Question about finance

Please help me develop a broad understanding of its structure, key organizations, etc.

Thanks so much in advance!

According to Dictionary.com, the word easy has about 17 definitions. The most relevant definitions are:

“1. Not hard or difficult; 6. Not burdensome or oppressive; 7. Not difficult to influence or overcome; 11. Not tight or constricting; 14. In commerce it means not difficult to obtain.” As used in this article, easy money is meant to convey the idea that, notwithstanding these very difficult times in 2008 where money is tight and difficult to obtain, under certain circumstances a business that sells products to other businesses can easily obtain money to grow exponentially.

On our planet earth, man did not invent money for thousands of years. As civilizations and nation states developed, man learned how to trade and barter for goods that they needed. Money was invented to solve the problems of bartering. There basically was a timing issue between, for instance, farmers having a crop to trade for what they wanted when they needed it. The invention and acceptance of gold and silver coins helped to overcome this timing mismatch. The farmer could sell crops for gold and trade gold, when needed, for the other things they required.

Paper money was invented for many reasons, not the least of which is to avoid the inconvenience of carrying around a large amount of gold or silver. Paper money is easier to hide. Until the early 1900’s in the United States paper money could actually be redeemed for gold. During the Great Depression, President Roosevelt in 1933 passed laws outlawing the ownership of more that $100 of gold by individuals. By the turn of the century, the U.S. government discovered easy money. No longer restricted by the need for physical gold reserves, the government printing presses churned out however much money as they needed; and the politicians invented schemes such as the sale of government bonds, government loans of various kinds, and control of the money supply through twelve regional Federal Reserve Banks to manage the nation’s economy and money supply.

Our government’s easy money in fact is causing every American a very steep price. As the world economy realizes our money has less worth, we are charged more for imports such as gas, clothes, and food; if we travel abroad, in Europe for instance, we find that it takes about one and a half U.S. dollars to purchase a single Euro, the currency of Europe. In effect, European hotels, restaurants, goods and services cost fifty percent more for Americans because of the weakness in our dollar. Ironically, U.S. musicians make more money in Europe than they can make in America because it costs less to pay them “in dollars”. In spite of this economic situation, many U.S. businesses are innovative, creative and ready to grow at a very rapid pace. Purchase Order Financing can be the easy money solution to rapid growth requirements.

Why does it work? Purchase order financing solves the timing problem to pay a manufacturer for goods before the buyer pays the seller for the product just like paper money and gold solved the barter timing mismatch problem. One real world example is the case of a company that developed popular products for dogs and cats. Most of their customers were small stores. One day they received a huge order from a big box store that would virtually double their business on a monthly basis. The business did not have the cash to fulfill the order. Purchase order financing provided the solution to their cash flow shortage to pay for the manufacture of the products and get the goods shipped to the big box customer.

How does it work? A letter of credit is issued to the manufacturer to guarantee payment. The costs of goods are paid to the manufacturer as soon as the goods are delivered, in the example above, to the big box store. An account receivable financing arrangement is created to pay for the purchase order and letter of credit side of the transaction. When the buyer pays the accounts receivable, the lender, generally a finance company or bank subsidiary, is paid pursuant to the contract and the profits are rebated to the seller.

Why is it easy money? Because the credit of the seller is not the main criteria to secure the financing; the credit of the buyer is used to support the financing. Nevertheless, good character and experience are important to lenders. During the due diligence process lenders need to determine that no prior UCC-1 liens exist with respect to the company. If there are serious credit issues such as bankruptcy, the approval of a bankruptcy court for the debtor in possession would be required. These types of situations would not typically be approved by a Bank, but the financing is still relatively easy to obtain considering the circumstances. And it is available if virtually unlimited amounts of capital. As the business grows so to will the finance facility grow so long as the purchase orders are from solid, creditworthy entities.

In 1959 Barry Gordy, the founder of Motown Records, and Janie Bradford wrote a song called “Money” (That’s What I Want). The song was the first big hit for the record label. It was covered by the Beatles in 1963. Everyone wants easy money. Here are the lyrics:

The best things in life are free

But you can keep ‘em for the birds and bees

Now give me money (that’s what I want)

That’s what I want (that’s what I want)

That’s what I want (that’s what I want), yeah

That’s what I want

Your lovin’ gives me a thrill

But your lovin’ don’t pay my bills

Now give me money (that’s what I want)

That’s what I want (that’s what I want)

That’s what I want (that’s what I want), yeah

That’s what I want

Money don’t get everything, it’s true

What it don’t get, I can’t use

Now give me money (that’s what I want)

That’s what I want (that’s what I want)

That’s what I want (that’s what I want), yeah

That’s what I want

Well, now give me money (that’s what I want)

A lot of money (that’s what I want)

Whoa, yeah, you owe me money (that’s what I want)

Oh, now give me money (that’s what I want)

That’s what I want (that’s what I want), yeah

That’s what I want.

The bottom line: Purchase Order Financing is easy money compared to traditional bank financing. Similar to the government printing presses for paper money, purchase order financing combined with accounts receivable financing, or factoring, can be a source of virtually unlimited cash for your business. Is that what you want?

Copyright © 2008 Gregg Financial Services

www.greggfinancialservices.com

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Source: WUSF

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Question about finance

Also, if there are any people who have careers in finance, what do you specifically and do you like your jobs? Because I have an internship in finance and accounting and it is pretty boring…but it is just because they don't give me enough work to do so I don't feel like I have had the true experience.

Whether you are starting an import business or have an established importing business, it can be a very profitable venture if you have the right financing to grow your business. Imports are defined as: a good that crosses into a country, across its border, for commercial purposes; a product, which might be a service that is provided to domestic residents by a foreign producer; or a combination of the two.

Starting or running an import business has never been more profitable because of computers, the internet, and the availability of low cost imports from countries such as China and Mexico. These imports may be resold for up to ten times their cost depending on the competition in your field of operations.

It is essential that you have good, honest suppliers plus creditworthy customers with purchase orders for your imports. If you have the right financing, your business can grow exponentially. But how do you finance growth if your own resources or bank lines of credit are not sufficient to take advantage of big opportunities? A combination of purchase order financing, accounts receivable financing with inventory financing may be the solution.

Definitions:

Purchase Order Financing

Purchase Order financing is the assignment of purchase orders to a third party, a commercial finance company, who then assumes the obligation of billing and collecting. Purchase order financing can be used to finance all current and subsequent orders to improve your company’s cash flow. The process works as follows: 1) Your company obtains a purchase order for products to be sold another company; 2) A letter of credit may be issued, based on a finance companies’ credit, to guarantee payment to suppliers or factories producing the goods; 3) The order is shipped, delivered and accepted by your customer; 4) The customer receives an invoice for the goods; 5) The Purchase Order Company pays the supplier/factory; 6) a commercial finance company or Accounts Receivable Finance Company pays the Purchase Order Financing Company after the products are delivered to your customer; 7) The customer pays the commercial finance company for goods received; The accounts are settled and the profit is paid to you.

Accounts Receivable Financing

Accounts Receivable Financing is the selling or pledging of your company’s account receivable, at a discount, to a Factor, a Commercial Finance Company or to an Accounts Receivable Financing Company who may assume a risk of loss. You receive a portion, usually 80% to 90% of the face value of your receivables in advance of payment from your customers in return for a fee, or interest, to be paid to the commercial finance company. When the commercial finance company is paid by the customer, the appropriate fees are deducted and the remainder is rebated to you. “Accounts receivable financing” is also called accounts receivable factoring, factoring financial services, invoice factoring and cash flow factoring. The terms are used to convey the same meaning.

Inventory Financing

Inventory financing is a loan secured by the inventory of your business. Inventory finance enables import companies to hold more stock without cash flow strain and to generate more sales. Inventory finance is often part of a Purchase Order and Accounts Receivable Financing commercial finance package.

These three types of financing can enable an import business to increase purchasing capabilities dramatically; you can accept larger orders and grow your business exponentially. You can use your inventory to leverage your purchasing power. You can use your customer’s credit to obtain these three types of financing; and you can use the commercial finance company’s credit to obtain a letter of credit.

The concept of financing your import company with “other people’s money” is part of a safe and sound business plan. Add strong product quality controls, inventory controls, and good accounting to maximize the success of your import company.

Copyright © 2007 Gregg Financial Services

www.greggfinancialservices.com

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Financial Markets (ECON 252) Behavioral Finance is a relatively recent revolution in finance that applies insights from all of the social sciences to finance. New decision-making models incorporate psychology and sociology, among other disciplines, to explain economic and financial phenomenon, such as erratic stock price variations. Psychological patterns such as overconfidence and perceived kinks in the value function seem to impact financial decision-making, but are not included in classical theories such as the Expected Utility Theory. Kahneman and Tversky's Prospect Theory addresses such issues and sheds light on irrational deviations from traditional decision-making models. Complete course materials are available at the Open Yale Courses website: open.yale.edu This course was recorded in Spring 2008.

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Question about finance

I would like to know what the difference is in careers in Finance and Accounting. Has anyone had a career in either field? What I want to know is:

What did you think of your career?

What did you do all day in Finance or Accounting?

Did you find it exciting or really boring?

For a career as a Financial Planner or Financial Advisor, do you work off of commision only?

Any information would be very helpful. Thanks.

Many business opportunities come with an associated challenge. For most entrepreneurial businesses, the greatest challenge is financing the business opportunities created by your sales efforts. What are your options if you have a sales opportunity that is clearly too large for your normal scale of operations? Will your bank provide the necessary financing? Is your business a startup, or too new to meet the bank’s requirements? Can you tap into a commercial real estate loan or a home equity loan in sufficient time to conclude the transaction? Do you decline the order? Fortunately there is an alternative way to meet this challenge: You can use Purchase Order Financing & Letter of Credit financing to deliver the product and close the sale.

What is purchase order financing?

Purchase order financing is a specialized method of providing structured working capital and loans that are secured by accounts receivables, inventory, machinery, equipment and/or real estate. This type of funding is excellent for startup companies, refinancing existing loans, financing growth, mergers and acquisitions, management buy-outs and management buy-ins.

Purchase order financing is based upon bona fide purchase orders from reputable, creditworthy companies, or government entities. Verification of the validity of the purchase orders is required. The financing is not based on your company’s financial strength. It is based on the creditworthiness of your customers, the strength of the commercial finance company funding the transaction, and in most cases a letter of credit.

What is a letter of credit?

A letter of credit is a letter from a bank guaranteeing that a buyer’s payment to a seller will be received on time and for the correct amount. If the buyer is unable to make payment for the purchase, the bank is required to cover the full amount of the purchase. In a purchase order financing transaction, the bank relies on the creditworthiness of the commercial finance company in order to issue the letter of credit. The letter of credit “backs up” the purchase order financing to the supplier, or manufacturer.

Is purchase order financing appropriate for your sales program?

The perfect paradigm is a distributor buying products from a supplier and shipping directly to the purchaser. Importers of finished goods, exporters of finished goods, out-source manufacturers, wholesalers and distributors can effectively use purchase order financing to grow their businesses.

Is purchase order financing appropriate for growing your sales orders?

Purchase order financing requires you to have management expertise- a proven track record in your particular business. You must have bona fine purchase orders from reputable firms that can be verified. And you must have a repayment plan; often this is from a commercial finance company in the form of accounts receivable or asset-based financing.

You should have a gross margin of at least 25% to benefit from purchase order financing. Sellers of services or commodities with low margins, such as lumber or grain, will not qualify.

The bottom line decision for purchase order financing:

It can take two or more years to develop a profitable business. Banks generally base their lending limits on a business’ performance for the past two or three years. Purchase order financing, combined with letters of credit and/or accounts receivable or asset-based financing can give you sufficient funds to cover your operating costs, financing costs and still realize significant profits. If you qualify for purchase order financing, you can grow your business by taking advantage of large purchase orders and eventually qualify for bank financing.

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