Revenue management applies the orderly analytics that predict the behavior of the consumer at micro level and augment the prices and availability of products to the customers thus enhancing the overall revenue for the company. The aim of devising revenue management techniques is to deliver the fine product or service to the appropriate customer at the precise price. Revenue management system is based on analyzing the customer’s perception of the value that the product would provide and make straight the availability, placement and price according to that perception. This discipline became the need of every business rapidly. There could be many reasons for this. Even a kid whose is out for selling orange juice will have to analyze and predict the appropriate weather and time for Continue reading
What Is Capital? Definition and Concept
Capital is the money needed to produce goods and services. In plain terms, it is money. All businesses must have capital in order to purchase assets such as land, buildings, machinery, raw materials and maintain their operations. Business capital comes in two main forms: debt and equity. Debt refers to loans and other types of credit that must be repaid in the future, usually with interest. Equity, on the other hand, generally does not involve a direct obligation to repay the funds. Instead, equity investors receive an ownership position in the company which usually takes the form of stock, and thus the term “stock equity.” One of the factors of capital is the factor of production, debt capital; the cost is the interest rate that the company must pay in order to borrow funds. For equity capital, the cost is the returns that must be paid to investors in the Continue reading
Agency Theory in Financial Management
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
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