Finance & Accounting Essays

This essay discusses that reliable and versatile debit and credit card processing service not only enhances business operations, but also increases sales. A reliable and first-rate efficient credit and debit card processing service enables individuals to accept payments anywhere, accept all payment forms, and access security and fraud protection.

The paper looked at risk assessment applied by financial institutions as imposed by Basel II accord and the behaviour of shipping industry. Most financial institutions are trying to eliminate shipping finance because of these risks. This leaves the shipping industry with the option of finding other sources of financing.

BP is regarded as one of the world’s leading international oil and gas organization which provides its customers with fuel which is needed in transportation, energy required for heat and light, retail services and also of petrochemicals products. The company tends to produce a diverse range of energy portfolio ranging from road, to home, business; BP produces natural resources on which the entire world depends upon.

This essay explores the impact of leverage on growth and thus market valuation; impact of taxation on financial policies and the value of the firm; impact of firm coverage by analyst; impact of financial strategy on financial policy. This paper also takes a glance at the financial flexibility. It is important that firms are financially flexible in response to variables n the environment.

Introduction The following is a financial analysis of Toyota, Honda, and Nissan as a comparison approach. In this analysis, the main firm’s (Toyota) performance is compared to that of Honda and Nissan through the use of financial information. This paper had three main sections.

The paper investigates the effect of the balanced scorecard on the performance of the for profit organisations. Balanced scorecard is being used by several organisations in order to improve the overall output and performance. It is used as an important strategic tool which facilitates the organisation in the process of formulating and devising effective and efficient strategies.

This study will attempt to answer the following questions: Is the inclusion of ethical instruction as part of the accounting curriculum seen to be effective and viable? How may incorporation of ethical instruction in the accounting curriculum be made more effective or viable, and what are the alternative ways by which ethical standards may be raised in the accounting profession?

The information provided in the case study show that the business was formed in 1995 to carry out printing business. During the period there was minimal competition in the industry. Marika Cooper imagined that she was going to make profits and maintain the same position for a long period if she had offered quality jobs at reasonable cost.

The object of analysis for the purpose of this assignment are derivatives as a particular instrument or product the worth of which is obtained as a resultant of more than one fundamental variables referred to as an underlying asset, value associated with the reference rate and index by way of a contract.

2008 Financial Crisis Until the start of the financial crisis in August 2007, the world was experiencing strong economic growth (Obstfeld & Rogoff). Investors and consumers were optimistic in their expectations, which reflected itself in high consumption and investment rates.

Investors had two options.They could either invest in firms with high rates of return, or they could choose to invest in firms that are safe and stable.The investment decision was based on the risk appetite of the investors.

Ratio analysis is a very accurate and reliable tool when it comes to analyzing the financial outlook of an entity. The primary reason to conduct a ratio analysis is to quantify the results of the operations of a company and compare them with that of the prior year(s) in order to assess different aspects of the financial feasibility.

The Blackstone Group is based in New York, but it is an investment company and the companies it owns are based all across the U.S. and the world. Blackstone's private equity business has been one of the largest investors in leveraged buyout transactions over the last decade while its real estate business has been an active acquirer of commercial real estate.

Financial Regulation. Financial industry defined by a set of markets, instruments and financial intermediaries whose goal is to ensure the mobilization and efficient allocation of available savings to finance private and public needs while protecting capital investments under risk conditions, plays a fundamental role in any modern economy (Corduneanu).

With a lot of economic failures cases related to security fraud and manipulation through the use of fraudulent accounting policies and rules in international corporations, it is essential to understand the business practises that have led to loose of shareholders investments.

The author suggests that the chief attributes of relationship lending are the thorough inspection of the organization by the bank as well as the contractual agility. Lending relationships, particularly those that are long-term associations make it simpler for small sized organizations to have access to outside funds.

The Irish Stock Exchange (the ISE) is an integral part of Ireland’s financial services industry. This forum allows companies operating in the country to raise capital through this market. In this market a wide range of securities is available.  Moreover, it has all those systems that allow active and efficient trading to be undertaken.

It requires finding out the present value of each future cash flow discounted at a specific value, which is the cost of capital of the project given in the form of a percentage. It uses the concept of discounted cash flows. This is a technique used to measure the feasibility of projects in terms of the number of years that it takes to pay back an initial investment.

Table of Contents Executive Summary 3 Introduction 4 Calculation of Ratios 5 Profitability Ratios 5 Liquidity And Solvency Ratios 6 Working-Capital Ratios 6 Investor Performance Ratios 6 Ratio analysis 7 Profitability Ratios 7 Liquidity and Solvency 8

Since the time of King William of Orange, central banks around the world have become influential and important for functioning of the economy and countrywide security and welfare. As importance of the government for the welfare of all citizens increased, so did the central bank’s importance (Cechetti & Schoenholtz, 2011, Chapter 15).

I would wish to state that the investor has tried to really diversify his assets. His assets, for example, would be invested across many regions for  China, Britain, Brazil and the USA all of whom experience different kinds of economic conditions and would fall in as security for each other in case of certain risks maturing.

Financial Analysis – Nautilus Inc Executive Summary The financial analysis of Nautilus Inc. over a period five years from 2007 to 2011 has been conducted under this article by utilizing suitable ratios and computations. If the financial results of the company are analyzed in a summarized way, it can be concluded that the company has not performed in a sustainable and healthy manner.

Examples of fiscal policies include reduction of taxes, increasing government spending as well improving infrastructure system. Central banks are responsible for enacting monetary policies in order to trigger economic growth and mitigate inflation.

In order to assess the financial impact of the proposed strategy upon FDP’s financial performance and position, financial ratio analysis has been used as a tool for that purpose. On the other hand, non-financial indicators have also been analyzed with the help of Balanced Scorecard technique which is a very effective as well as precise tool to judge the performance of the company.

Theories of regulation pertaining to the explanation of the allocation of resources in a market economy. Managers have a general responsibility of regulation and legitimacy towards financial accounting. Market mechanisms determine the resource disbursements and managers only have to report the statements according to the established accounting standards.

According to Nice (2002), Capital expenditures imply outlays of cash that are mostly needed to upgrade a business asset. Capital expenditure can sometimes be referred to as capital spending or capital expense.

Analysis of the case study -The Ruritanian Project Ruritania is a perfect example of a transitional economy. Ruritania is currently an economically developing Eastern European country. The annual growth rate has averaged around 6% per annum over the last five years with annual inflation rate of 5.2% (Case Study).

After the financial crisis that has been experienced by the traditional banking industry, focus of everyone has been shifted towards Islamic banks (Willison, 2009). With the growing success of Islamic banks, number of Islamic countries have been considering to shift their banking sector to Islamic banking sector and the policies and regulations would be governed by Islamic teachings (Johnes, Izzeldin, and Pappas, 2009).

This paper is reflective writing of what I have experienced through the professional accounting skills in the decision-making module. There has been a lot of development which I have gone through which includes skill development, communication, transactional analysis development, psychological and physiological development, and personality development (Phillips, 2005).

During the 20th and 21st centuries, the economic boom was at its peak. Due to this fact, a substantial number of financial institutions and companies were founded and traded. Therefore, investors, government, businessmen and institutions were to decide and select the best possible combination of companies to invest so that they could increase their wealth by investing in an appropriate portfolio.

This paper represents a study to show how a reputed international firm addresses the importance of strategic implementation regarding acquisition and use of symbolic capital within the discursive environment. A detailed analysis of the strategic activities of UK based oil and gas firm BP has explored through this paper.

What company achieved, what company lost and what company maintained in financial aspects, all are presented under the financial statements of a company. However, the financial statements of a company provide the absolute figures (amounts in currency units). These amounts of financial statements can be used for comparison in respect of the past performance of the company.

Equity valuation can be defined as the process of identifying the current market value of the company which is also regarded as the current market capitalization of the company. There are several steps in the equity valuation process and it requires an adequate understanding of financial management techniques and acumen.

In fact, Lala’s use of Flash software for wrapping streams which Apple had been averse to use could prove detrimental to its overall strategy (Stone 2009). Apple also exposed itself to the 35% to 45% risk of acquirers not realising any gains for two to three years after the acquisition as documented in a research study by Cartwright and Schoenberg.

The continent is a self governing country that is a part of the commonwealth federation. It is currently bounded by the Timor sea, Arafura sea, Torres strait, Coral sea, Tasman sea, Bass strait along with the Indian ocean (Verdier, p.11). It is the smallest continent found on the globe and the sixth largest country in the world.

Experts in the banking industry blame failure of regulation as one of the main causes of the 2008 global financial crisis. So there is no surprise that post-crisis world wants to see more regulations. Regulation will bring in benefits by way of financial stability, but it also imposes costs. The crisis was developed in the advanced economies.

Fundamentally, the prediction as to whether or not a particular acquisition would be beneficial depends on a number of factors. Among other things, it should be possible to evaluate the commercial logic of the intended acquisition (Patra, Khatik, & Kolhe, 2003).

Abiomed Inc. is still in its loss-making era, however, there are chances that the company might turn into a profit zone in upcoming years. The performance of the company in other areas has remained better than the industry and the company seems to be quite safe due to less amount of debt included in its capital structure which can actually prevent it from the likelihood of bankruptcy.

The joining of the GE and the Honeywell corporate would affect the product markets that deal with aerospace and power system industries. One of the activities involved is bundling which according to the commission, can be advantageous to the merged business because of eliminating the competitors.

Credit risk management contains some key principles that are: a clear structure should be established, accountability and responsibility should be allocated, prioritize the processes, clear communication of assigned responsibilities and answerability assigned thereto.Credit risk management has an overwhelming concern on a bank.

Depository institutions are subject to a reserve requirement ratio. Some authors contend that depository institutions are one of those institutions that are the most heavily watched and regulated in a different part of the world. And with the passage of time, these financial institutions have not only increased vertically but also horizontally.

Company analysis is a vital step in the process of determining the performance of the company in order to make an investment decision on whether to invest in the company or not. There are various methods that can be used to carry out a company analysis for investment decision making purposes.

Mergers and acquisitions are considered to be two of the options that are available to companies and that will allow them to grow. Organic growth is another method; however, this method is not as aggressive as mergers and acquisitions. Some of the reasons given for mergers relate to efficiency, market power, market discipline, expansion of operations, and diversification.

By analyzing the log returns, the key data that stood out was that the max value was generated by FTSE MID 250 (0.580766) and the minimum return generated was by MILAN COMIT GENERAL (-0.006832. The lowest mean value was generated by BRUSSELS ALL SHARE (-.00319). For Skewness, ideally, it should be zero indicating symmetry and normality.

Net Present Value is the discounted net value of a project within a specified period of time. Net present value is present cash inflows less present cash out flows. Positive net present value promises an increase in value, which indicates greater return than the of rate of return and should be accepted. Zero net present value indicates that the return is equal to the rate of return; therefore the project may be acceptable.

Harmonisation can be explained as the process of enhancing the comparability of financial reports furnished by business entities by setting up limits as to how much it can differ. Globalisation has affected business entities all around the world. A company might be operating in different parts of the world.

The Government of Australia has proposed a new resource rent tax known as Mineral Resource Rent Tax (MRRT) that will be effective from the beginning of July in 2012. It replaces the earlier proposed Resource Super Profits Tax or RSPT. Australia is quite rich in its natural resources in the form of minerals, oil, natural gas, etc.

The company is getting enough contracts to remain in the market but is still running operations at a loss. The business has been unable to generate enough capital to increase the ultimate profitability of the firm. The fundamental problem highlighted in this case is that of an inadequate costing system and an internal environment characterized by friction.

Corporate governance has a great influence on the efficiency of stock prices. Stability in the stock is achieved if and only if good corporate governance is incorporated into the management of the organization. Investors tend to be attracted to transparent institutions, with a high degree of financial accountability, and are well governed.

Executive Summary The assignment mainly highlights the various characteristic features of Valero Energy Corporation. Moreover, it also focuses on the global business strategy attempted by Valero Energy Corporation to expand its operations in foreign markets.