Found 1120 Articles for Banking & Finance

Businesses often make short- and long-term goals that are defined by financial plans. Financial plans may be both short- and long-term depending on their tenure. Short-term plans are usually of a year or less while long-term plans have tenures of more than one year.Both short- and long-term plans are inevitable for businesses. The businesses that make short- and long-term goals need to measure their performance by measuring the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). Keeping track of the KPIs and successfully completing them is the key to success for firms.Here, we define short and long-term financial planning, show their differences and express ... Read More

Both financial forecasting and financial planning can be applied to businesses and individuals, depending on the needs of the companies and the people, respectively. While financial forecast is made on a future date, financial planning is used to reach the goal on the set date in a step-by-step manner.Financial Forecasting vs. Financial PlanningAlthough Financial Forecasting and Financial Planning are related in terms of future endeavours, however, there are stark differences between the two. These differences are as follows −Estimation vs. ForecastingFinancial forecasting is an estimation or a projection, whereas financial planning is a process that should be followed to reach ... Read More

What do you understand by Financial Planning?The financial planning process is a systematic process of planning and forecasting. The finance managers usually take into account various inputs, place them in the modeling, and derive the outputs. Financial planning is an unavoidable process for every firm in order to face stiff competition in the market and grow simultaneously. Without having a proper plan, the company cannot have an ideal vision, and therefore, the management cannot define a subtle growth path.The inputs that are used in the financial planning process act as variables of growth for a company. Modeling acts as a ... Read More

What is Financial Planning?A company’s ultimate objective is to grow its sales and revenues and earn as many profits as possible from the markets. For this, it must have assets, such as equipment and machinery in its possession. The company must incur expenses to buy raw materials in order to produce finished goods from raw materials.There are expenses in marketing the goods and services too. The company may need to sell its products in credit to increase the market share and push the sales up. This will create accounts receivables and debtors. The company may decide to use its retained ... Read More

The ultimate aim of a company is to earn profits and the financial managers play a big role in this by utilizing their skills and knowledge.Some of the major implications of the finance theory which can be summarized as follows −Wealth maximization as the Primary ObjectiveShareholders’ wealth maximization is the primary objective of the management. Shareholders are the owners of a company and they have the primary interest in the prosperity and growth of the company. A company cannot deny the role of shareholders in forming the organization by investing money in the company through shares.Therefore, when a company earns ... Read More

The roles and responsibilities of a financial manager were very limited in the past, about three to four decades back. However, in the modern day, the finance managers not only control the spending and the accounts, but they play a major role in directing the organization’s efforts to synchronize all of the activities of a company.However, depending on the depth of functionalities and their importance, the financial managers perform two main functions −Allocation of funds which is an investment decision.Generation of funds which is a financial decision.These functions are guided by the finance theory which makes two assumptions to let ... Read More

Strategic planning is borne out of the fact that all markets - capital, labor, and product are imperfect and hence they need effective measures to gain profitability. That is why strategies are made to manage business organizations in imperfect and changing markets. It is also believed that imperfections and changes in the markets provide opportunities that can be exploited by business firms financially.In general strategic financial planning, managers are expected to perform the following two tasks −Allocation of funds, andGeneration of fundsAllocation of funds is an investment decision, whereas generation of funds is a financial decision.Financial theories make two assumptions ... Read More

The BCG model is the simplest tool for businesses to understand their strategic position in the business lifecycle. The model helps business firms understand what they must do in order to achieve more profits in accordance with their position in the BCG matrix.The implications of the model in strategic financial planning can be discussed by breaking the matrix into the given four blocks that represent four lifecycle conditions of a product or project finance.These four segments or blocks are as follows −Stars segmentThe ‘Stars’ segment implies market dominance in terms of both market share and market growth. Companies in the ... Read More

What is a BCG Model?The Boston Consulting Group (BCG) put forward a model of corporate posters of companies at different stages of their business position. It is the BCG model that charts market shares against market growth.The BCG model, also known as the Growth-Share Matrix, is a market model which assumes that a product’s market share shows its cash generating power.Both Market share and Market growth have high and low phases. Therefore, there are four options in terms of cash of the corporate structure in the BCG model. They are as follows −Block 1 - StarsThe first block represents both ... Read More

What is Strategic Planning?Strategic planning ensures that a company’s portfolio is balanced in terms of profit, overall risk, and cash flows. Strategic planning is, therefore, the tool by which the progress of a company can be ensured.Strategic planning decides the strategy. Planning is done at the top level of a company while the strategy is applied at the ground level where managers apply the strategies as directed by the top-level managers.However, businesses often make strategic plans and see them fail while executed. The fault is not in the plan, but of the people who are going to execute it. In ... Read More