Testing the Financial Model
The creation of a financial model is like a project which has to be undertaken by the company. This means that just like any other project, testing the functioning of the financial model should ideally be included in the project. However, in most cases, testing the financial model is generally the last phase of the […]
Advantages and Disadvantages of Variable Lease
In the previous article, we have already seen what a variable lease is and how it is different from traditional leases which are used by retail companies across the world. We are now also aware of the manner in which variable leases are structured. We know that the popularity of variable leases has been rapidly […]
Contribution Margin
Rearranging the Profit Equation: The contribution margin is created by rearranging the profit equation to provide the requisite details. The profit equation is as follows: Profit = Selling Price (x) – Variable Costs (x) – Total Fixed Costs It can be rearranged as : Profit = (Selling Price – Variable Costs)x – Total Fixed costs. […]
Dividend Yield Ratio – Formula, Meaning, Assumptions and Interpretation
Investors can be classified into types. The two predominant types are growth oriented investors and value oriented investors. Growth oriented investors invest in young growing companies. They expect returns in the form of capital appreciation backed by the high rate growth in the operations and profitability of the firm. On the other hand value investors […]
What is Bank Guarantee? – Different Types of Guarantees
The scope of trade has been widely expanded in the modern world. There are many kinds of organizations, private and public which trade with each other. A lot of the time, trades happen between big and small organizations and sometimes these trades happen when both parties are present in different countries. In such cases, there […]
The previous article was an introduction about the two basic decisions that corporate finance helps a corporation in making. Prima-facie, these two decisions may look pretty simple. After all everyone raises money in their daily lives and puts it to productive use. Simple accounting can tell us whether or not we should make those financing and investing decisions. So, why is there a need for a complicated subject called corporate finance to make these decisions? Well, it turns out there is a need? The need arises because of this concept of nominal and real value of money. This article will explain why corporate finance is required:
We are all intuitively aware of the concept of inflation. We know that money loses its value every year. The same amount of money will purchase less and less every year. Let’s say that $100 is required to purchase a certain commodity of goods today. So if there is an inflation of 10%, the same goods will be available for a $110 next year.
So, if we made an investment that was yielding 9% return this year, we would have a total of $109 next year from the $100 we had invested. In accounting terms we would have a profit of $9. This is because we are only considering the nominal values. Nominal values do not consider the effect of inflation, opportunity cost of capital and such other forces which cause the value of money to decrease in a given time period.
The Problem with Nominal Values to Measure a Firm’s Performance:
Nominal values present a distorted image of the firm’s performance to its shareholders and this is to say the least. Consider the case we discussed above. Here, the firm has lost 1% purchasing power. This means they were better off consuming the $100 in year 1 and could have purchased more goods with it rather than investing it and consuming $109 a year later. Thus, if nominal values are considered, firms will end up eroding their capital by investing their money in projects that offer a rate of return that is below the firm’s cost of capital.
To offset this problem, specialists in corporate finance have come up with the concept of real value of money. The real value of money takes into account inflation, opportunity cost of capital and such other forces. Thus, firms that base their calculations on these inflation adjusted values make better financial decisions as compared to those that do not. The calculation for both real as well as nominal values is simple and can be done with the help of the following formula:
Real Value = Nominal Value / (1 + (i / 100))
i = The prevailing inflation rate in the market
Subjectivity in Real Value of Money:
It must be understood that the real and nominal values of money are subjective. This is because, they are determined using the inflation rate. There is no single measure of inflation. The government itself produces multiple estimates of inflation. Also, for the purpose of the company’s calculation, these measures may not be good enough. So the company may create its own inflation index depending on which the real values are calculated. Thus, there is widespread subjectivity in this calculation. Different companies use different rates to convert nominal values to real values.
The biggest take-away from the concept of nominal and real values is that money in one time period is not directly comparable to money in another time period. It is for this reason we have to calculate present values, future values and the like. These calculations form the backbone of corporate finance.
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