Management Lessons from Quran

The primary reason a Muslim must manage his time is because he wants success in the Hereafter. One who truly believes knows that what’s at stake isn’t just career or money.

The purpose of time management is to effectively channel time into doing things that take us closer to our goals.

For a believer, the ultimate goal is to become the inheritors of Jannatul Firdaus, the highest level of Paradise. All subsequent goals are means that take us closer to that ultimate goal.

Principles of Islamic Management:

  • Honesty
  • Efficiency
  • Patriotism
  • Right man in the right place
  • Discipline
  • Division of labour
  • Unity of command and unity of direction
  • Centralization and decentralization
  • Preference to the organizational interest
  • Remuneration
  • Economy
  • Justice for all
  • United efforts
  • Dignity of labour
  • Exemption
  • Accountability
  • Tawakkul: The act of relying upon something or someone to place faith or confidence in Allah (usually).

Characteristics of Islamic Management

  • Basic foundation of Islamic Management is the Quran and Sunnah.
  • Original model of IM is Prophet Muhammad (SAW) and his companions.
  • Only economic development is not the final target of IM.
  • Activities aimed at welfare in the life hereafter.
  • Employees should maintain cordial relationship and team spirit.
  • Accountability is twofold: i) to immediate boss and ii) Almighty Allah
  • Manager considers himself as a vicegerent of Allah.
  • Property is thought to be trusted by Allah to the users and the managers.
  • Decisions are made through consultation ( Mashwara).
  • The manager does not have any greed to misuse the power of the post.
  • There must be prevailing peace, development and other benefits.
  • IM is applicable to personal, familial and social, economic and political organizations.
  • Here hypocrisy, forgery, activities adverse to religion and morality are not tolerated.
  • Management is thought to be a universal concept.
  • There is freedom of thinking and expression.
  • Competition is a common strategy in good deeds.

Goal Setting:

Success and failure are measured by the scale that will weigh our deeds on the Day of Judgment. That measurement will decide whether we reach Paradise or not.

Time Management

Chapter Al-Mu’minun begins by listing the qualities of a true believer. Interestingly, the list begins and ends with salah, with the remaining qualities sandwiched in between. Verse 2 mentions the quality of having khushu’ (humility and submissiveness) in prayer. Verse 9 talks about being “hafidh” of your prayers, which means performing the prayers within their set time limits.

A true believer prays five times every day, no matter where he is or in what condition. Even if he is lying semi-paralyzed in the ICU or is being chased by a bloodthirsty hyena, if he is sane and able to move his head, he has to perform all five prayers within their fixed time limits. They are like pillars around which he should arrange the rest of his life.

Sense of Urgency

We only have a limited amount of time in this world, and, compared to the grand scale of things, this time is really very short.

Allah gives us examples in this chapter of people and even entire nations that were destroyed for their disbelief, arrogance and denial of resurrection.

Avoiding Time-Wasters

Continuing from point 3 above, the believers’ sense of urgency compels them to avoid things that waste time. They are portrayed in this chapter as spending time in things that matter, such as praying and giving charity.

They are also described as staying away from things that take them farther away from their goals, such as committing fornication and engaging in laghw. Laghw refers to acts of shirk, sins, and any action or speech that doesn’t bring any benefit. (Ibn Kathir)

Management Lessons from Mahabharata

Management Lessons from Mahabharata

If you want to be the best leader, Mahabharata should be your guide. You may think that the Indian epic is obsolete and archaic, but you’d be surprised to know how much relevance it holds in today’s world, especially when it comes to your work life. Here are 7 management lessons you must learn from Mahabharata.

  1. Seize Every Opportunity

Look out for opportunities outside your scope of work. Never hassle yourself too much with the motive of defeating your competitor. Rather, invest all energies on a bigger goal – to add strength and power to your business.

  1. Win Allies

Five brothers won against a hundred. How do you think Pandavas did that? The relationships they established over the years paid off. You may be busy focussing on your own growth at the present, but you must start reaching out to more people and making allies. They will push you forward when the time comes.

  1. Distribute Work

The more people you have, working towards different goals, the more efficient the output is going to be. One man leadership strategy didn’t work for Kauravas and there is no way it’s going to work for you.

  1. Know How to Build Team Spirit

Kauravas were plenty in number but null in strength. Make your team work towards a single goal instead of personal ones. Take contributions from everyone. Hear everyone out; make them learn how to work with each other.

  1. Give Your Team Individual Goals

Allot individual goals to each team. This will help build up enthusiasm and in turn, help you in the longer run. Even though Pandavas were working towards the same ultimate goal, they had individual roles in the battle too.

  1. Commitment; Keep It Strong

Once you’re up for a challenge, do not back out. Had Pandavas fretted about being negligible in number in comparison to the Kauravas, they would’ve never even tried. Determination and commitment will surely take you a long way.

  1. Know Every Member’s Potential

If you’re going to manage a team, you better know what role they suit the best. Pandavas knew how to harnesses energies from each man in their army. You should be smart enough to use your team’s ability and potential to the maximum.

Management Lessons from Vedas

According to Chanakya there are 6 basic principle Management lesson from vedas

  1. Vasudha-Eva-Kutumbakam (Accepting the whole world as one and one’s family)

Yes, he did support the idea of nation-states, yet he strongly upheld the Vedic belief that the nation-state exists “not just for the welfare of its citizen” but also for “the whole world.” This is evident from the very first stanza of Arthashastra “I, therefore, write this book for the greater good and uplifting of the world…”.

  1. Samarpan Bhaav (Dedication)

When he saw the sad state of his nation Chanakya was depressed and sought revocation; but then realized, contemplating on Vedic literature, that vengeance is a dangerous and that it can harm even the one who is holding on to it. He then decided to work to establish a single empire for the greater good. He certainly dedicated many years of his life to it. Legend has it that he found Chandragupta when was a teenager, then educated, nurtured and mentored him to be King. It was at least over a span of two decades. This is a testimony of Samarpan Bhaav (Dedication),

  1. Lokasangraha (Welfare of all beings)

According to Chanakya, this was the supreme duty of everyone, including the King. This is evident in Book I of the Arthashastra which reads “… King… shall maintain his subjects in the observance of their respective duties by exercising authority; keep up his personal discipline by receiving lessons in wisdom, and endear himself to the people by bringing them wealth and doing good to them.” Also, “… The King shall keep away from hurting the innocent and their property; avoid not only lust, even in a dream, but also falsehood, haughtiness, and evil proclivities; and keep away from unrighteousness and uneconomical transactions.”

  1. Shubh Laabh (Ethical Profits)

This was the key economic objective which the King had to observe not just among his subjects but also for himself. In Chapter 7 of Arthashastra he notes “Not violating righteousness and economy, he shall enjoy his desires. Then he shall never be devoid of happiness. He may enjoy in an equal degree the three pursuits of life, charity, wealth and desire, which are interdependent on each other. Anyone of these three, when enjoyed in excess, hurts not only the other two but also itself.” Chanakya held that wealth is as important as desire and charity; but that this is possible only by “wealth of their knowledge”.

  1. Nishkaama Karma (Deeds without greed)

Apart from other altruist attitudes, Chanakya upheld the idea of deeds without greed. While mentioning the “Duties of the King” he writes, “A King by overthrowing the aggregate of the six internal enemies, namely lust, anger, greed, vanity, haughtiness and overjoy, shall restrain the sense organs…” Also, in the same chapter, “The King may enjoy his desires but only by ensuring non-violation of righteousness and no harm to the economy. “

  1. Ati-Hyaastha-Varjayet (Shunning extremes)

Balance is a key ingredient according to teachings of Kautilya in Arthashastra. While he clearly shunned negative qualities, he also mentioned that people should shun extreme and senseless goodness for the sake of unworthy people. “In the woods”, he says “that tree is chopped first which is straight.” The essence of life, according to him was ” finding the balance between good and bad actions, happiness, and unhappiness, pain and pleasure, cries and laughter.”

Ethics vs. Ethos

The main difference between ethics and ethos is that ethics refer to a set of moral principles while ethos refers to the character or customs or a set of attitudes and values. Ethics is derived from the word ethos.

The two words ethos and ethics are linguistically linked as they share the same etymology. However, in the present world, these two words are used distinctly.

Ethics

The word “ethics” comes from the Greek word “ethos” which means “character” or “custom.” Therefore, ethics combines the meaning of the word ethos with the wider meaning of the word ethics. Ethics refers to the set of moral principles or a system of moral values for a particular society or an institution. Merriam Webster defines ethics as “the discipline dealing with what is good and bad and with moral duty and obligation.”

Hence, ethics differ according to the individual, his social background, etc. However, ethics defines what are morally good and acceptable from a majority of society.

For instance, the ethics in a certain society is originated with an alliance to their customs, traditions and religious beliefs as well. Hence, in this instance, ethos directly influences the formation of ethics. However, ethics in a general sense are those that are accepted universally; moral ethics, etc.

Ethos

Ethos is a Greek word that has meaning such as “Character” or “Custom”. Originally, this word was used by Aristotle to describe a man’s character or personality; a combination of passion and caution. However, at present, ethos refers to the guiding beliefs and values that distinguish a person, society or institution from others. According to Merriam Webster, ethos refers to the ‘the distinguishing character, sentiment, moral nature, or guiding beliefs of a person, group, or institution’.

Thus, ethos mainly refers to the core set of attitudes, beliefs, and values that gives an identity to a person, community, institution, etc. For instance, the character identity of a certain individual in a society is a manifestation of that person’s outlook in life developed through his social traditions, customs, and religious beliefs as well.

Another situation is when the business values of a certain institution can be distinguished from another; here, it is their attitudes and aspirations that contribute to formulating their business ethos. Hence, ethos can be explained as the characteristic spirit of a culture, era, or community as manifested by the attitudes and aspirations of its members.

Difference

Ethics

Ethos

Denotes a system of values on which an institution is based.
It is a constituent of moral philosophy.
Ethos is a quality that brings harmony to a group.
It helps in distinguishing one character or sentiment from the other.
Originating Word Derived from the word Ethikos, which has a Greek origin. Ethos itself forms the root word of Ethikos.
Nature Has a universal outlook. More customized nature as it can show the identity of people.
Use It provides a general guideline for a society or person. It sets principles. The beliefs and attitudes of a person or institution or society are depicted.
Type Ethics are moral principles that can be used as guidelines for a Person, Society or an institution. ethos describes the character of the attitudes and beliefs of a certain person, Society or an Institution.

Ethics and ethos are etymologically linked words. Moreover, ethics can be identified as being derived from the Greek word ethos. Nevertheless, the difference between ethics and ethos is that ethics refer to a set of moral principles while ethos refers to the character or customs or a set of attitudes and values.

Indian Vs Western Management

Western Managers Eastern Managers
Is more open, direct and confrontational Puts greater value on seniority, relationships and family ties
Is more flexible and creative Is likely to be paternalistic
Encourages empowerment of line workers Supports lifetime employment and opposes hire-and-fire
Favors databases and statistics and resists intuition Places more emphasis on corporate loyalty
Is characterized more by individual initiative than by group consensus, Puts greater importance on short-term profits Is more likely to stress quantity than quality
Is more productivity-oriented than people-oriented Is more resistant to women assuming positions of management

There are also some similarities in the way that managers perceived the importance of connections, like in business relationships and personal friendships but also some marked differences, with local Asian managers and expatriate Western managers regarding government connections, family connections, gifts and favors, and bribes as much more important that Western managers did.

Against the background of differences in management style, the achievement of a consistent corporate culture throughout the MNE is considered in general. It must reflect the differences in the local country and business culture but also maintain the firm’s standards and values.

A number of writers have considered the differences between the International and domestic planning and explained that the very nature of international markets, which are geographically dispersed and culturally difference means that whilst there may be greater opportunities for the company there are also greater risks and uncertainties.

It is worth emphasizing at this point, however, that because domestic markets are becoming more segmented and more culturally fragmented the differences between International marketers and domestic marketers are becoming less clear especially as few domestic markets are not unaffected by international competition.

Most companies, as they grow, move gradually into international markets and the major evolutionary stages of planning; the unplanned stage, the budgeting stage, the annual business planning and the strategic planning stage, which equate closely to the evolution of the business.

Individual managers adopt different attitudes to International business planning, ranging from enthusiasm to reluctance. The three most common reasons for resistance to the planning process are,

  1. Planning is time consuming when the time could be better spent on managing the business,
  2. Setting goals and objectives in a volatile environment remote from the HQ is irrelevant, divisive and applies unnecessary constraints and
  3. Planning is purely a process by which senior managers at the domestic HQ can inform themselves and control the international business and is of no benefit for other managers.

The three most common reasons for supporting the International business planning process given by managers are that it

  1. Encourages everyone wherever they might be in the organization to pull in the same direction,
  2. Avoids waste of time and resources through duplication of work and
  3. Ensures that the company is better prepared for coping with unexpected events and international competition.

Cash Flows at Subsidiary and Parent Company

FASB Statement No. 95, “Statement of Cash Flows,” mandates that companies include a state­ment of cash flows among their financial statements. The consolidated statement of cash flows is not prepared from the individual cash flow statements of the separate companies. Instead, the income statements and balance sheets are first brought together on the worksheet. The cash flows statement is then based on the resulting consolidated figures.

Thus, this statement is not actually produced by consolidation but is created from numbers generated by that process. However, preparing a consolidated statement of cash flows does introduce several accounting issues. Its preparation involves properly handling of any excess amortizations, intercompany transactions, subsidiary dividends, and several other acquisition-year cash flows.

Amortizations:

A worksheet adjustment (Entry E) includes in the consolidation process the amortizations of acquisition-date excess fair-value allocations. These expenses do not appear on either set of individual records but in the consolidated income statement. As a noncash decrease in income, this expense, under the indirect approach, is added back to consolidated net income to arrive at cash flows from operations. If the business combination uses the direct approach, it omits the balance because this expense does not affect the amount of cash.

Intercompany Transactions:

As this text previously discussed, a significant volume of transfers between the related compa­nies composing a business combination often occurs. The resulting effects of this intercompany activity is eliminated on the worksheet so that the consolidated statements reflect only transac­tions with outside parties. Likewise, the consolidated statement of cash flows does not include the impact of these transfers.

Intercompany sales and purchases do not change the amount of cash held by the business combination when viewed as a whole. Because the statement of cash flows is derived from the consolidated balance sheet and income statement, the impact of all transfers is already removed. Therefore, no special adjustments are needed to properly present cash flows. The worksheet entries produce correct balances for the consolidated statement of cash flows.

Subsidiary Dividends Paid:

The cash outflow from dividends paid by a subsidiary only leaves the consolidated entity when paid to the non-controlling interest. Thus dividends paid by a subsidiary to its parent do not appear as financing outflows. However, subsidiary dividends paid to the non-controlling inter­est are a component of cash outflows from financing activities.

Acquisition Year Cash Flow Adjustments:

In the year of a business acquisition, the consolidated cash flow statement must properly reflect several additional considerations.

For many business combinations, the following issues frequently are present:

  1. Cash purchases of businesses are an investing activity. The net cash outflow (cash paid less subsidiary cash acquired) is reported as the amount paid in a business acquisition.
  2. For intraperiod acquisitions, SFAS No. 95 requires that any adjustments from changes in oper­ating balance sheet accounts (Accounts Receivable, Inventory, Accounts Payable, etc.) reflect the amounts acquired in the combination. Therefore, any changes in operating assets and lia­bilities are reported net of effects of acquired businesses in computing the adjustments to con­vert consolidated net income to operating cash flows. Use of the direct approach of presenting operating cash flows also reports the separate computations of cash collected from customers and cash paid for inventory net of effects of any acquired businesses.
  • Any adjustments arising from the subsidiary’s revenues or expenses (e.g., depreciation, amortization) must reflect only post-acquisition amounts. Closing the subsidiary’s books at the date of acquisition facilitates the determination of the appropriate post-acquisition sub­sidiary effects on the consolidated entity’s cash flows.

Depreciation and Amortization:

These expenses do not represent current operating cash out­flows and thus are added back to convert accrual basis income to cash provided by operating activities.

Increase in Accounts Receivable, Inventory, and Accounts Payable (Net of Acquisition):

SFAS No. 95 requires that changes in balance sheet accounts affecting operating cash flows reflect amounts acquired in business acquisitions.

Acquisition of Salida Company:

The Investing Activities section of the cash flow statement shows increases and decreases in assets purchased or sold involving cash.

Consolidation Includes

Adjustments to offset the net effect of intercompany sales and transfers are required, because consolidation rolls all results into one and no accounting rule allows a company to sell or transfer goods or services to itself. For consolidation rules to apply, your company must own the majority of the outstanding stock, membership interests or limited partner interests in a business. If your company has voting control but not ownership control, meaning your company directs what another business does but does not own 50.1 percent or more, then you exclude that business from the consolidation.

Equity Financing in the International Markets, Depository Receipts; ADR, GDR, IDR

Equity financing is the process of raising capital through the sale of shares. Companies raise money because they might have a short-term need to pay bills or have a long-term goal and require funds to invest in their growth. By selling shares, a company is effectively selling ownership in their company in return for cash.

Equity financing comes from many sources: for example, an entrepreneur’s friends and family, investors, or an initial public offering (IPO). An IPO is a process that private companies undergo to offer shares of their business to the public in a new stock issuance. Public share issuance allows a company to raise capital from public investors. Industry giants, such as Google and Meta (formerly Facebook), raised billions in capital through IPOs.

While the term equity financing refers to the financing of public companies listed on an exchange, the term also applies to private company financing.

International finance analyzes the following specific areas of study:

  • International Fisher Effect is an international finance theory that assumes nominal interest rates mirror fluctuations in the spot exchange rate between nations.
  • The Mundell-Fleming Model, which studies the interaction between the goods market and the money market, is based on the assumption that price levels of said goods are fixed.
  • The optimum currency area theory states that certain geographical regions would maximize economic efficiency if the entire area adopted a single currency.
  • Interest rate parity describes an equilibrium state in which investors are indifferent to interest rates attached to bank deposits in two separate countries.
  • Purchasing power parity is the measurement of prices in different areas using a specific good or a specific set of goods to compare the absolute purchasing power between different currencies.

Sources of International Finance

The sources of international finance can be excavated deep in the international economy and international market. The various sources for International Finance are as follows:

Commercial Banks

Global Commercial Banks all over the international market provide loans in the foreign currency to the companies. These banks are very crucial in financing the non-trade international operations. They facilitate international trading to occur smoothly.

International Agencies and Development Banks

The developmental banks and other international agencies have come forth over the years for the purpose of financing in the international sector. The agencies are set up by the government of the developed countries of the world. The highly industrious agencies among this sector are – International Finance Corporation, EXIM Bank and Asian Development Bank. 

International Capital Markets

The budding organizations which include the multinational companies depend upon the fairly large amount of loans known as the foreign currency. The financial instruments which are used by these organizations include; American Depository Receipts, Global Depository Receipts, and Foreign Currency Convertible Bonds.

Depository Receipts; ADR, GDR, IDR

A depositary receipt (DR) is a negotiable financial instrument issued by a bank to represent a foreign company’s publicly traded securities. The depositary receipt trades on a local stock exchange. Depositary receipts facilitates buying shares in foreign companies, because the shares do not have to leave the home country.

Depositary receipts that are listed and traded in the United States are American depositary receipts (ADRs). European banks issue European depositary receipts (EDRs), and other banks issue global depository receipts (GDRs).

An investor needs to contact a broker in a local bank if he/she is interested in purchasing depositary receipts. The local bank in the investor’s home country, which is called the depositary bank, will assess the foreign security before making a decision to purchase shares.

The broker in the depositary bank will purchase the shares either on the local stock exchange that it trades in or purchase the shares in the foreign stock exchange by using another broker in a foreign bank, which is also known as the custodian bank.

After purchasing the shares, the depositary bank will request the shares to be delivered to the custodian bank.

After the custodian bank receives the shares, they will group the shares into packets, each consisting of 10 shares. Each packet will be issued to the depositary bank as a depositary receipt that is traded on the bank’s local stock exchange.

When the depositary bank receives the depositary receipts from the custodian bank, it notifies the broker, who will deliver it to the investor and debits fees from the investor’s account.

Types of Depositary Receipts

  1. American Depositary Receipt (ADR)

It is listed only on American stock exchanges (i.e., NYSE, AMEX, NASDAQ) and can only be traded in the U.S. They pay investors dividends in U.S. dollars and are issued by a bank in the U.S.

ADRs are categorized into sponsored and unsponsored, which are then grouped into one of three levels.

  1. European Depositary Receipt (EDR)

It is the European equivalent of ADRs. Similarly, EDRs are only listed on European stock exchanges and can only be traded in Europe. It pays dividends in euros and can be traded like a regular stock.

  1. Global Depositary Receipt (GDR)

It is a general term for a depositary receipt that consists of shares from a foreign company. Therefore, any depositary receipt that did not originate from your home country is called a GDR.

Many other countries around the world, such as India, Russia, the Philippines, and Singapore also offer depositary receipts.

  1. Indian Depository Receipt (IDR)

Indian Depository Receipt (IDR) is a financial instrument denominated in Indian Rupees in the form of a depository receipt. The IDR is a specific Indian version of the similar global depository receipts.

It is created by a Domestic Depository (custodian of securities registered with the Securities and Exchange Board of India) against the underlying equity of issuing company to enable foreign companies to raise funds from the Indian securities Markets. The foreign company IDRs will deposit shares to an Indian depository. The depository would issue receipts to indian investors against these shares. The benefit of the underlying shares (like bonus, dividends etc.) would accrue to the depository receipt holders in India.

An international depository receipt (IDR) is a negotiable certificate issued by a bank. It represents ownership of a number of shares of stock in a foreign company that the bank holds in trust.

IDRs are purchased by investors as an alternative to the direct purchase of foreign stocks on foreign exchanges. For example, American traders can buy shares of the Swiss bank Credit Suisse Group AG or Swedish automaker Volvo AB directly from American exchanges via ADRs.

Advantages of DRs

  1. Exposure to international securities

Investors can diversify their investment portfolio by gaining exposure to international securities, in addition to stocks offered by local companies.

  1. Additional sources of capital

Depositary receipts provide international companies a way to raise more capital by tapping into the global markets and attracting foreign investors around the world.

  1. Less international regulation

Since it is traded on a local stock exchange, investors do not need to worry about international trading policies and global laws.

Although investors will be investing in a company that is in a foreign country, they can still enjoy the same corporate rights, such as being able to vote for the board of directors.

Disadvantages of DRs

  1. Higher administrative and processing fees, and taxes

There may be higher administrative and processing fees because you need to compensate for custodial services from the custodian bank. There may also be higher taxes.

For example, ADRs receive the same capital gains and dividend taxes as other stocks in the U.S. However, the investor is subject to the foreign country’s taxes and regulations aside from regular taxes in the U.S.

  1. Greater risk from forex exchange rate fluctuations

There is a higher risk due to volatility in foreign currency exchange rates. For example, if an investor purchases a depositary receipt that represents shares in a British company, its value will be affected by the exchange rate between the British pound and the currency in the buyer’s home country.

  1. Limited access for most investors

Sometimes, depositary receipts may not be listed on stock exchanges. Therefore, only institutional investors, which are companies or organizations that execute trades on behalf of clients, can invest in them.

Incremental Cash Flows

Incremental cash flow refers to cash flow that is acquired by a company when it takes on a new project. To estimate an incremental cash flow, businesses must compare projected cash flow if it takes on a new project to when it doesn’t, putting into consideration how accepting such project may affect the cash flow of another part of the business.

Incremental Cash Flow = Cash Inflow – Initial Cash Outflow – Expense

Components

Initial Investment Outlay

It is the amount needed to set up or start a project or a business. E.g., a cement manufacturing company plans to set up a manufacturing plant at XYZ city. So all the investment from buying land and setting up a plant to manufacturing the first bag of cement will come under initial investment.

Operating Cash Flow

Operating cash flow refers to the amount of cash generated by that particular project, less operating, and raw material expense. If we consider the above example, the cash generated by selling cement bags less than the raw material and operating expenses like labour wages, selling and advertising, rent, repair, electricity, etc. is the operating cash flow.

Terminal Year Cash Flow

Terminal cash flow refers to net cash flow that occurs at the end of the project or business after disposing of all the assets of that particular project. Like in the above example, if the cement manufacturer company decides to shut down its operation and sell its plant, the resulting cash flow after brokerage and other costs is terminal cash flow.

  • So, ICF is the net cash flow (cash inflow – cash outflow) over a specific time between two or more projects.
  • NPV and IRR are other methods for making capital budgeting decisions. The only difference between NPV and ICF is that while calculating ICF, we do not discount the cash flows, whereas, in NPV, we discount it.

Advantages

It helps in the decision of whether to invest in a project or which project among available ones would maximize the returns. Compared to other methods like Net present value (NPV) and Internal rate of return (IRR), Incremental cash flow is easier to calculate without any complications of the discount rate. ICF is calculated in the initial steps while using capital budgeting techniques like NPV.

Limitations

Practically incremental cash flows are complicated to forecast. It is as good as the inputs to the estimates. Also, the cannibalization effect, if any, is difficult to project.

Besides endogenous factors, there are many exogenous factors that may affect a project greatly but are challenging to forecast like government policies, market conditions, legal environment, natural disaster, etc. which may impact incremental cash flows in unpredictable and unexpected ways.

Difficulties in Determining Incremental Cash Flow

Incremental cash flows are helpful, especially in determining if a company should take on a new project or not. However, accountants also encounter certain difficulties when estimating incremental cash flow. Here are some of the challenges:

  1. Sunk costs

Sunk costs are also known as past costs that have already been incurred. Incremental cash flow looks into future costs; accountants need to make sure that sunk costs are not included in the computation. This is especially true if the sunk cost happened before any investment decision was made.

  1. Opportunity costs

From the term itself, opportunity costs refer to a business’ missed chance for revenues from its assets. They are often forgotten by accountants, as they do not include opportunity costs in the computation of incremental cash flow.

One example is a company that specializes in sound system installations that skips a project that requires the use of five sets of boom boxes. Currently, the business is only putting the five extra sets of boom boxes in its storage facility, instead of taking on the project that will earn $5,000. This illustrates the opportunity cost of $5,000.

  1. Cannibalization

As mentioned above, cannibalization is the result of taking on a new project that reduces the cash flow of another product or line of business. For example, an owner with an existing mall that caters to classes A and B, and everything it sells is sold at a premium because it caters to luxury shoppers.

In another part of the same city, it decides to open a new mall that caters to classes B, C, and D, selling the same items as the other mall but at a significantly lower price. This will result in cannibalization because some people will no longer go to the first mall because they can get most things at the new mall for a much lower price.

  1. Allocated costs

These are some costs that must be allocated to a specific department or project and there may not be a rational way to do it (i.e. rent expense)..

Innovation in the Euro Bond Markets, Competitive Advantages of Euro Banks

Innovation in the Euro Bond Markets

The international financial marketplace has undergone a tremendous expansion in terms of the variety of products, the volume of trading, and the capitalized value of available securities.

Innovative financial instruments can attract funding from other public or private investors in areas of EU strong interest but which are perceived as risky by investors. Examples include sectors with high economic growth or innovative business activities.

The fact that the EU invests risk capital in a certain fund or covers part of the risk associated with a certain type of projects can reassure other investors and encourage them to invest alongside the EU. Moreover, innovative financial instruments have important non-financial effects such as promotion of best practices.

Innovative financial instruments are a range of activities such as

  • Participation in equity (risk capital) funds
  • Guarantees to local banks lending to a large number of final beneficiaries, for instance small and medium-sized enterprises (smes)
  • Risk-sharing with financial institutions to boost investment in large infrastructure projects (e.g. The europe 2020 project bonds initiative or the connecting Europe facility financial instruments).

Competitive Advantages of Euro Banks

In most euro area countries potential growth has remained too low, however. Labour market rigidities and inefficient business environment conditions seem to be major impediments. In particular, labour supply is held back by policies which do not sufficiently motivate to take up jobs and do not tackle skill mismatch or labour shortages. Moreover, investment could be strengthened through fostering competition, improve the business environment and reduce uncertainty e.g. through improving the quality and efficiency of public institutions more generally.

European banks will struggle to catch up with their stronger US and Asian peers without radical change. Banks must act now to address these challenges head-on through a profound transformation of their business models. The goal must be to close the yawning gap between bank returns and their cost of equity.

There are actions to take in at least five key areas, all of which directly impact bank profitability. In a series of detailed deep dives, we set out actions to take in those five key areas. None of these areas are new for banks, but they must be revisited and reviewed rigorously with a view to taking decisive strategic action.

Despite favourable economic and financing conditions, structural reform progress has been rather limited, including in several of the weakest countries.

The trend of insufficient structural reform implementation observed in particular since 2014 has continued during the last year. Only a few countries have engaged in more far-reaching structural reforms, most notably Greece and France. Some countries even reversed recent reforms that had been designed to improve the smooth functioning of the economy, most notably in the areas of labour markets and pension systems. Overall, reform efforts were not in line with reform needs.

These policy areas concern national competencies, but in a single markets cross-border spill-over effects are generated. Governments therefore need to act at national levels, enhanced through procedures, rules and harmonization at EU level.

Against the background of limited reform effort and in spite of the robust cyclical upswing, overall risks and vulnerabilities in many cases have only moderately declined since last year.

The Commission’s annual assessment of country specific recommended reforms finds only limited progress. Out of 73 country specific recommendations (CSRs), none saw full implementation, and substantial progress was made in only two cases. For the overwhelming majority of CSRs (more than 90%), the Commission found that Member States made at best some or limited progress. On two CSRs, no progress was made. Most concerning, despite being very vulnerable, the countries experiencing excessive imbalances did not make significantly more reform progress during the last year than the EU average. The same is true for the countries experiencing imbalances. Overall, progress on reforms this year was as weak as last year.

The international role of the euro

But also on the European level there is not only a role to harmonize national action in order to reap the benefits of the Single Market. Where competence has been transferred to the EU level, the need to spur competitiveness is at the EU level.

The European Commission presented a set of action points to strengthen the euro’s global role. More recently, the COM has underscored the increasing relevance of capital markets union in supporting the international role of the euro amid geopolitical changes (e.g. Brexit and US foreign and trade policy).

To this end, the euro should become even more compelling as a means of payment and a trustworthy investment currency. Without prejudice to the ECB’s independence, we took note of the Commission’s support for our initiatives on market infrastructure and payments, which help to increase efficiency and financial market integration in the euro area.

International trade

It was important to resist, the temptation to gain competitive advantage or create national champions by tilting the system in one’s favour (e.g. in the area of tax, privacy, cyber security and fintech policies).

The costs of fragmentation of global trade would be high. IMF staff simulations of a global trading system that had been fragmented into three trading blocs show that in such a scenario, each of the blocs was overall worse off, although individual countries within the bloc may actually gain. These issues would also apply to other areas like the international flow of data and access to the global payments system.

There are five dimensions where progress is needed:

  • Consensus on how to address social and economic grievances;
  • A rethinking of the appropriate mix of domestic policies;
  • Strengthening and updating of the international rules of the game;
  • Adequate management of global public goods;
  • Securing the global financial safety net.

Payments Systems

The ECB’s responsibility for promoting the smooth operation of payment systems indirectly supports the international standing of the euro. The Eurosystem has contributed to reshaping and consolidating the infrastructure for large-value payments, for post-trading services for financial instruments and, most recently, for instant retail payments.

Over the next two or three years we aim at

  • Taking measures to consolidate TARGET2 and TARGET2-Securities (T2S), in particular by delivering a centralised liquidity management function;
  • Developing a single collateral management system that will be capable of managing the assets used as collateral in Eurosystem credit operations for all euro area countries.

Harmonization agenda

More harmonization is necessary to achieve a safe and efficient European post trade landscape. The European Post Trade Forum (EPTF) Report identifies barriers which have not yet been dismantled (formerly known as “Giovannini Barriers”), as well as new bottlenecks which need to be addressed to promote more efficient and resilient market infrastructures in the EU. These include:

  • Inefficient withholding tax collection procedures
  • Legal inconsistencies and uncertainties
  • Fragmented corporate actions and general meeting processes

More harmonisation of national insolvency rules is needed to make European resolution more effective. The recently agreed proposal (December 2018) is a minimum harmonization directive allowing member states to go further when transposing the rules into national law.

European issuance

  • An important element in a well-functioning capital market is the smooth interplay between issuance on the primary market, investors and secondary markets. In Europe, the issuance and distribution of securities is still complex and operational cost are elevated. Securities are still issued along different national rules, standards and habits.
  • Central Securities Depositories (CSD) play a pivotal role in this process. Today, issuers usually issue in one CSD. All other CSDs, and their national customer base, need to access these securities by connecting to this initial one. This chopped-up process is complex and relatively expensive. Investors and issuers alike see scope for improvements.

Introduction to Euro Currency Market, Origin of Euro Currency Market

Eurocurrency is currency held on deposit outside its home market, i.e., held in banks located outside of the country which issues the currency. For example, a deposit of US dollars held in a bank in London, would be considered eurocurrency, as the US dollar is deposited outside of its home market.

The Euro- prefix does not refer exclusively to the “euro” currency or the “eurozone”, as the term predates the creation of the euro. Instead, it can be applied to any combination of deposits in a foreign bank outside of its home market e.g. a deposit denominated in Japanese yen held in a Swiss bank is a Euroyen deposit.

Eurocurrency is used for short-to-medium term financing by banks, multinational corporations, mutual funds, and hedge funds. Eurocurrency is generally seen as an attractive source of global funding due to its ease of convertibility between currencies as well as typically lower regulatory measures compared to sources of funding in domestic markets. Eurocurrency and Eurobond markets avoid domestic interest rate regulations, reserve requirements and other barriers to the free flow of capital.

The relevance of eurocurrency deposits has been disputed over since its inception in the 1950s by notable economists including Ronald McKinnon, yet it remains a prevalent aspect of the global financial system.

Uses of Eurocurrency

Eurocurrency is commonly used by corporations and financial institutions, such as mutual funds and hedge funds, in order to receive financing. It is often seen as an advantageous source of capital and a beneficial way to receive international funding because of its ability to switch to other foreign currencies.

It is also an attractive choice as a financial instrument because local interest rates can be avoided due to relaxed restrictions in comparison to local banking regulations. Therefore, many individuals and businesses use foreign currencies as a way to protect themselves against risks in foreign exchange and international trade.

Eurocurrency Markets

A eurocurrency market is the money market for any currency deposited outside of its home market. The key participants in these markets includes banks, multinational corporations, mutual funds, and hedge funds. Eurocurrency markets are generally chosen as a source of finance over domestic banks for their ability to offer lower interest rates of borrowers and higher interest rates for lenders situationally. This because eurocurrency market have less regulatory requirements, tax laws, and typically no interest caps. Nonetheless, there are higher risks, particularly when banks experience periods of poor solvency which can lead to a run on the banks.

There are several eurocurrency markets, with the two most widely used being the Eurodollar market and the Euroyen market. There are also various smaller eurocurrency markets including the Euroeuro market and the Europound market.

Eurodollar Market

The Eurodollar market involves holdings of US dollars outside of the jurisdiction of the US Central Bank. These holdings may arise via two primary ways. Firstly, from purchases of goods and services made in US dollars to suppliers who maintain European bank accounts; these suppliers may be European or non-European. Secondly, Eurodollar deposits arise from investments of US dollars in European banks, generally for more favourable returns on interest.

Today, the Eurodollar market is the largest source of global funding for businesses and nations, estimated to be financing over 90% of international trade deals. It is the most widely used eurocurrency. Accounting for approximately 75% of all eurocurrency accounts held worldwide. This prevalence is often attributed to economic and political factors. Firstly, the economic power of the US, particularly its influential position in the world economy and steady deterioration of the other currencies during the inception of Eurocurrency in the 1950s. Secondly, the lack of interest caps and limited regulation in the Eurodollar market enables favourable rates of interest for both lenders and borrowers.

Euroyen Market

The Euroyen market involves deposits of yen in banks outside the jurisdiction of the Japanese Central Bank. The market emerged in 1984, at the beginning of the Japanese asset price bubble that saw Japan pursue financial liberalisation and internalisation. During the 1990s, interest rates in Japan experienced substantial declines, making the relatively high rates of interest paid by Euroyen accounts attractive investments. Today Euruyen deposits are used by non-Japanese companies to efficiently obtain investments from Japanese investors. Euroyen bonds allow foreign companies to avoid the regulations enforced by the Bank of Japan (BoJ) and in bond registration with the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE).

Euroeuro Market

The Euroeuro market involves deposits of euros outside of the jurisdiction of the European Central Bank.

Europound Market

The Europound market involves deposits of British pounds outside of the jurisdiction of the Bank of England.

Eurocurrency Network

The concept of eurocurrency can have two implications.

Firstly, it can be the accumulation of all the currencies and banking facilities worldwide that are participating of the offshore banking network. This is not limited to the four eurocurrencies (US dollar, Euro, Yen, British Pound) or the home markets of those eurocurrencies. For example, a bank in Denmark that chooses to keep holdings of Swiss franc in London would also be considered a part of the eurocurrency network.

Secondly, it can refer to the sum of all the technologies i.e. data processing and communication lines, used to enable stakeholders around the world to interact and participate in the eurocurrency market. Eurocurrency marks function within the global financial system with market centres spread across the global. Therefore, powerful financial technologies and information systems are required to connect market centres to enable communications and transactions to occur. For example, technologies such as high-speed communication lines link market centres enabling fast eurobanking transactions, and also giving rise to the overnight market.

Origin of Euro Currency Market

The Eurodollar is considered to be the initial origin of Eurocurrency. The Eurodollar was initially a term that refers to how USD was deposited in banks in Europe, especially London. European banks held a lot of USD after World War II, as the United States provided financial aid to Europe.

The fixed exchange rate system at that time also created an opportunity for more countries to invest in USD. Eventually, the Eurodollar transitioned to become Eurocurrency due to globalization. More individuals around the world began to deposit local currency at a foreign bank outside of Europe.

Although it is used all around the world, London remains the center of the Eurocurrency market at present. It’s been able to maintain a competitive advantage in the market because of the freedom in regulations in the commercial banking sector.

Therefore, banks in London are able to provide interest rates that pertain to the class of the borrower and lender, increasing the use of Eurocurrencies in London, while the rest of Europe adhere to tighter banking restrictions.

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