Finance Content Flashcards
Define financial management
Financial Management is the planning and monitoring of a business’s financial resources to enable the business to achieve its financial objectives
Define financial resources
Financial Resources are those resources in a business that have a monetary or money value
Recall the objectives of financial management
The objectives of financial management:
- Profitability
- Growth
- Efficiency
- Liquidity
- Solvency
Define profitability
Profitability is the excess of revenue or income over expenses or costs
Define growth
Growth is the ability of the business to increase its size in the longer term
Define efficiency
Efficiency is the ability of a business to minimise its costs and manage its assets so that maximum profit is achieved with the lowest possible level of assets
Define liquidity
Liquidity is the extent to which a business can meet its financial commitments in the short term (less than 12 months)
Define solvency
Solvency is the extent to which the business can meet its financial commitments in the longer term (more than 12 months)
Define gearing
Gearing is the proportion of debt (external finance) and the proportion of equity (internal finance) that is used to finance the activities of a business. Gearing ratios determine the firm’s solvency
Explain the relationship between solvency and gearing
Gearing indicates the dependency of the business on external (debt) financing and hence, the ability of the business to pay off the debt
Explain why conflicts may arise between the short and long term financial objectives
Conflicts may arise as both short and long term objectives require resources, making them incompatible to a degree
Recall the internal sources of finance
The internal sources of finance are retained profits
Define owner’s equity
Owner’s Equity is the funds contributed by owners or partners to establish and build the business, e.g. partners, private investors, selling assets, and private shares
Define retained profits
Retained Profits (earnings) is kept in the business as a cheap and accessible source of finance for future activities. Most businesses keep some of their profit in the form of retained earnings
Define overdraft
Overdraft is when a bank allows a business or individual to overdraw their account up to an agreed limit and for a specified time, to help overcome a temporary cash shortfall
No regular repayment schedule
Define commercial bills
Commercial Bills are primarily short-term loans issued by financial institutions, for larger amounts (usually over $100 000) for a period of generally between 30 and 180 days
Flexible in interest and repayment period
Define factoring
Factoring is the selling of accounts receivable for a discounted price (typically 90% of the accounts’ value) to a finance or factoring company
Define mortgage
Mortgage is a loan secured by the property of the borrower (business)
Repaid with interest, usually through regular repayments, over an agreed period of time
Define debenture
Debenture is a promise issued by a company to repay a loan for a fixed rate of interest and for a fixed period of time
Define unsecured note
Unsecured Note is a loan from investors for a set period of time. Unsecured notes are not secured against the business’s assets
Higher interest rate than secured notes
Define leasing
Leasing is the payment of money for the use of equipment that is owned by another party
Usually, a long-term lease cannot be cancelled
Outline the benefits of leasing
- Assists a business with their cash flow
- The costs of establishing leases are low
- If some assets are leased a business may be in a better position to borrow funds
- Provides long-term financing without reducing control of ownership
- Permits 100% financing of assets
- Repayments of the lease are fixed for a period so cash flow can be monitored easily
- Lease payments are a tax deduction
Define equity
Equity, as an external source of funds‚ refers to the finance raised by a company through inviting new owners
Define new issue
A new issue is a security that has been issued and sold for the first time on a public market
Define rights issue
A rights issue is an invitation to existing shareholders to purchase additional new shares in the same company. Existing shareholders are given securities - ‘rights’ - which give the right but not obligation to purchase shares at a set future date
Define placement
A placement involves creating new shares in return for capital and issuing them to selected investors at a discount to the market price of the company’s shares
Define share purchase plans
Share purchase plan is an offer to existing shareholders in a listed company to purchase newly issued shares in that company without brokerage fees
Define private equity
Private Equity is the money invested in a (private) company not listed on any stock market, such as the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX)
Unit funds are also known as ___
Unit funds are also known as mutual funds
Define unit funds
Unit funds are financial institutions that pools a large sum of money from investors and invests it, typically in minerals
Define the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX)
Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) is the primary stock exchange group in Australia
Define primary market
Primary Market deals with the new issue of debt instruments by the borrower of funds
Define secondary market
Secondary Market deals with the purchase and sale of existing securities
Recall the company tax rate in Australia
In Australia, the company tax rate stands at 30% unless the company does not exceed the threshold (of $50mil AUD turnover) then it is 25%
Recall the factors on the availability of funds
The availability of funds is affected by:
- Risk
- Demand and supply
- Domestic economic conditions
Recall the types of financial information
Types of financial information include:
- Balance sheet
- Revenue Statement (Income statement
- Cash flow statement
- Sales and price forecast
- Budget
- Bank statement
- Break-even analysis
- Reports from financial ratio analysis and interpretation
Define record systems
Record Systems are the mechanisms employed by a business to ensure that data are recorded and the information provided is accurate, reliable, efficient and accessible
Recall the benefits of keeping financial records
Keeping financial records is beneficial as:
- It assists in decision-making as the business has a clear understanding of the finances
- It encourages investment as investors and financial institutions are unlikely to invest in businesses with unclear financial details
- Businesses are required by law to keep records of their financial transactions for at least five years for tax purposes
Define financial risk
Financial Risk is the possibility of an inability to cover its financial obligations, such as incurred debts
Recall the types of financial risk
Types of Financial Risk:
- Credit risk
- Market risk
- Liquidity risk
- Operational risk
Define credit risk
Credit Risk is the risk a business takes on when borrowing money and without sufficient funds to meet repayments, the business incurs penalties and interest
Define market risk
Market Risk is the risk arising from the changing conditions in the specific market in which a company competes in
Define liquidity risk
Liquidity Risk is the risk depending on the cash flow and whether the business has sufficient funds to meet their financial obligations
Define operational risk
Operational Risk is the risk associated with the day-to-day management of a business, such as legal problems, fraud risk, human resource issues, and business model risk. Operational risk largely arises from poor management
Define financial controls
Financial Controls are the procedures, policies and means by which a business monitors and controls the allocation and usage of its resources
Define debt finance
Debt Finance is the short-term and long-term borrowing from external sources by a business
Define equity finance
Equity Finance relates to the internal sources of finance in the business