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Financial Forecast
A financial forecast is an estimate of future financial outcomes for a company or project, usually applied in budgeting, capital budgeting and/or valuation. Depending on context, the term may also refer to listed company (quarterly) earnings guidance. For a country or economy, see Economic forecast. Typically, using historical internal accounting and sales data, in addition to external industry data and economic indicators, a financial forecast will be the analyst's modeled prediction of company outcomes in financial terms over a given time period. For the components / steps of business modeling here, see . Arguably, the key aspect of preparing a financial forecast is predicting revenue; future costs, fixed and variable, as well as capital, can then be estimated as a function of sales via "common-sized analysis" - where relationships are derived from historical financial ratios and other accounting relationships. At the same time, the resultant line items must talk to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Company
A company, abbreviated as co., is a Legal personality, legal entity representing an association of legal people, whether Natural person, natural, Juridical person, juridical or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members share a common purpose and unite to achieve specific, declared goals. Over time, companies have evolved to have the following features: "separate legal personality, limited liability, transferable shares, investor ownership, and a managerial hierarchy". The company, as an entity, was created by the State (polity), state which granted the privilege of incorporation. Companies take various forms, such as: * voluntary associations, which may include nonprofit organizations * List of legal entity types by country, business entities, whose aim is to generate sales, revenue, and For-profit, profit * financial entities and banks * programs or educational institutions A company can be created as a legal person so that the company itself has limi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Variable Costs
Variable costs are costs that change as the quantity of the good or service that a business produces changes.Garrison, Noreen, Brewer. Ch 2 - Managerial Accounting and Costs Concepts, pp 48 Variable costs are the sum of marginal costs over all units produced. They can also be considered normal costs. Fixed costs and variable costs make up the two components of total cost. Direct costs are costs that can easily be associated with a particular cost object.Garrison, Noreen, Brewer. Ch 2 - Managerial Accounting and Costs Concepts, pp 51 However, not all variable costs are direct costs. For example, variable manufacturing overhead costs are variable costs that are indirect costs, not direct costs. Variable costs are sometimes called unit-level costs as they vary with the number of units produced. Direct labor and overhead are often called conversion cost,Garrison, Noreen, Brewer. Ch 2 - Managerial Accounting and Costs Concepts, pp 39 while direct material and direct labor are often ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Forecasting
Forecasting is the process of making predictions based on past and present data. Later these can be compared with what actually happens. For example, a company might Estimation, estimate their revenue in the next year, then compare it against the actual results creating a variance actual analysis. Prediction is a similar but more general term. Forecasting might refer to specific formal statistical methods employing time series, cross-sectional data, cross-sectional or longitudinal study, longitudinal data, or alternatively to less formal judgmental methods or the process of prediction and assessment of its accuracy. Usage can vary between areas of application: for example, in hydrology the terms "forecast" and "forecasting" are sometimes reserved for estimates of values at certain specific future times, while the term "prediction" is used for more general estimates, such as the number of times floods will occur over a long period. Risk and uncertainty are central to forecasting an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Budgets
A budget is a calculation plan, usually but not always financial, for a defined period, often one year or a month. A budget may include anticipated sales volumes and revenues, resource quantities including time, costs and expenses, environmental impacts such as greenhouse gas emissions, other impacts, assets, liabilities and cash flows. Companies, governments, families, and other organizations use budgets to express strategic plans of activities in measurable terms. Preparing a budget allows companies, authorities, private entities or families to establish priorities and evaluate the achievement of their objectives. To achieve these goals it may be necessary to incur a deficit (expenses exceed income) or, on the contrary, it may be possible to save, in which case the budget will present a surplus (income exceed expenses). In the field of commerce, a budget is also a financial document or report that details the cost that a service will have if performed. Whoever makes the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Financial Analyst
A financial analyst is a professional undertaking financial analysis for external or internal clients as a core feature of the job. "Financial Analyst" '''' The role may specifically be titled securities analyst, research analyst, equity analyst, investment analyst, or ratings analyst. Financial Analysts |
Share Price
A share price is the price of a single share of a number of saleable equity shares of a company. In layman's terms, the stock price is the highest amount someone is willing to pay for the stock, or the lowest amount that it can be bought for. Behaviour of share prices In economics and financial theory, analysts use random walk techniques to model behavior of asset prices, in particular share prices of companies publicly listed. This practice has its basis in the presumption that investors act rationally and without biases, and that at any moment they estimate the value of an asset based on future expectations. Under these conditions, all existing information affects the price, which changes only when new information comes out. By definition, new information appears randomly and influences the asset price randomly. Empirical studies have demonstrated that prices do not completely follow random walks. Low serial correlations (around 0.05) exist in the short term, and slightly ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Securities Research
Security (finance), Securities research is a discipline within the financial services industry. Securities research professionals are known most generally as "analysts", "research analysts", or "securities analysts"; all the foregoing terms are synonymous. Research analysts produce research reports and typically issue a recommendation: buy ("overweight (stock market), overweight"), hold, or sell ("Underweight (stock market), underweight"); see Stock valuation, target price and trade idea. These reports can be accessed from a number of sources, and brokerages will often offer the reports free to their customers. Research can be categorized by the security type, as well as by whether it is buy-side research or sell-side research; analysts further focus on particular industries. Although usually associated with fundamental analysis, research also focuses on technical analysis, and reports will often include both. See also . Analyst specialization Securities analysts are common ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cash Flow Forecasting
Cash flow forecasting is the process of obtaining an estimate of a company's future cash levels, and its financial position more generally. A cash flow forecast is a key financial management tool, both for large corporates, and for smaller entrepreneurial businesses. The forecast is typically based on anticipated payments and receivables. Several forecasting methodologies are available. Function Cash flow forecasting is an element of financial management. Maintaining a company's cash flow is a central part of managing the business and the financing of ongoing operations — particularly for start-ups and small enterprises. If the business runs out of cash and is not able to obtain new finance, it will become insolvent, and eventually declare Bankruptcy. Cash flow forecasting helps management forecast (predict) cash levels to avoid insolvency. The frequency of forecasting is determined by several factors, such as characteristics of the business, the industry and regulatory ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Owner Earnings
Owner earnings is a valuation method detailed by Warren Buffett in Berkshire Hathaway's annual report in 1986. He stated that the value of a company is simply the total of the net cash flows (owner earnings) expected to occur over the life of the business, minus any reinvestment of earnings. Buffett defined owner earnings as follows: :"These represent (a) reported earnings plus (b) depreciation, depletion, amortization, and certain other non-cash charges... less (c) the average annual amount of capitalized expenditures for plant and equipment, etc. that the business requires to fully maintain its long-term competitive position and its unit volume... Our owner-earnings equation does not yield the deceptively precise figures provided by GAAP, since (c) must be a guess - and one sometimes very difficult to make. Despite this problem, we consider the owner earnings figure, not the GAAP figure, to be the relevant item for valuation purposes... All of this points up the absurdity ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fixed Asset
Fixed assets (also known as long-lived assets or property, plant and equipment; PP&E) is a term used in accounting for assets and property that may not easily be converted into cash. They are contrasted with current assets, such as cash, bank accounts, and short-term debts receivable. In most cases, only tangible assets are referred to as fixed. While IAS 16 (International Accounting Standard) does not define the term ''fixed asset'', it is often colloquially considered a synonym for property, plant and equipment. According to IAS 16.6, property, plant and equipment are tangible items that: (a) are held for use in the production or supply of goods or services, for rental to others, or for administrative purposes and (b) are expected to be used during more than one period. Fixed assets are of two types: * those which are purchased with legal right of ownership (in the case of property, known as ''freehold assets''), and * those for which the owner has temporary ownership ri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Working Capital
Working capital (WC) is a financial metric which represents operating liquidity available to a business, organisation, or other entity, including governmental entities. Along with fixed assets such as plant and equipment, working capital is considered a part of operating capital. Gross working capital is equal to current assets. Working capital is calculated as current assets minus current liabilities. If current assets are less than current liabilities, an entity has a working capital deficiency, also called a working capital deficit and negative working capital. A company can be endowed with assets and profitability but may fall short of liquidity if its assets cannot be readily converted into cash. Positive working capital is required to ensure that a firm is able to continue its operations and that it has sufficient funds to satisfy both maturing short-term debt and upcoming operational expenses. The management of working capital involves managing inventories, accounts rece ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Financial Ratios
A financial ratio or accounting ratio states the relative magnitude of two selected numerical values taken from an enterprise's financial statements. Often used in accounting, there are many standard ratios used to try to evaluate the overall financial condition of a corporation or other organization. Financial ratios may be used by managers within a firm, by current and potential shareholders (owners) of a firm, and by a firm's creditors. Financial analysts use financial ratios to compare the strengths and weaknesses in various companies. If shares in a company are publicly listed, the market price of the shares is used in certain financial ratios. Ratios can be expressed as a decimal value, such as 0.10, or given as an equivalent percentage value, such as 10%. Some ratios are usually quoted as percentages, especially ratios that are usually or always less than 1, such as earnings yield, while others are usually quoted as decimal numbers, especially ratios that are usually mor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
