In recent years, management consulting firms have started offering companies advice on how to increase value. This has been possible because of the fear of hostile takeovers. Companies have increasingly turned to “value consultants” to tell them how to restructure, increase value, and avoid being taken over. The consultants suggestions have often provided the basis for the restructuring of these firms. The value of a firm can be directly related to decisions that it makes: on which projects it takes, on how it finances them, and on its dividend policy. Understanding this relationship is key to making value increasing decisions and to sensible financial restructuring.… Read the rest
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.
How Interest Rates Can Influence Financial Decisions?
Interest rates exert the following economic influences.
- Interest rates in a country influence the foreign exchange value of the country’s currency.
- Interest rates act as a guide to the return that a company’s shareholders might want, and changes in market interest rates will affect share prices.
A positive real rate of interest enhances an investor’s real wealth to the income he earns from his investments. However, when interest rates go up or down, perhaps due to a rise or fall in the rate of inflation, there will also be a potential capital loss or gain for the investor. In other words, the market value of interest-bearing securities will alter.… Read the rest
Concept of Goal Congruence
Goal congruence is the term which describes the situation when the goals of different interest groups coincide. A way of helping to achieve goal congruence between shareholders and managers is by the introduction of carefully designed remuneration packages for managers which would motivate managers to take decisions which were consistent with the objectives of the shareholders. Agency theory sees employees of businesses, including managers, as individuals, each with his or her own objectives. Within a department of a business, there are departmental objectives. If achieving these various objectives also leads to the achievement of the objectives of the organization as a whole, there is said to be goal congruence.… Read the rest
Activity Based Costing (ABC) – Definition, Benefits and Weakness
Traditional or Absorption Costing System reflects full cost pertaining to a product. It is easy to use and, therefore, is practiced widely. The allocation of overhead costs under the system is based on a rate determined by either a percentage of direct labor cost or number of labor hours worked or another. Therefore, the reported allocation of overheads for a given product may be incorrect. It is the main defect of absorption costing.
During 1980’s, the limitations of absorption costing system were felt with severity. Companies were looking for a system that could reflect true product cost in order to fight competition.… Read the rest
The Advantages and Disadvantages of Budgeting
A budget can be described as a financial plan for a business that has been prepared well in advance to demonstrate and dictate the future course of work of a business.
A budget may be set in money terms or it can be expressed in terms of units. Budgets can also be put across in the form of income budgets for money received i.e. sales budget, or expenditure budgets for money spent, i.e. a purchases budget. However, a major emphasis has always been on the cash budget which combines both income and expenditure in estimating the business working capital, cash in hand and bank balance during a course of work or a time period.… Read the rest
Bankruptcy Recovery Strategies
A firm is said to be bankrupt or in financial distress if it is unable to meet its current obligations to the creditors. Bankruptcy may occur because of a number of external and internal factors. The primary cause of a firm encountering financial distress starts when it finds it difficult to meet the scheduled payments or when the cash flow projections of the firm are indicative of the fact that it will soon be unable to do so.
Some important business bankruptcy recovery strategies are:
1. Settlements without going through Formal BankruptcyWhen a firm goes through the period of financial distress, it is very important for its management and creditors to decide whether the problem is a temporary one and it is possible for the firm to continue its operations or whether the problem is more serious and permanent in nature that has the possibility of endangering the life of the firm.… Read the rest