Đề thi, bài tập trắc nghiệm online Tài chính doanh nghiệp – Đề 6

The time value of money is a core concept in finance stating that a dollar received today is worth more than a dollar received in the future. This is due to the potential to invest today's dollar and earn a return, making it grow over time. Inflation and uncertainty about the future also contribute to this principle.

Diversification, by investing in a variety of assets, primarily helps to reduce unsystematic risk (firm-specific risk). By spreading investments across different companies, industries, or asset classes, the impact of firm-specific negative events on the overall portfolio is reduced. Diversification cannot eliminate systematic risk (market risk), and it does not guarantee higher profits, but it is a crucial risk management tool.

The Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM) is a widely used model to estimate the cost of equity for a company or an investment. It relates the expected return of an asset to its systematic risk (beta) relative to the overall market. The formula is: Cost of Equity = Risk-Free Rate + Beta * (Market Risk Premium).

Short-term financing is used to fund immediate operational needs and typically has a maturity of less than a year. Trade credit, commercial paper, and bank lines of credit are common sources of short-term financing. Issuance of bonds is generally considered a source of long-term financing as bonds typically have maturities of more than one year.

Corporate finance primarily focuses on three key decision areas: investment decisions (how to allocate capital), financing decisions (how to raise capital), and dividend decisions (how to return value to shareholders). Human resources decisions, while important for overall business success, are not a core area within corporate finance itself.

Dividend policy decisions are influenced by factors such as a company's profitability (current and expected), shareholder preferences regarding dividends versus capital gains, and available investment opportunities (retaining earnings for growth vs. distributing as dividends). Competitors' marketing strategies are generally not a direct factor in a company's dividend policy.

Unsystematic risk, also known as firm-specific or diversifiable risk, is risk that is unique to a particular company or industry. A product recall is an event that is specific to a company and its products, and hence an example of unsystematic risk. Inflation, interest rate changes, and recession are examples of systematic risk (market risk) that affect the market as a whole and are not diversifiable.

Opportunity cost in capital budgeting refers to the potential benefits (returns) that a company forgoes by choosing one investment project over another. It represents the value of the next best alternative that is not chosen. For example, if a company invests in project A, the opportunity cost is the potential return it could have earned from the next best project B that it did not invest in.

Agency costs arise from conflicts of interest between a company's principals (shareholders) and their agents (managers). Managers, acting in their own self-interest, may not always make decisions that maximize shareholder wealth. Agency costs include monitoring costs, bonding costs, and residual losses due to these conflicts.

Effective inventory management aims to strike a balance between having enough inventory to meet customer demand and avoid stockouts (thus maintaining good customer service levels), and minimizing the costs associated with holding inventory (storage, obsolescence, capital tied up). Neither maximizing nor minimizing inventory at all costs is optimal; a balanced approach is key.

Relative valuation, also known as multiples analysis or comparable company analysis, values a company by comparing it to similar companies (peers) in the same industry or sector. It uses valuation multiples like Price-to-Earnings (P/E), Price-to-Sales (P/S), etc., derived from the peer group to estimate the target company's value. DCF, NAV, and Real Options Valuation are absolute valuation methods that focus on a company's intrinsic value based on its own cash flows or assets.

A cash budget is a financial planning tool used to forecast a company's future cash inflows and outflows over a specific period (e.g., monthly, quarterly, annually). It helps in managing liquidity, identifying potential cash shortages or surpluses, and planning for short-term financing or investment needs. It is forward-looking, unlike tracking past cash flows.

NPV is an absolute measure of profitability expressed in dollars (or currency units), representing the present value of net cash inflows minus the initial investment. Profitability Index (PI) is a ratio, calculated as the present value of future cash flows divided by the initial investment. PI is useful for ranking projects when capital is constrained, as it provides a return per dollar invested, while NPV indicates the total value added.

Sensitivity analysis is a technique used to assess the risk associated with a project by examining how changes in key input variables (like sales, costs, discount rate) impact the project's profitability (e.g., NPV or IRR). It helps identify which variables have the most significant impact on the project's outcome and allows for better risk management.

The sustainable growth rate is the maximum rate at which a company can grow its sales or revenues without raising additional equity and without changing its financial policies (like dividend payout ratio and debt-equity ratio). It is often calculated as Retention Ratio * Return on Equity (ROE). It indicates how much growth can be funded internally.

Working capital components are short-term assets and liabilities. Inventory, Accounts Receivable (both current assets), and Accounts Payable (current liability) are all components of working capital. Long-term debt is not a component of working capital as it is a long-term liability and relates to capital structure decisions, not short-term operations.

The Current Ratio is a liquidity ratio that measures a company's ability to pay off its short-term liabilities with its short-term assets. It is calculated as Current Assets divided by Current Liabilities. A higher current ratio generally indicates better liquidity, but it should be interpreted in context of industry norms.

From the company's perspective, common stock is generally considered the riskiest and most expensive source of financing. This is because common stockholders have the lowest priority in terms of claims on assets and earnings in case of bankruptcy, and they require a higher expected return to compensate for this risk. Debt financing (bank loans, bonds) and preferred stock are generally less risky and cheaper for the company.

WACC represents the average rate of return a company expects to compensate all its investors. It is primarily used as the discount rate to calculate the present value of future cash flows in capital budgeting decisions, such as Net Present Value (NPV) analysis. It reflects the opportunity cost of capital for the company's projects.

The Debt-to-Equity ratio is calculated as Total Debt divided by Shareholders' Equity. A ratio of 2.0 means that for every $1 of equity financing, the company is using $2 of debt financing. This indicates a relatively high level of financial leverage, which can increase both risk and potential return.

The Payback Period is calculated by dividing the initial investment by the annual cash flow. In this case, $100,000 / $30,000 = 3.33 years. This indicates it will take 3.33 years to recover the initial investment from the project's cash inflows. Note that Payback period does not consider the time value of money or cash flows beyond the payback period.

The primary goal of financial management is to maximize shareholder wealth, which is typically reflected in the company's stock price over the long term. While other goals like profit maximization and cost minimization are important, they are usually means to achieve the ultimate goal of maximizing shareholder value.

Working capital management involves managing a company's short-term assets (like inventory, accounts receivable, cash) and short-term liabilities (like accounts payable, short-term debt). The goal is to ensure the company has enough liquidity to meet its short-term obligations and run its day-to-day operations efficiently.

A significant limitation of the Payback Period method is that it ignores the time value of money. It treats all cash flows equally, regardless of when they occur. It also ignores cash flows occurring after the payback period, potentially overlooking profitable long-term cash flows. While simple to calculate, it's less sophisticated than NPV and IRR.

The Balance Sheet is a financial statement that presents a company's financial position at a specific point in time. It follows the accounting equation: Assets = Liabilities + Equity. It provides a 'snapshot' of what a company owns (assets), owes (liabilities), and the owners' stake (equity).

Operating leverage refers to the extent to which a company's operating income is sensitive to changes in sales. A high degree of operating leverage means a company has a high proportion of fixed costs relative to variable costs. This results in higher profit margins as sales increase, but also greater losses when sales decrease, making earnings more volatile.

Financial forecasting involves estimating a company's future financial performance, typically through pro forma financial statements (income statement, balance sheet, cash flow statement). This helps in planning for future financing needs, identifying potential financial issues, and setting realistic financial targets. It is not about guaranteeing profits but about informed planning.

Beta (β) in the Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM) is a measure of systematic risk or market risk. It quantifies a stock's volatility or sensitivity to movements in the overall market. A beta of 1 indicates the stock's price tends to move with the market; a beta greater than 1 suggests it is more volatile than the market, and a beta less than 1 means it is less volatile.

Financial leverage refers to the use of debt financing in a company's capital structure. By using debt, a company can magnify the returns to equity holders when the company is profitable. However, it also magnifies the risks, as debt increases fixed financial charges and the probability of financial distress if the company's performance weakens.

The Internal Rate of Return (IRR) is the discount rate at which the Net Present Value (NPV) of a project becomes zero. In other words, it is the rate of return that a project is expected to generate. If the IRR is greater than the cost of capital, the project is generally considered acceptable.