Financial

Invest In Mutual Funds Or Bank Fixed Deposits

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I have often seen people planning to Invest in bank Fixed Deposits rather than Equity related Mutual Funds inspite of the growing Indian Economy and rising stock market. Though the times are changing and people have started looking at Equity Investment schemes, but still its only the minority of people savings going into the equity market.

Indians are skeptic about investing in Equities. Reason behind so is lack of knowledge and general awareness of the benefits. One needs to understand that stock markets are the best way to benefit from a country which economy GDP is growing over 8.5% year on year. Stock market basically resembles a Nation’s financial condition which of India is going to get better n better.

Indian Money Is Way Too Conservative

Fact figures suggests that 48% of total American savings goes for investing in schemes related to equities. On the other hand the fact figure for Indian savings money routed to equities stands at a merely small total of just 2%. No wonder, both the Indian Government and leading Indian Stock Exchanges are always keen to generate interest and awareness within the common people indicating towards the benefit of investing in equities for the long term.

Its the lack of Financial Education which keeps Indian savings money away from the Equities, since they are not ever formally introduced to financial planning and Investing. Majority of people believes that small investors cannot earn money from stock market, which absolutely is just a myth and nothing more.

Indian Investors still prefers the traditional way of Investment like Fixed Deposits. In fact Fixed Deposits are so famous and traditional that, during daughters marriage, father often gifts Fixed Deposits!

What Is A Bank Fixed Deposit?

A fixed-income debt security issued by banks. A Fixed Deposit is like loaning the bank your money and in return, they pay you interest which is currently between 8-9.5% p.a.

At this interest rates your money will double approx in 7-8 years. Too less, too late? Read on

Why You Should Not Be Investing In Fixed Deposits?

The most unusual characteristic of a fixed deposit is that the funds cannot be withdrawn for a specified period of time which is usually 3 years since deposit for any reason.

Changes in the going interest rate may also rise to a point above and beyond the interest rate applied to existing deposits done with the banks. This means account holders are actually earning less interest with fixed deposits than with other types of products.

What is a Mutual Fund?

A Mutual Fund is a investment scheme maintained and run by professional fund managers working under the name of a Financial Institute or a Fund House. Money is being collected from different and many investors and then collectively put in a pool account from where the fund managers makes Buy and Sell trades according to there own group research and investment objectives.

Dalal Street people prefers you thinking that what they do with your money is some rocket science and you are absolutely not the right person to take your own financial decision so that they keep earning fat commissions for themselves you being entrusting them your hard earned money.

Though its a different case that of course you can also invest your money yourself with little bit of research and with the help of expert Indian stock advisory services like Winfromus which generates higher returns than the different Mutual Fund schemes.

But never the less, there are some real good fund managers out there too, doing what they are best at and most of the good names has been successfully generating 13-15% Compounded Annual Growth Returns (CAGR) since the past 5-6 years.

CAGR Projection over the next 3 years from Indian Stock Markets

Conservative projection suggests that the Indian markets can deliver CAGR of 15-18% over the next 3 years and optimistic like me expects 20% CAGR over the next 3 years with the right selected stocks and sectors.

20% CAGR is not just a dream, but it is also fundamentally backed by growing GDP, country’s financial condition and over all economical and business development which is on course and expected to grow at a descent pace.

Fixed Deposits Returns are Guaranteed, Mutual Funds Are Not – What about my money safety?

Well, for a matter of fact nobody can guarantee you returns while investing in equity via any possible way, since it involves risk. But theres a way to cut the risk virtually to Zero levels and still get benefited the most. The secret is Systematic Investment Planning (SIP).

Systematic Investment allows you to stay invested without worrying to time the markets or about the volatility we see in stock market. In fact SIP works out best when markets are volatile. The funda of systematic investing works on a simple formula invented by world’s most genius ever Albert Einstein – Power of Compounding.

While SIP, rupee cost averaging and compounding of returns/interest earned on principle over a period of time compounds together and puts significant impact on wealth creation over the long run and stock market being a cyclical asset, it is very likely that you will see a higher end where you may take profits and then go conservative.

Do you know how much money can be made on investment of just Rs 10,000/- per month at a CAGR of 20%? I have done the maths, here’s the result –

* Rs 10k/month Invested for 5 years at 20% CAGR to become 10 lacs
* Rs 10k/month Invested for 10 years at 20% CAGR to become 35 lacs
* Rs 10k/month Invested for 15 years at 20% CAGR to become 95 lacs
* Rs 10k/month Invested for 20 years at 20% CAGR to become 2.4 crore

Eventually In 25 years 10000/month @ 20% CAGR (compounded annual growth rate) to become 6.1 crores and in 30 years 10000/month @ 20% CAGR to become a whopping 15 crores. The longer you invest, the higher would get your returns.

Think Mature, Aim Higher, Plan and Set A Goal…

Fixed Deposits cannot generate the kind of returns stock markets will and theres no doubt about it. If you are young and want to Invest and grow your money big, equities are the way to go. Don’t be skeptic and look at the brighter side of investing in Stock Market, you don’t get such money making opportunity in a lifetime.

Returns of fixed deposits may not even beat Inflation rates, then whats the use of saving money in them and allowing money to sit idle to generate lesser returns on investment when a simple SIP in equities can do a better performance for your money? Think about it..

Happy Investing!!

Bad Credit Loans For Cars – Prstamo Para Carros – Crdito Malo

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Espanol? – Prstamo para carros.

English –

If you have had late payments that are bringing down your credit score, there are loan companies that are willing to help you with auto financing. Some of these companies may not be available in your local area. There are companies, that can provide you with loans for cars (Prstamo para carros) if you need special finance.

There are programs available through online lenders that can provide you with little to no money down (ningn dinero hacia abajo) and easy payment terms.

In years past, it was very difficult to obtain a real auto loan when you had credit problems. Many people were forced to turn to buy here pay here car lots in order to buy a car. Now, there are better options available for consumers, and many of these are found online through reputable companies that specialize in helping people with bad credit.

Overcoming a bad credit history can be very difficult if you apply for an auto loan with poor credit. Applying with secondary or sub-prime lenders that specialize in working with people that have bad credit, is very important for securing auto finance with reasonable terms.

Applying online is very easy, and you can get instant results. It only takes a few minutes to apply with an online lender and you can be driving a new or used vehicle by tommorow.

Getting approved now is even easier for Spanish speaking Americans as the applications are now available in their language.

Is The Eurozone Falling Apart

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The Eurozone is also called the Euro area because of what it stands for. This union is made of 17 countries, members of the European Union which agreed to adopt the same currency and the same legal tender. This turns the Eurozone into a monetary and economic union. When the Eurozone was established back in 1999 it represented one of the first things that pointed out towards the tendency of globalization. Is this tendency no longer wanted? Do European leaders no longer want to be united under the same currency? Or is the Euro the cause of the current financial problems and maintaining this union can no longer be profitable or safe?

All these questions started to worry leaders from the Eurozone and not only. Even though the 17 countries that are part of this union are the ones directly involved and affected by a possible falling apart, the other European countries or states from other continents are very likely to suffer from the consequences of such a breakup too.

Most financial specialists say that the main cause of a possible Eurozone crash is the huge debts many of the 17 countries cannot pay back. The fact that Greece was threatened by a default and that only another loan was able to postpone what some consider the inevitable makes things even worse. Analysts say that this financial crisis resembles the incurable diseases called cancer. If it is ignored it doesnt go away. Instead it spreads until the patient dies. If the patient is the Eurozone, only an intense treatment can save the Euro and the economies of the states that adhered to it.

There are some investors who speculate that the end of the Eurozone is close and try to find ways of making money out of this crush. Some of the financial analysts say that it is because of these people who speculate for their own interest that the Euro is threatened and that the Eurozone can fall apart. In spite of that, there are obvious signs that things are not as they should be and that the common currency might cause more problems than help.

Investors get scared of all the negative news they hear and try to do their best to preserve their wealth. Many of them fear that keeping money in banks is not a good solution and choose to invest in assets that have high intrinsic value. Many of them choose to invest in gold or other precious metals that are the only hard assets that seemed to increase their value these days. They are making the right decisions since buying gold has, is and will always be a profitable investment.

Effects That Accounting Choices Have On Users Of Financial Statements

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Abstract

The paper is an examination of the effects of accounting choices on users of financial statements. First of all, a historical examination in the subject matter was examined. It was found that most researches normally dwell on single characteristic effects of accounting decisions on financial statement users. Current GAAP on the matter also concurs with the latter matter.

It was therefore found that there may be a need to look at how these factors intertwine in affecting users of financial statements. Since firms may have to content with a number of effects at any one time, it is important to carry out a study on a combination of factors. Thereafter, an analysis ought to be done in order to investigate which factor is the mot important and which one takes least precedence. This can go a long way in assisting managers and other financial decisions makers about accounting choices in the future.

Introduction

There are a number of users of financial statements within any respective firm. Usually, some of the intended effects of accounting choices can become real effects. On the other hand, there are also foreseen consequences that may emanate from external or internal factors. The essay shall examine some of these issues through existing research on the matter. Suggestions will be made on problematic areas and possible courses of actions will also be laid out. The latter suggestions will be particularly useful to the public accounting body owing to the fact that some loopholes on the subject matter will be identified. (Riper, 2006)

Historical development of theory

A lot of research has been done with regard to voluntary accounting choices. This is largely because the effects of such choices are more clear cut and predictable. For instance, a number of accountants have utilized the issue of accounting discretion in order to understate their financial performances during periods of string performance and also to overstate their financial status during periods of low performance.

Research has shown that there are three major reasons why firms can choose to engage in certain income decreasing or income increasing activities. First of all, this may be motivated by the need to include the economic events that are prevailing at that time. Secondly, such accounting choices may be motivated by strategic objectives within the corporation under consideration. Lastly, engaging in such accounting choices can be motivated by a combination of both economics and company strategy. Usually, the accountant enacting these changes may be motivated in their very own expectations. (Hopwood, 2008)
Managers tend to use income increasing tactics when there are interested in enacting strategic changes.

In fact, it has been shown that most financial users tend to believe that any income increasing measure enacted by their managers is in close relation to the overall nature of these kinds of objectives. In other words, employees are less likely to be influenced by positive or income increasing accounting decisions than by income decreasing accounting decisions. When managers opt to increase their income, chances are that employees may assume that this is part of a strategy to reach an industry benchmark. Consequently, they are less likely to believe it.

On the other hand, when managers make accounting decisions to decrease their overall incomes in their financial statements, then employees are much more likely to believe the latter results than if incomes had been increased. This is largely because such employees may assume that the reflections being put out by their employers have been one in order to reflect the economic situations prevailing at that time. In other words, it may be necessary for firms to prepare for skepticism in the former case than in the latter one.

In close relation to income decreasing or income decreasing acts in financial statements is the issue of qualification in making accounting decisions. Users are likely to regard qualified income reducing acts as being more strategic in nature than unqualified income decreasing acts. This is the case because when the acts are qualified, then chances are that the users would asses the firm in a more positive light than if the financial statement had not been qualified.

There is a need to compare financial statement user reaction to income increasing and income decreasing changes in comparison to reference point. Usually, most firms do not operate in isolation. Employees are well aware of the goings on within their industries. Consequently, when accounting decisions are made to either increase or decrease incomes within corporations, employees or other users tend to resort to reference points such industry benchmarks to see how far below the mark they are or how far above it they have reached. (Proell, 2008)

Statistics indicate that users react more positively to income decreasing changes even when comparing them to industry benchmarks. This is usually because most people may treat this as being representative of occurrences within the industry under consideration and therefore leaving room for growth.
On the other hand, when incomes are perceived as being way above industry benchmarks, then users are likely to assume that those benchmarks do not represent the goings on their particular industry. This means that they may treat such a change as being deviant from the norm. Because of this, users may assume that such a firm cannot survive within its industry of operation and that the assessment of that firms performance is therefore below par in reality.

Financial statement users are likely to remain indifferent to changes made by their employees in the event that the accounting decision is an income decreasing one but a qualified one. This is largely because users are likely to attribute such changes to either strategic reason or to reflect economic conditions within a certain industry. This means that those changes may indicate the overall problems facing these groups when it comes to the process of enacting these changes.

Income increasing acts may also solicit different reactions in the vent that they have been qualified or if they are not qualified. Expert opinion suggests that financial statement users are much more likely to believe them if they are qualified.

In the agency theory, firms are treated as a point of convergence of contracts. This means that a number of users of financial statements view accounting choices as means against which firms can get incentives. The incentives are important determinants in the process of making accounting decisions largely because they can make the difference between the detriment or survival of a number of corporations.

Healthy and financial firms often find that they have to make accounting decisions. However, the forces or determinants affecting these two types of firms are dependent on the kind of arrangement being made. In certain reviews, some analysts have assumed that the type of incentives facing these two types of firms is the same. However, this may not necessarily be true because financially distressed firms may be challenged to engage in certain contracts depending on the type of benefits that they may derive from certain contract incentives. (Proell, 2008)

One of the drivers of accounting decisions in financially distressed firms is the issue of debt covenant isolation. Financial debts are a particularly pressing issue for such firms and it is likely that their accounting choices can be adversely affected by these decisions and vice versa (that the accounting choices they make can change their prevailing situations)

In other circumstances, firms facing financial distress may be motivated to make accounting decision that can subsequently affect their jobs or their firms altogether. In other words, some troubled firms may consider their situations as being temporary. This means that their greatest concerns may not be to get accounting bonuses. Instead, their focus may be on restoring the financial position of their firms and making the most of their kind of arrangements.

It has also been shown in a number of researches that new CEO tend to deflate their incomes when accompany has been recording poor financial management during the previous year. This is an aspect that has been carried forward in a number of companies that may be considered as financially troubled ones.
It should also be noted that accounting decisions in the latter category may also made in order o reduce incomes. This creates an image of a corporation that is vulnerable.

In this regard, such firms are likely to obtain concession from the government through government subsidies or they may find that labor unions offering incentives to poorly performing firms my be motivated to consider them if they record lower incomes. In other words, it can be said that such firms may make be affected positively by such decisions since they may gain favor from the government or from labor unions. On the other hand, if these income deflations are discovered, then a financially distressed firm may be required to close. (Riper, 2006)

In other circumstances, forms undergoing financial distress may be motivated to make accounting decisions in order to cope with management changes that may have occurred at the time. This is usually the case when the incumbent management finds that the new firm he or she is operating is dealing with lower performance than was the case in the previous regime. Such mangers may be interested in displaying positive light to internal and external stakeholders of the company under consideration.

In other situations, it may be possible to find that other firms are undergoing government assistance investigations. These are usually those firms that are in a position of getting incentives from the government if it found that their management principles are in order. Usually, such firms are likely to make accounting decisions that would affect them in a positive light by making them liable to receive incentives from the investigators.

In other researches, it has been found that firms facing financial difficulties may be required to deal with large accrual especially during their first year in dividend reductions. This means that a firm may be faced with more than one particular financial challenge at a time.

With regard to accounting decisions and the effect that the choices have on financial statement users; a number of researches have also been done on the user expectations. In other words, this is another factor that can affect the overall decision made by a certain corporation and how the users within that firm are affected by it. For instance, one is likely to find that within certain forms, the users under consideration have very little regard for the kind of decisions that they may be making because of the fact that there may be a match between their expectations and actual occurrences. However, in instances where financial statement user expectations are quite varied from actual occurrences, then it is likely that these issues may not affect them positively. (Belkaoui, 2007)

Risk management has also been shown as an important predictor of accounting choices and hence highly influential in determining some of the effects of these choices. This is largely because financial statements have a shocking effect on users when the information being displayed is included.

Risk management sis usually something that may be firm specific mostly because different companies are faced with different obstacles at any one time. For instance, when a company was faced with a number of security risks, then chances were that they would classify those security risks in manner that would portray them in a positive light. Additionally, benchmarks set up in accounting standards were highly influential in determining whether certain issues were considered as security risks or whether they were not. This means those weaker banks are much more likely to treat fewer securities as being lower than the accounting benchmark than vive versa.

Interest risks that come with securities are also an important factor in determining effects of such accounting decisions. This is because levels of interest risks on a certain bank portfolio can go up depending on how that particular issue had been classified by the parties involved in the preparation of the financial statements (Warfield, 2008)

Research has also shown that there are also other factors that may affect financial decisions being made by respective individuals in terms of the perceived expectations and actual occurrences.
Current GAAP

Financial statement users are adversely affected by the accounting choices made within certain firms. One such group are financial investors. Research has shown that the manner in which financial statements are presented to non processional financial statement users such as investors has a very important role to play in influencing their choice to invest in that respective firm. When a firm opts to make an accounting decisions in which there it highlights the effects of a net income on the goings on within a certain firm, then chances are that one might have to deal with these scenarios in a relatively different manner. In other words, an investor may make the choice to invest in such a firm if the information given is forthcoming in this regard.

The converse is as true, when accounting decision are made such that investors have now ay way of understanding the fair value that they have on a particular investment, then chances are that that group may be persuaded to look elsewhere for investment. Usually, information about financial statement interpretation can be done on the same document but as a note or on the margin of the financial statement. Consequently, firms that may be in unhealthy situations may be affected positively by making such an accounting choice. On the other hand, failure to make such a decision may also influence them negatively owing to the reduced level of awareness given to these kinds of approaches. (Warfield, 2008)

It should b noted that a number of financial statement users are highly affected by the accounting policies in certain firms or the level o adoption of accounting standards. This is usually the case when considering foreign investment. In other words, there are situations in which a certain investor may be dealing with the issues surrounding that particular scenario especially with regard to the kind of changes affecting a certain party.

An example of how this can be displayed is through looking at the relationship between two countries such as the US and Australia. It is likely that a US foreign investor will be more interested in making investments within countries that are US GAAP aligned. This factor is quite important in accounting decisions and hence accounting effects because only has to look at accounting policies of a number of developed nations to understand this. The US is one of the heaviest foreign investors in Australia. In order to appeal to the latter group, it was found that Australian accounting standards took a turn and began conforming to the US institutional frameworks and also to their GAAP.

There are a number of reasons identified in literature for selecting certain accounting choices and these reason include:

Improves financial statement credibility
Reduces processing costs

When accounting policies are voluntarily done in order to come up with the most influential choices on foreign ownership, then chances are that they can attract greater investments if they are aligned to the foreign investors institutional holdings or if they are also associated with the joint determinants under consideration.

The following table illustrates the example of US foreign investors interested in Australian companies

VariablesStatisticCompanies with US investmentsCompanies matched by size and industryp-value
Total assetsMean
Median
24,157
2, 8903, 924
525