Sunday, January 26, 2020

Strategies for Finding New Equity Capital

Strategies for Finding New Equity Capital Financial Management ABC plc has grown from a company with  £10,000 turnover to one with a  £17m turnover and  £1.8m profit in the last five years. The existing owners have put all their financial resources into the firm to enable it to grow. The directors wish to take advantage of a very exciting market opportunity but would need to find  £20m of new equity capital as the balance sheet is already over-geared (i.e. has high debt). The options being discussed, in a rather uniformed way, are flotation on the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange, a flotation on the Alternative Investment Market and private equity. Write a report to enlighten the board on the merits and disadvantages of each of these three possibilities. Answer: Option 1 Floatation on the main market of LSE. Floating money from LSE will lead to listing of shares of the company. Demerits of listing shares on stock exchange will lead to increase in legal compliances, which will also increase the cost of the company. As the company has grown drastically during the past 5 years, it will be easy for raising money from market which will form part of merits of floating money from LSE. Risks will be shared and a new debt will not appear in balance sheet of the Company. On the other hand raising funds through stock market would lead to loss of ownership and control over the company. Option 2 Private Equity Private equity is raising money from handful of investors. Merits of raising funds through private equity are large amount of funds can be raised , the investors also be a part of management due to which the business is monitored closely by a third party, huge returns can be obtained from private equity investments. Some of the demerits of private equity are loss of management control and dilution of ownership in the Company. Option 3 Alternative Investment Market is getting investment form alternate sources. (Andrew Killick Head of Corporate Finance (South Region) Baker Tilly) Merits The regulations for raising money from Alternative Investment Market are lighter hence it saves the corporate expense. The paying of merger and acquisition is easier. Demerits There is loss of control as the institutions (investors) own large share in the company. Floatation puts the company in the spotlight and under scrutiny, and this continues throughout a public companys life which reduces the privacy. The company has to report results to a tighter timetable and to International Financial Reporting Standards. Management Accounting Management accounting team also come up with some questions and request you to explain/answer them for upcoming board meeting: What is the point of distinguishing between absorption and marginal costing? Why they report different profit, explain with an example? Answer: Example : Variable cost of a product x 10 p.u, fixed cost for the period 100000, Number of units produced 10000, closing stock 1000 units, material cost 15 p.u Value of closing stock under both methods- Marginal costing Closing stock = (Material cost+Variable cost) * Number of Units   = (15+10)*1000 = 25000 Absorption Costing Closing stock = Total cost throughout the year/ total units produced * closing stock = 100000 (fixed cost)+ 100000 (variable cost) + 150000 (material cost)/ 10000*1000 =350000/10000*1000 =35000 The management of XYZ company is concerned about the its inability to obtain enough fully trained labour to enable it to meet its present budget projection: Service A B C Total Variable costs Materials 8 6 7 21 Labour 11 8 14 33 Expenses 5 4 4 13 Allocated fixed cost 6 15 12 33 Total cost 30 33 37 82 Profit 17 4 4 25 Sales revenue 47 37 41 107 The amount of labour likely to be available amounts to  £23,000. All of the variable labour is paid at the same hourly rate. You are asked to prepare a statement of plans, ensuring that at least 50 per cent of the budgeted sales revenues are achieved for each service and the balance of labour is used to produce the greater profit. What steps could the business take in an attempt to improve profitability, in the light of the labour shortage?ANSWER To improve the profit in the light of labour, company should B is the most profited company as it has the maximum profit per unit labour. The second preference should be given to company A as it provides better profit per unit labour then company C. And company C is the last option with least profit per unit labour. MM plc makes Product E, the standard costs of which are: Sales Revenue  £40 Direct labour (1 hour) (13) Direct materials (1 kg) (12) Fixed overheads (5) Standard profit 10 The budgeted output for March was 1,000 units of Product E; the actual output was 1,100 units, which was sold for  £44,400. There were no inventories at the start or end of March. The actual production costs were: Direct labour (1,075 hours) £14,513 Direct Materials (1,170 kg)13,455 Fixed overheads 5,700 How flexible budget will help this company to identify the budget variance? ANSWER Flexible Budget Flexible budget calculates expenditure levels for variable costs. Depending upon the actual revenue different variable cost are considered. Flexible budget results in varying budget depending upon the activities performed. In this case the actual revenue of the company has exceeded the budgeted revenue. The factors affecting the actual revenue and budgeted revenue are Sales, Material, Fixed Overhead, Profit, Labour. So the difference between the actual and budgeted revenue can be easily calculated using Flexible budgeting. REFERENCES Andrew Killick Head of Corporate Finance (South Region) Baker Tilly)

Saturday, January 18, 2020

Bush Intercontinental Airport-Houston

Bush Intercontinental Airport-Houston, is among the top few international airports in the U. S. The volume of tasks handled at this airport- the ninth busiest in the U. S- is enormous, yet it functions smoothly. The secret behind the smooth and hassle-free functioning of this airport is to be found in its strong, high-tech, state-of- art IS network. The airport consists of the four terminals-A, B, C and IAB that were built in over a period from 1969 to 1990, resulting in a mix of technologies to be managed by the Aviation MIS department.The network at the airport is primarily fiber-optic with T-1 lines connecting the Ethernet-based LANs at each airport to create a citywide WAN. A non-collapsible fiber ring around the city of Houston connects all the airports to the administration building. Even as the IAB had the newest technologies available, terminals A, B, and C handled the bulk of the traffic and revenue generated by the airport. Terminal C and a major part of terminal B are leas ed to Continental Airlines, who handle three-fourths of all the traffic. The network at the airport is leased from the local telephone company, Southwestern Bell telephone.The Department of Aviation (DOA) manages eight LANs supporting 455 personal computers and 12 servers. Four Stratus minicomputers also support airport operations. Two of the Stratus systems run IAH’s most crucial safety and scheduling system. A mainframe computer located in downtown Houston is connected to the DOA network. Over and above, each individual airline that has leased space from DOA has its own terminals for its own uses. There is a proposal to install OC3 servers, the equivalent of 100 T-1 lines as the backbone of the network, giving the IS here the cutting-edge technology.What are the key components of the IS infrastructure at IAH? Effective IS are critical for an airport to run smoothly. They save time. They ensure smooth overall functioning of the various sub-systems within the airport system. An advanced IS, as at IAH is not only a source of pride for the airport personnel, but helps determine an airline where to expand its services. What is even more significant, an advanced IS system can directly impact the bottom line of airport budget, as well as the entire economic success of the region in which the airport operates.IAH, the ninth busiest international airport in the United States boasts of a large complex information system. Some of the standard business applications used here are budgeting, records management, rates and charges, warehouse inventory and purchasing. There are various other tasks for which the airport requires the automated systems as flight information, security access control, ground transportation, paging/information, airfield lighting, radio and facility maintenance, vehicle maintenance, parking, concession tracking, and a wide range of planning, design and construction activities.It is in fact due to the advanced IS that a passenger waiting for a connecting flight here, for instance, feels comfortable and is able to taxi to a waiting lounge, pass through immigration, retrieve baggage, complete custom, check the video-display for connecting flight and use his wait-time to make calls, have a snack, visit the restroom and get to the gate in time to upgrade his seat.The passenger then boards his flight, handing the gate-attendant his electronic boarding pass which is computer-scanned at door of the plane, confirming that the passenger is cleared to board the plane for the next leg of his trip. Consider the software applications in this architecture. Which do you think are running on the local PCs and which are running on the servers or mainframes in the network? Softwares on the PCs used at IAH include standard business software applications for budgeting, record management, rates and charges, warehouse inventory applications and purchasing.They run on the local PCs, and are used by the airport personnel. Besides these, the ai rport requires the automated systems for managing flight information, security access control, ground transportation, paging/information, airfield lighting, radio and facility maintenance, vehicle maintenance, parking concession tracking, parking, design and construction tasks. The Microsoft Office suite including Word, Excel and Access is used. E-mail, calendaring and scheduling programs run in all the computers in Microsoft Outlook.They run on an exchange server. 1. Software on the PCs Standard Business Applications as well as Specialized Applications Standard Business Applications: budgeting, records management, rates and charges, warehouse inventory and purchasing. Specialized Applications: flight information, security access control, ground transportation, paging/information, air-field lighting, radio and facility maintenance, vehicle maintenance, parking, concession tracking, planning, design and construction. 2. Software on servers and mainframesE-mail, calendaring and Schedu ling programs in all computers in Microsoft outlook. What are the advantages and disadvantages to the DOA of leasing the networking from Southwestern Bell? Advantages 1. Fiber-optic network at the airport. 2. T-1 lines connecting the Ethernet-based LANs at each airport to create a city wide LAN. 3. A non collapsible fiber ring around the city of Houston that connects all the airports to the administration building. 4. Non collapsible ring ensures, if one link fails the entire network does not collapse.5. The improvement program will install OC3 service, the equivalent of 100 T-1. lines. 6. Innovation perspective. Disadvantages 1. The airport has four terminals built over a wide time frame resulting in a mix of technologies managed by Aviation MIS department. 2. The infrastructure needed to manage this airport must include both new and old technologies. 3. This mixture presents a challenge. 4. DOA itself manages eight LANs supporting 455 personal computers and 455 personnel. 5. Innov ation at the cost of smooth functioning.

Friday, January 10, 2020

A Study of factors affecting moving forward

To properly critique this article, many guidelines are considered which include: data analysis and findings, discussion of the implication/recommendations, the statement of he problem, a literature review, hypothesis or research questions, description of conceptual/theoretical framework, research designs, sample and population, explanation of data collection and measurement, and explanation of procedures. Introduction Spinal cord injury (SIC) is a traumatic and devastating event in any person's life (Chem., 2013).Spinal cord injury might be partial or total, but whichever type can cause impairment of physical mobility leaving those affected with challenges of coping with rehabilitation. However, current treatment entities to focus in the provision of care in the acute stage and the prevention and (Chem., 2013) treatment of complications (Chem., 2013). SIC continues to impact the lives of those affected and their families socially, physically, mentally, and spiritually. Independence t o the greatest ability of the patient is a long-term goal.By providing a multi-disciplinary team to treat a patient, it gives additional professional support to allow a more rounded, stronger, and more positive recovery. Although many scientists are studying nerve regeneration and conducting stem cell research (Chem., 201 3) for the retirement of SIC but the cure is still a long way off (Chem., 2013). However, self-perception, age, self-efficacy are factors influencing individuals with SIC to successfully moving forward without withdrawing from the society.Patients who effectively learn to cope and work with disabilities can then have a positive self-perception and achieve optimal self-efficacy. Today, asking questions, seeking answers, and implementing evidence-best practices will advance and guide how care is provided for the SIC patient with the goal of a more enriched life post-injury. Rehabilitation assists the individual to achieve he highest possible level of self-care and in dependence. This study was conducted in Taiwan, so it is vital to study the behaviors, cultures, and definitions when reviewing the literature.Varying health beliefs on illness and behavior are expected. The difference does not mean that the study is invalid or negative. The research design for this quantitative article Was a descriptive-correlation, cross-sectional study. They studied the relationships between â€Å"moving-forward behavior† and how it relates to age, demographics, and disease characteristics (Chem., 2013). Three characteristics were combined o define â€Å"moving-forward behavior: self-efficacy, self-perception, and social support.

Thursday, January 2, 2020

Essay on Weapons of World War 2 - 1395 Words

Weapons and Artillery of World War II The result of World War II was affected by many different factors. One major factor which affected the war was the weapons and artillery used during the war. Since the beginnings of time, weapons have always been around. From swords and knives to nuclear weapons and missiles, weapons have evolved greatly throughout the years. The weapons and artillery used in World War II basically were evolved types of weaponry that were used during World War I (Military History 1). World War II began in 1939 when the German armies decided to invade parts of Europe, therefore causing Europeans to retaliate against the Germans (World War 1). World War II began because those countries which were defeated in World War I†¦show more content†¦A pistol, at times, could have decided whether a soldier would live or die in combat depending on the situation. Another factor which made the pistol a very important weapon was the fact that the pistol could be reloaded much faster than a rifle (Slayton 12). Another very powerful gun that was used in World War II was the Submarine guns. The submarine guns are much stronger and better than normal guns due to the fact that they have better firing distances (Military History 7). The submarine gun was built mainly for endurance and for accuracy. This gun had the accuracy to fire from 800 to at least 1,000 yards away and delivers a powerful blow to its victims. One problem which the gun had was the fact that it could dislocate a soldiers arm whenever it was fired. But finally the submarine gun was improved and is now less powerful which makes it easier for firing full automatic rounds along with pistol rounds (8). Another very important weapon used in World War II was the rifle. Most infantrymen were defined by their rifles (Slayton 34). 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