...SUMMARY OUTLINE CAPITAL BUDGETING PRACTICES OF INDIAN COMPANIES Introduction Corporate strategy provides the focal point for the firm's long-run strategic planning. The capital budgeting system, particularly for large strategic projects, is determined in the context of strategic planning and, thus, it is a top-down process. Corporate strategy and strategic planning play the most crucial role at the identification and evaluation phases. Operating and administrative capital budgeting decisions can be decided at lower /middle level of management within the overall strategic framework and guidelines from top management. The capital budgeting system at lower/middle level will largely be a bottom up process. It may be noted that external and internal environment provides a context to the company to establish and review its missions, concerns, and multiple objectives which, in turn, shape its corporate strategy. Objectives There are two objectives of this study: a) To document the capital budgeting policies and practices of companies in India, a developing" country, and contrast them with those of USA and UK, the developed countries b) To ascertain how business executives look upon the linkage between corporate strategy and investment decision-making. Sample and Methodology The study used interview-cum-questionnaire method and sent to 14 companies different businesses which had agreed to participate in all. Methods of Evaluation The study was...
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...CAPITAL BUDGETING: ADVANTAGES AND LIMITATIONS. SEPTEMBER 2012 CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION 1.0 Background Study Capital budgeting is the process by which firms determine how to invest their capital. Included in this process are the decisions to invest in new projects, reassess the amount of capital already invested in existing projects, allocate and ration capital across divisions, and acquire other firms. In essence, the capital budgeting process defines the set and size of a firm’s real assets, which in turn generate the cash flows that ultimately determine its profitability, value and viability. In principle, a firm’s decision to invest in a new project should be made according to whether the project increases the wealth of the firm’s shareholders. For example, the Net Present Value (NPV) rule specifies an objective process by which firms can assess the value that new capital investments are expected to create. As Graham and Harvey (2001) document this rule has steadily gained in popularity since Dean (1951) formally introduced it, but its widespread use has not eliminated the human element in capital budgeting. Because the estimation of a project’s future cash flows and the rate at which they should be discounted is still a relatively subjective process, the behavioural traits of managers still affect this process. Capital budgeting is a process...
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...Management J. Volume 2 No. 1 (January 1989) ,' CAPITAL BUDGETING PRACTICES OF INDIAN COMPANIES I. M. PANDEY ' Objective " The objectives of this study are: (a) to document the capital bud geting policies and practices of companies in India, a developing country, and contrast them with those of USA and UK, the developed countries, and (b) to ascertain how business executives look upon the linkage between corporate strategy and investment decision-making. Capital expenditure planning and control is a process of facilitating decisions covering expenditures on long-term assets. Since a company's survival and profitability hinges on capital expenditures, specially the major ones, the importance of the capital budgeting process cannot be over-emphasized. Sample and Methodology We have followed an intensive interview-cum-questionnaire method. Two questionnaires—one dealing with investment evaluation practice and second with other phases—were sent to companies which had agreed to participate in the study. In all, 14 companies were studied. The responding companies belonged to different businesses. In terms of size (sales and number of employees), capital intensity (net tangible fixed assets), volume of spending (capital expenditure incurred), and level of technology, they represent a variety (Table 1). The study relates to 1984. •-, Capital Expenditure: How Defined Strictly speaking, capital expenditure includes all those expenditures which are expected to produce...
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...Capital Budget Policy and Process Vernita Davis-Knight Susan Friguglietti Edna Primas Ronald Rehn University of Phoenix-Online February 27, 2008 Capital Budget Policy and Process Capital budgeting is the process by which capital investment decisions are made. Capital can be described as an organization’s operating assets (Diamond, Hanson &, Murphy, 1994). The capital budgeting process includes "planning, setting goals and priorities, arranging financing, and identifying criteria for making long-term investments" (Diamond et al., 1994, p. 463). Previously, capital budgets were known as plant and equipment budgets (Berman, Kukla &, Weeks, 1994). As the previous term implies, most capital expenditures are long-term investments for plant or equipment investments. Most, if not all, organizations have limited financial resources and must decide how to invest the financial resources for the best advantage of the organization. Capital investment decisions have a significant impact on the organization since large amounts of the organization’s resources are at risk for extended periods of time. This makes capital budgeting one of the most important decision making opportunities an organization can undertake (Diamond et al., 1994). There are two basic types of capital budgeting projects, independent projects and mutually exclusive projects. The independent project does not affect the cash flow of other projects. That is, regardless of whether the project is accepted...
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...Capital Budgeting Techniques | | GLOSSARY Capital Budget: (1) The amount of money set aside for the purchase of fixed assets (e.g., equipment, buildings, etc.). Also, (2) a request for authorization to purchase new fixed assets. Mutually Exclusive Proposals: Consideration of two or more assets that perform the same function. If one is chosen for purchase, the others are automatically rejected. Profitability Index: A ratio of the present value of the benefits (PVB) to the present value of the costs (PVC). The index is used instead of Net Present Value (i.e., PVB - PVC) when evaluating mutually exclusive proposals that have different costs. As the picture above illustrates, the capital budgeting decision may be thought of as a cost-benefit analysis. We are asking a very simple question: "If I purchase this fixed asset, will the benefits to the company be greater than the cost of the asset?" In essence, we are placing the cash inflows and outflows on a scale (similar to the one above) to see which is greater. A complicating factor is that the inflows and outflows may not be comparable: cash outflows (costs) are typically concentrated at the time of the purchase, while cash inflows (benefits) may be spread over many years. The time value of money principle states that dollars today are not the same as dollars in the future (because we would all prefer possessing dollars today to receiving the same amount of dollars in the future). Therefore, before we can place...
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...HOW DO CFOS MAKE CAPITAL BUDGETING AND CAPITAL STRUCTURE DECISIONS? by John Graham and Campbell Harvey, Duke University* e recently conducted a comprehensive survey that analyzed the current practice of corporate finance, with particular focus on the areas of capital budgeting and capital structure. The survey results enabled us to identify aspects of corporate practice that are consistent with finance theory, as well as aspects that are hard to reconcile with what we teach in our business schools today. In presenting these results, we hope that some practitioners will find it worthwhile to observe how other companies operate and perhaps modify their own practices. It may also be useful for finance academics to consider differences between theory and practice as a reason to revisit the theory. We solicited responses from approximately 4,440 companies and received 392 completed surveys, representing a wide variety of firms and industries.1 The survey contained nearly 100 questions and explored both capital budgeting and capital structure decisions in depth. The responses to these questions enabled us to explore whether and how these corporate policies are interrelated. For example, we investigated whether companies that made more aggressive use of debt financing also tended to use more sophisticated capital budgeting techniques, perhaps because of their greater need for discipline and precision in the corporate investment process. More generally, the design of our survey...
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...Capital budgeting Making decisions having significant future benefits or costs for various entities and their stakeholders. Capital budgeting is the backbone of financial economics. Related topics in financial economics include: the time value of money, the meaning of net-present value, accounting concepts consistent with present-value calculations, discount rates, and option valuation techniques. In the public sector, the term is often exclusively associated with infrastructure investments -- plant and equipment. It is more properly associated with all policy choices that have significant, long-term consequences: especially decisions about missions, programs, products, processes, or procedures. There are standard solutions to several kinds of capital-budgeting problems: make or buy decisions, investment in working capital (especially inventories) decisions, maintenance-level decisions, project selection, the choice of mutually exclusive investments, and investments in plant with fluctuating rates of production. However, the same basic calculus of benefits and costs is supposed to guide all classes policy choices with long-term consequences. Financial Theory Financial theory teaches that, in the presence of a capital market where funds can be obtained at a price, welfare will be maximized by the implementation of all policy choices that generate positive net-present values. This means, in part, that the timing of benefits and costs is generally of no...
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...Bryan Kimmell How do CFOs make capital budgeting and capital structure decisions? Introduction A comprehensive survey is gone that describes the current practice of corporate finance. The survey will give us a betting understanding of where the theory and practice of corporate finance are consistent and areas where they are not. The survey conducted is based on two parts, capital budgeting and capital structure. The survey goes deeper and tries to find out what causes capital budgeting and structure decisions in firms. The survey consists of 100 questions to explore capital budgeting and structure decisions in depth. The original sample for the survey was 4,440 firms but only 392 CFOs responded to the survey, making the response rate a dramatic 9%. The results of the survey were analyzed based on firm characteristics. The responses given by the executives are compared in relation to the firm size, P/E ratio, leverage, credit rating, dividend policy, industry, management ownership, CEO age, CEO tenure, and CEO educational attainment. Comparing the responses to all these variables gives the results a more meaningful explanation because it is able to test various finance theories. The responses to the capital budgeting portion of the survey follow academic advice and use present value techniques to evaluate new projects. But when it comes to capital structure, firms rely on practical, informal rules and pay less attention to academic advice. Survey Methodology Before the...
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...Capital Budgeting Introduction A logical prerequisite to the analysis of investment opportunities is the creation of investment opportunities. Unlike the field of investments, where the analyst more or less takes the investment opportunity set as a given, the field of capital budgeting relies on the work of people in the areas of industrial engineering, research and development, and management information systems (among others) for the creation of investment opportunities. As such, it is important to suggest that students keep in mind the importance of creativity in this area, as well as the importance of analytical techniques. Because a project is financially sound, it must be ethically sound, right? Well . . . the question of ethical appropriateness is less frequently discussed in the context of capital budgeting than that of financial appropriateness. Consider the following simple example: The American Association of Colleges and Universities estimates that 10 percent of all college students cheat at some time during their postsecondary education careers. You might pose the ethical question of whether it would be proper for a publishing company to offer a new book How to Cheat: A User's Guide. The company has a cost of capital of 8% and estimates it could sell 10,000 volumes by the end of year one and 5,000 volumes in each of the following two years. The immediate printing costs for the 20,000 volumes would be $20,000. The book would sell for $7.50 per copy and...
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...HOW DO CFOS MAKE CAPITAL BUDGETING AND CAPITAL STRUCTURE DECISIONS? by John Graham and Campbell Harvey, Duke University* e recently conducted a comprehensive survey that analyzed the current practice of corporate finance, with particular focus on the areas of capital budgeting and capital structure. The survey results enabled us to identify aspects of corporate practice that are consistent with finance theory, as well as aspects that are hard to reconcile with what we teach in our business schools today. In presenting these results, we hope that some practitioners will find it worthwhile to observe how other companies operate and perhaps modify their own practices. It may also be useful for finance academics to consider differences between theory and practice as a reason to revisit the theory. We solicited responses from approximately 4,440 companies and received 392 completed surveys, representing a wide variety of firms and industries.1 The survey contained nearly 100 questions and explored both capital budgeting and capital structure decisions in depth. The responses to these questions enabled us to explore whether and how these corporate policies are interrelated. For example, we investigated whether companies that made more aggressive use of debt financing also tended to use more sophisticated capital budgeting techniques, perhaps because of their greater need for discipline and precision in the corporate investment process. More generally, the design of our survey...
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...Executive Summary Reckitt Benckiser Bangladesh Ltd is a leading player in the FMCG market of Bangladesh with a focus on Health, Hygiene & Home. Making differencing from conventional playing company in Bangladesh Reckitt Benckiser has strong intention for modern developed capital budgeting technique in evaluating their potential projects especially in large R&D projects. The company mainly uses IRR. It uses sophisticated methods to project future cash flows. The company also uses scenario analysis to incorporate risk and for some very complex projects, it uses simulation analysis with the help of parent company in UK. However, Reckitt Benckiser Bangladesh Ltd is a well established company and it does not take large projects very often. Those capital budgeting techniques are normally used in evaluating large projects and in case of acquisition of an existing company. Company Overview Company Profile Reckitt Benckiser is a world leader in FMCG household, health and personal care. In Bangladesh it has started its journey as Reckitt Benckiser (Bangladesh) Ltd. The Company was listed in DSE in 1986 and in CSE in 1995 as a pharmaceuticals and chemical company. Currently, Reckitt Benckiser (Bangladesh) Ltd is a leading player in the FMCG market of Bangladesh with a focus on Health, Hygiene & Home. RB is involved in the business of manufacturing and marketing Household, Toiletries and Pharmaceuticals items. The company’s product array includes brands like Disprin, Dettol...
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...markets is a complex field for managers and academics. Most of the models used in investments and corporate finance have been developed under the assumption of at least moderately efficient markets, but this assumption seems to be questionable when moving to less developed markets. Emerging markets are not efficient markets; they are characterized by higher information asymmetries, higher transaction costs, more concentrated ownership, lack of market development, relatively low market liquidity, etc. Additionally, there are relevant differences in terms of suitability for the use of standard corporate finance techniques in the context of small and medium private enterprises. The present survey examines capital budgeting, cost of capital, capital structure and dividend policy decision of the four firms namely Schmit telecom, Sanehwal fasteners, LPS limited and Bharathi Soap works. The study analyses the responses conditional on firm characteristics. It examines the relationship of the executives' response with firm size, profitability, risk, growth, CFO's education, and the sector. By testing whether responses differ across these characteristics, the study throws light on the implications of various finance theories concerning firm size, risk, and growth. The survey also given us the knowledge about practices followed by different companies depending on the sector in which they exist. Market position has also played significant role in determining the companies financial practices...
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...Handouts for Corporate Finance 1 Capital Budgeting Introduction A logical prerequisite to the analysis of investment opportunities is the creation of investment opportunities. Unlike the field of investments, where the analyst more or less takes the investment opportunity set as a given, the field of capital budgeting relies on the work of people in the areas of industrial engineering, research and development, and management information systems (among others) for the creation of investment opportunities. As such, it is important to suggest that students keep in mind the importance of creativity in this area, as well as the importance of analytical techniques. Because a project is financially sound, it must be ethically sound, right? Well . . . the question of ethical appropriateness is less frequently discussed in the context of capital budgeting than that of financial appropriateness. Consider the following simple example: The American Association of Colleges and Universities estimates that 10 percent of all college students cheat at some time during their postsecondary education careers. You might pose the ethical question of whether it would be proper for a publishing company to offer a new book How to Cheat: A User's Guide. The company has a cost of capital of 8% and estimates it could sell 10,000 volumes by the end of year one and 5,000 volumes in each of the following two years. The immediate printing costs for the 20,000 volumes would be $20,000. The...
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...Capital Budgeting Ashford University Government Budgeting PPA603 June 16, 2014 Capital Budgeting The main principle of the capital budget is to channel the total distribution of state expenditures for public services. To present the greatest possible outline of current and planned capital investments and assure state governments’ ability to borrow will not increase nor decrease. This paper will discuss how the debt capacity of state is established and then discuss and assess the effect of repaying or reorganizing current debt commitment. This paper will also discuss different funding substitutes that can be used to support debt commitment. This paper will utilized the City of Toledo, whose capital budget is a 4 year plan, which focuses on roads, modernization and police hiring (City of Toledo, 2014). Capital budgeting is the development process used to regulate which of an organization’s extended term assets are worth following according to Devoy & Wise (1979). City of Toledo has one of the most comprehensive capital budgets, encompassing all new construction, including roads and public safety. The City of Toledo policy and process identifies the fiscal year for the City beginning on the first day of January and requires that on or before the fifteenth day of November of each year, the Mayor must prepare a balanced budget estimate of the expenses of conducting the affairs of the City for the following fiscal year (City of Toledo, 2014). While the capital budget...
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... b. Wealth maximization for a multi-period decision is measured by discounting the expected future economic profits (which is the excess of earnings or cash flow for each period over that which could have been earned on investments of similar risk for that period) back to present. 1-4. Present value is either a single future amount discounted back to present or the sum of a number of future amounts discounted back to present. Net present value is the sum of the present value and the initial outlay or outlays necessary to produce the future amount(s). 1-5. A capital investment is an outlay that is expected to result in benefits extending more than one year into the future. Capital budgeting is the process of selecting capital investments. 1-6. Steps in capital budgeting process: - Establish Goals - Develop Strategy - Search for Investment Opportunities - Evaluate Investment Opportunities - Select Investments - Implement and Monitor - Post audit 1-7. The main question is whether the future benefits are worth the present cost. Thus, it is necessary to consider the amount of costs and benefits,...
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