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Essay on Financial Discipline

December 24th, 2009 admin No comments

Financial Discipline is being disciplined in financial matters i.e., following the rules and regulations that are framed in business for its operations and instructions. Financial Discipline is being in the grid framed by the business rules.

In the same way finance builds or breaks the business. It is very necessary in every transaction and operations. Even to start or move or contact with other people money or finance is needed in every nook and corner of the business. That is the importance of finance in business.

And now importance of discipline. Discipline in narrow way looks to be the force drawing backwards but actually it is the one, which holds it firm, sustaining and survivable. It is just like a thread holding the kite down. When we see we feel that the thread is making it to be at down but actually it is the one which makes and makes it flying up in the sky with all the great swings. If the thread of the kite is strong then it can tackle all the swings and twists that would happen in the sky that is in the same way Financial Discipline holds the business in various turns and twists in its business run. Without the Financial Discipline business can’t run smoothly.

For ex:- we have made a decision or a rule to spend 1 crore in a business. But if we exceed it to 1.25 crores then it multiplies to a deficit of in crores with in few years which we will not be able to fill up. That is the reason Financial Discipline is very necessary. When we make a decision or rule to spend some money our stipulated expenditure shouldn’t exceed that decided money. Read more…

Finance Analysis of Merck

September 29th, 2009 admin No comments

Introduction
The nature of financial analysis for a given company or industry has changed dramatically in the last few years. Due to both the exponentially increasing dynamic nature of business, as well as the greatly enhanced ability to gather a wealth of information, making decisions on the viability and stability of a company or industry has grown increasingly complex. One method in determining the overall health of a business is the use of financial ratio analysis. Comparing various facets of a company’s financial performance through its ratios, especially when also comparing these same ratios for peer companies as well as the industry as a whole, can be a useful starting point for any investor. In this paper, we attempt to provide cursory information regarding the financial performance for Merck & Co., a major pharmaceutical provider, through a few ratios computed from the company’s recent financial reports. We also compare Merck with two similar companies in the major drug industry, as well as the industry itself. Using these ratios, it would seem that Merck is slightly under performing in the pharmaceutical industry. Read more…

ACS State and Local Solutions

September 9th, 2009 admin No comments

The objective of the research paper is to present ACS State and Local Solutions as an organization that can benefit from a change readiness assessment. The twenty first century points to a constant change, rapid growth, and to try to get as much business as possible, however constant search for more capital weakens and strengthens different areas of the organization.

Weisbord proposes his Six-Box model as a diagnostic framework for organizations. He expresses that a blip in any one box cannot be managed independently of its relationship to other boxes. However, six potential starting places give you alternatives when choosing an improvement strategy (Weisbord 1978).

Let us analyze the purpose of the organization. What business is ACS State and Local Solutions in? The organization is in the business of helping people to achieve self-sufficiency, and to process childcare checks on a timely manner to ensure a better quality life for children. Both contracts are with Miami Dade County, the first is twelve million dollars with one hundred forty five employees and the latter is a sixty five million dollars and a staff of forty-five. Read more…

Islamic Finance Essay

September 3rd, 2009 admin No comments

Islamic financial institutions now operate in over 75 countries. Their assets have increased more than 40-fold since 1982 to exceed $230 billion.

The first Islamic banks were created in the 1970s, at the time when the “aggiornamento” of Islamic doctrine on banking matters was taking shape. At the time, Islamic banks were typically commercial banks operating on an interest-free basis. Today, as a consequence of broad changes in the political-economic environment a new generation of Islamic financial institutions, more diverse and innovative, is emerging as the doctrine is undergoing a new aggiornamento.

Perhaps the most important development has been the growing integration of Islamic finance into the global economy. There is now a Dow Jones Islamic Market Index, which tracks 600 companies (from inside and outside the Muslim world) whose products and services don’t violate Islamic law. Foreign institutions such as Citibank have established Islamic banking subsidiaries, and many conventional banks– in the Muslim world but also in the United States and Europe–are now offering “Islamic products” that are sometimes aimed at non-Muslims.

Islamic finance is thus in many ways well suited to the global economy. Read more…

Essay on Financial Managers

September 1st, 2009 admin No comments

The role of the financial manager is very crucial to an organization. They hold the most important ingredient of a company in the palm of their hands, management of cash flow of a company. Since financial managers can be found in almost every organization, it is important to understand their role in an organization. In this paper I will examine the role of the financial manager. I will further compare and contrast these roles with that of an accountant.

Financial Managers
Our University of Phoenix e-text states, “Financial managers stand between the firm’s real assets and the financial markets in which the firm raises cash” (p. 8). They are ultimately responsible for overseeing the flow of cash between investors and the firm. Financial managers view the firm on a more global level. They are faced with managing the firm’s investments and how the funds are raised for these investments. Read more…

Federal Reserve Research Paper

August 26th, 2009 admin No comments

The Federal Reserve Bank (Fed) was created to reduce the risk of a repeat of the financial panics that occurred in the United States before its creation in 1913. The official objective of the Fed is to ensure the financial strength and stability of the nation’s banking system. The Fed regulates and examines the nation’s depository institutions to reach its objective. Also, it serves as a central bank that cashes checks drawn on the Treasury Bank, places currency into circulation and initiates fund transfers between depository institutions. The Fed splits the country into twelve districts, each of which is served by a separate district office of the Fed.

The New York Federal Reserve Bank (FRBNY), employing over three-thousand people, serves all of the state of New York, northern New Jersey, a part of Connecticut, and all of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. While geographically serving the smallest area compared to most other Fed banks, FRBNY processes the most assets and has the largest volume of activity of any of the banks.

In addition to its main office, the FRBNY also has a branch office in Buffalo, and two regional offices: one in Utica, NY and one in East Rutherford, NJ. Both regional offices are charged with handling check clearing for their respective geographical areas. Between the two offices, they process 5.6 million checks per day. When a check is presented for deposit at a depository institution, the bank deposits the check usually at its regional Fed office or local branch. Read more…

Internet Banking Essay

August 25th, 2009 admin No comments

Internet banking is the new method of banking using the new technologies available in the world today. Instead of needing to travel into a local branch of your bank, the Internet allows you to do a wide variety of useful things with your accounts. It can be accessed from anywhere that there is a computer with the Internet, and of course unlike bank branches the net is open 24 hours a day 7 days a week.

The services available online vary from bank to bank. Most of the general services are on all banking websites but the larger banks contain more control over your money. Here are some of the things that are possible –

• View your account balances
• Pay your bills (With the help of programs like ‘B-Pay’
• View records of transactions
• Transfer money to linked accounts with the same bank
• Transfer money to specially selected unlinked accounts
• Order printed payment reviews
• Pay for shares
• Check interest in your accounts
• Send money overseas
• Change your details
• Open new accounts
• Receive advice on handling funds Read more…

Corporate Finance Essay

August 20th, 2009 admin No comments

To fully understand how the business culture has acquired the greed mindset, a look at what a corporation is and defining corporate behavior becomes the starting point. First a corporation is defined as “an association of individuals, created by law and having an existence apart from that of its members as well as distinct and inherent powers and liabilities (Webster Dictionary).” Although made up of people, being separate or apart from its members also equals unaccountability. The question of “who pays when a company goes under” is at the forefront of discussions today.

Corporations are developed to serve society, meet a need or provide a service. Over the years, however, the good intentioned corporation has evolved into a greed machine that has lost site of the community that it serves and the people employed who ultimately perform the work. The steady parade of top executives confessing to engage in price gouging, tax dodges, accounting shams, employee rip-offs, and other shady unacceptable acts are coming to light daily. Unethical and illegal practices are documented from the RJR Nabisco scandals in 1988 to today’s Enron, WorldCom, Merrill Lynch, Arthur Anderson, Xerox, and endless other corporations. The world realizes now that corporate greed is not about one-bad company, but large companies in general that have adopted unacceptable guidelines for corporate behavior and an overall attitude that greed is acceptable. Read more…

Investment Essay

August 20th, 2009 admin No comments

In the United States, a society plagued by capitalism, investing has become a way of life. To most Americans it begins with opening a savings account and slowly allowing that money to grow through the compounded interest rate over the years. While it may not seem like a big step in generating more income, nonetheless, this is a positive movement in the market of investments. With the many types of investments available knowing which are reliable, or safe, or yield good returns, are just some of the questions on the investors mind. Within each asset class there are investments to suit different kinds of risk, duration, returns and liquidity.

Bank savings account, as stated before, is the simplest kind of short-term investment. The returns on savings account are low when compared to other investments, but the returns are guaranteed by the supplier, in this case the bank. Banks offer security meaning if a bank was to go broke the federal government through the FDIC (Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation) insures your bank deposits of up to $100,000. Having guaranteed returns means an investment will not lose its value in the short term unlike other investments. The bank pays interest to you account for saving your money with them. Bank fixed term investment also known as certificate of deposit is when you deposit a sum amount of money for a set period usually three, six or twelve months. The money becomes locked away for the fixed term but, in return, you get a higher interest rate than you would receive from a straight savings account. Withdrawing money before the fixed term is over could cost a penalty. With a savings account you are able to withdraw part or all of your money whenever you want, making bank savings account completely liquid. Liquidity is the ease at which an investment can be turned into cash and this property of an investment is very important. Investments that are liquid are ideal for short- term savings, or as a place to hold emergency funds. If your looking for medium to long term goals a bank savings account is not a good investment. Rather try a certificate of deposit, which are good short or medium term investment depending on interest rates. Since interest rates are always changing it??s usually good to have money on fixed term deposit. Read more…

Impact of Psychology on Finance

August 17th, 2009 admin No comments

For all their flair and boasted smugness, traders are not nearly as rational as they claim to be. This principle, which is in open conflict with the conventional Efficient Market Hypothesis supported by Modern Finance, is at the heart of a new discipline called behavioral finance. These studies target the cross-territory between psychology and finance and have an impressive body of empirical evidence supporting their statements.

What are the most common human frailties preventing the rational decision-making postulated by modern finance theory and conventional economics at large ?

1) Overconfidence, whereby humans do not know what they do not know and widely overstate their own information gathering and analysis capabilities. Illusion of control and a variety of self-attribution biases fall in this category.

2) Prospect theory, which states that human decisions are affected by psychological reference points. For instance, someone who is in a losing position will likely try to get even, whereas someone in a winning position will more likely try to secure his or her gains. Read more…