Corporate finance approaches of Icelandic private firms after the financial crisis

2018 ◽  
Vol 44 (11) ◽  
pp. 1274-1291 ◽  
Author(s):  
Twahir Khalfan ◽  
Jón Þór Sturluson

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to provide insights about corporate finance decision-making of Icelandic private firms that have experienced a dramatic financial crisis in 2008–2010. It observes the capital budgeting methods and cost of capital techniques for private firms after a systemic financial crisis. Moreover, the paper identifies the main determinants of capital structure and capita rationing during this period. Design/methodology/approach This paper surveys corporate finance practices of 80 out of the 250 largest bank-centred private firms after the financial crisis. Findings Highly leveraged private firms that have experienced a dramatic financial crisis in 2008–2010 use payback and net present value techniques almost at a similar rate when assessing new investments. The sample firms largely rely on the cost of debt to determine the cost of invested capital. However, capital asset pricing model is the most popular method among the few sample firms that estimate the cost of equity. The need to maintain financial flexibility and cost associated with financial distress are the most influential factors regarding capital structures, whereas investment practices avoid capital rationing associated with the financial crisis. Research limitations/implications The limitations of the study are that it is country specific and absence of data over the period before the financial crisis that may have been applied to present more insight into this topic. Practical implications Sample firms fail to incorporate appropriate cost of capital methods and as the result they are likely to apply incorrect “hurdle rate” which could undervalue or overvalue new investments. This paper indicates that capital budgeting decisions by managers of the bank-centred Icelandic private firms who tend to be major shareholders do not reflect the tendency to expropriate outside and minority investors. Private firms that have emerged from the meltdown of the financial system highlighting the importance of “special” lending relationship in assisting bank-centred firms to avoid the severity of financial constraints. Originality/value This study employs a failure of the banking system to provide new knowledge about corporate finance practices of private firms after the financial crisis that have curtailed the access to both internal and external sources of capital.

2017 ◽  
Vol 43 (8) ◽  
pp. 865-880 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. Kent Baker ◽  
Imad Jabbouri ◽  
Chaimae Dyaz

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine corporate finance practices in the frontier market of Morocco and compare the practices used by Moroccan companies to those in other countries. It focuses primarily on capital budgeting and real options. The study also examines whether corporate finance practices used in Morocco are consistent with more theoretically superior techniques. Design/methodology/approach The study uses a mail questionnaire to gather data from chief financial officers and other senior executives of Casablanca Stock Exchange (CSE) listed companies. Findings Moroccan managers generally view the internal rate of return, accounting rate of return, and payback method as more important than the theoretically superior net present value. Few of the responding firms use real options when making capital budgeting decisions. They tend to use less sophisticated techniques to evaluate investment opportunities and calculate the cost of capital than their counterparts in developed countries. The most frequently used techniques by CSE-listed companies to estimate the cost of equity capital are the cost of debt plus an equity risk premium and the accounting return on equity. CSE-listed companies rely heavily on management’s subjective judgment to estimate cash flows. Research limitations/implications Despite a 40 percent response rate, the number of responses did not permit examining whether differences in firm size, industry, educational background, and other characteristics affect the results. Although non-response bias is a potential limitation, test results show no statistically significant differences between the responding and non-responding companies on any of the five characteristics analyzed. These findings lessen concern about potential non-response bias. Given that the findings relate to a frontier market, they are most likely generalizable to similar countries in the Middle East and North Africa region. Practical implications The findings may be useful to various parties including corporate managers, boards of directors, and financial analysts. Given that investment decisions affect shareholder wealth, understanding the practices used by corporate managers is crucial in deciding what projects to undertake. This research raises awareness for management to review their corporate finance practices, compare them with their peers, and examine whether these techniques are aligned with proper allocation of resources and value maximization. Social implications Overall, the findings imply that Moroccan firms have room to improve their corporate finance practices. Failing to do so could have serious implications ranging from the inefficient allocation of resources in the economy to the destruction of shareholder value. Originality/value To the authors’ knowledge, this is the most comprehensive study using survey methodology to investigate corporate finance practices in Morocco. It provides new insights on such topics as capital budgeting, capital structure, cost of capital estimation, and real option techniques.


2020 ◽  
Vol 37 (2) ◽  
pp. 391-410
Author(s):  
Kekoura Sakouvogui ◽  
Saleem Shaik

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the importance of financial liquidity and solvency on US commercial and domestic banks’ cost efficiency while accounting for internal and external factors. Design/methodology/approach The Stochastic Frontier Analysis and Data Envelopment Analysis estimators are used to estimate the cost efficiency of 11,044  US commercial and domestic banks from 2005 to 2017. Using Tobit regression model, the importance of financial liquidity and solvency on cost efficiency is examined. Findings The results provide evidence that the financial liquidity and solvency negatively impact the cost efficiency of US commercial and domestic banks. Overall, US commercial and domestic banks were inefficient during the financial crisis in comparison to the tranquil period. The importance of financial solvency on the cost efficiency was not statistically significant, while the financial liquidity negatively collapsed because of contagion. Finally, the results provide evidence that the amount of total assets matters in the improvement of the cost efficiency. Originality/value This paper estimates and identifies the 2007-2009 financial crisis with liquidity, solvency or both financial factors.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Md. Anhar Sharif Mollah ◽  
Md. Abdur Rouf ◽  
S.M. Sohel Rana

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the current capital budgeting practices in Bangladeshi listed companies and provide a normative framework (guidelines) for practitioners. Design/methodology/approach Data were collected with a structured questionnaire survey taking from the chief financial officers (CFOs) of companies listed in the Dhaka Stock Exchange in Bangladesh. Garnered data were then analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistical techniques. Findings The results found that net present value was the most prevalent capital budgeting method, followed closely by internal rate of return and payback period. Similarly, the weighted average cost of capital was found to be the widely used method for calculating cost of capital. Further, results also revealed that CFOs adjust their risk factor using discount rate. Originality/value The findings of this study might help the firms, policymakers and practitioners to take a wise decision while evaluating investment projects. Additionally, this study’s findings enrich the existing body of knowledge in the field of capital budgeting practices by providing more reliable and comprehensive analysis taking samples from a developing economy.


2012 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 519-529
Author(s):  
John H. Hall

This study’s purpose was to link the length of decision-makers’ employment in a firm and their academic qualifications to their choice of capital budgeting methods and of cost of capital techniques. The results show that the net present value (NPV) is more popular than the internal rate of return (IRR) as a capital budgeting technique. Also, irrespective of how long respondents have been employed by a company, they all use a discount rate. However, there is a significant tendency among respondents with postgraduate qualifications to prefer the NPV as a capital budgeting technique. Thus, in South Africa, academic qualifications do play a role in decision-makers’ capital budgeting practices.


2017 ◽  
Vol 59 (6) ◽  
pp. 876-898
Author(s):  
Jie Liang ◽  
En Xie ◽  
K.S. Redding

Purpose Nested within the industrial organization and corporate finance literature, this paper aims to analyze the market for cross-border mergers and acquisitions (M&A) in the world economy, developed economies, developing economies and transition economies. As multinational companies hold a large proportion of cash reserves and expand into diverse geographic markets, the paper aims to examine market patterns of high-valuation cross-border acquisition transactions. Specifically, it proposes a framework explaining the influential factors, motives and effects of high-valuation transactions by discussing some case evidences. Design/methodology/approach Drawing upon inductive and deductive logic, the paper discusses market trends and market patterns of cross-border M&A transactions by triangulating archival data analyses and accessible M&A literature. Some case examples are derived from news archive and official source sites. Regarding sample period, it considers the past two decades 1994-2013 to show market trends in various institutional settings and the past decade 2004-2013 to present market patterns of 62 high-valuation cross-border deals. Findings The transaction analysis indicates four cycles in the market trend, namely, growing period (1994-2000); declining, but promising period (2001-2006); financial crisis period (2007-2008); and recovering, but reversing period (2009-2013). A number of acquisitions undertaken by firms from emerging economies around the 2007-2008 global financial crisis have exemplified geographic (product) diversification as a primary motive of firm’s global strategy. In particular, a large proportion of sample high-valuation deals are spotted in developed economies such as the USA and the UK. In case of industry pattern, a good number of high-valuation deals are noticed in banking and finance, telecommunications and oil and gas sector. Originality/value Although several scholars have examined cross-border acquisitions in economics, corporate finance, strategy and international business literature, there is hardly any study that analyzes high-profile cross-border M&A deals. An exclusive market analysis of high-valuation international deals is important for several reasons. This paper fills this knowledge gap by showing both market trends and market patterns of cross-border M&A transactions. Importantly, to date, this paper is the first to propose a framework explaining the influential factors, motives and effects of high-valuation M&A transactions.


2015 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 55-82 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohamed Nurullah ◽  
Lingesiya Kengatharan

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate prevailing capital budgeting practices in Sri Lankan listed companies. Design/methodology/approach – A comprehensive primary survey was conducted of 32 out of 46 chief financial officers (CFOs) of manufacturing and trading companies listed on the Colombo Stock Exchange in Sri Lanka. Garnered data were then analyzed using appropriate statistical techniques. Findings – The results revealed that net present value (NPV) was the most preferred capital budgeting method, followed closely by payback (PB) and internal rate of return (IRR). Similarly, sensitivity analysis was regarded as the dominant capital budgeting tool for incorporating risk and the widely used method for calculating cost of capital was the weighted average cost of capital. Moreover, results revealed that size of the capital budget affects the use of the capital budgeting methods (NPV, IRR and PB) and incorporating risk tool (sensitivity analysis and simulation). Further, results revealed that CFOs had higher educational qualification were preferred to use sophisticated capital budgeting practices dominantly NPV, IRR and incorporating risk tool of sensitivity analysis although they were found to be reluctant in use of accounting rate of return. In a similar vein CFOs with higher experience were preferred using IRR and sensitivity analysis. Originality/value – This study contributed to academics, practitioners, policy makers and stakeholders of the company. Moreover, this research has proffered a more reliable and comprehensive analysis of capital budgeting practices in Sri Lankan listed manufacturing and trading firms. Since Sri Lanka is an unexplored country on capital budgeting practices, this research was originally contributed to the extant literature per se.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Antonio Salvi ◽  
Nicola Raimo ◽  
Felice Petruzzella ◽  
Filippo Vitolla

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to analyse the financial consequences of the level of human capital (HC) information disclosed by firms through integrated reports. Specifically, this work examines the effect of HC information on the cost of capital and firm value.Design/methodology/approachA manual content analysis is used to measure the level of HC information contained in integrated reports. A fixed-effects regression model is used to analyse 375 observations (a balanced panel of 125 firms for the period 2017–2019) and test the financial consequences of HC disclosure.FindingsThe empirical outcomes indicate that HC disclosure has a significant and negative effect on the cost of capital and a positive impact on firm value. Our results show that companies can reduce investors' perceived firm risk by improving HC disclosure, leading to a lower cost of capital. Moreover, our findings support the notion that increased levels of HC disclosure are linked to firms' improved access to external financial resources, consequently enhancing firm value.Originality/valueThis study is the first contribution to examine the financial consequences of HC disclosure and is one of the first to examine the level of HC information within integrated reports.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-26
Author(s):  
Aliaa Bassiouny ◽  
Enjy Toma ◽  
Farida Dawood ◽  
Haneen Aljammali ◽  
Salim Seif El Nasr ◽  
...  

Learning outcomes The learning outcomes of this paper is as follows: understand the issues that faced private Egyptian textile producers following the January 2011 revolution and how that impacted their business model. Evaluate whether Dice’s inorganic expansion through acquiring Alex Clothing Company is a sound strategic decision given the economic uncertainty in Egypt. Analyze the acquisition decision through projection evaluation techniques, including net present value (NPV), internal rate of return (IRR) and modified IRR (MIRR), to measure whether the acquisition will add value to Dice. Discuss non-financial issues post-acquisition that are not captured by traditional capital budgeting and project evaluation techniques. Case overview/synopsis Dice Manufacturing Company, an established and successful textile manufacturing family business, is facing an important investment decision with regard to inorganic expansion through the acquisition of Alex Clothing Company and its subsidiary United Dyers. The case is intended to be discussed in an undergraduate corporate finance class. The case setting is inside Dice Manufacturing Company, where one of the founders, Nagy Toma and his CFO Victor ElMalek are analyzing the acquisition decision in January 2015. The protagonist is Victor ElMalek, who has to recommend a course of action for the company owners. The case allows students to apply capital budgeting and project valuation methods to make a decision on whether the acquisition brings value to Dice and to analyze issues management can face post-acquisition. The case follows through the history of Dice, presenting its business model and changes that accompanied the 2011 revolution. It then moves on to outline the acquisition opportunity and provides data for students to analyze through traditional project valuation techniques, including NPV, IRR and MIRR. Complexity academic level Undergraduate. Subject code CSS 1: Accounting and Finance. Supplementary materials Teaching notes are available for educators only.


2011 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 71
Author(s):  
Robert J. Sweeney

Capital budgeting decisions generally involve the commitment of resources in the current period to secure positive cash flows over time that generate a rate of return in excess of the cost of the funds invested. The most common techniques used to perform this analysis are the Net Present Value (NPV) and the Internal Rate of Return (IRR).Conceptually, these two techniques are substitutable; i.e. the resulting decision from a NPV analysis is identical to the decision from an IRR analysis. In practice, however, the NPV and the IRR can, on occasion, produce conflicting decisions. Specifically, when analyzing mutually exclusive assets the Net Present Value can support one asset while the Internal Rate of Return supports the other. The purpose of this paper is twofold; first, to highlight structural deficiencies in the conventional application of the NPV and the IRR, and second, to demonstrate a procedure to correct for these structural errors.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Carlos J.O. Trejo-Pech ◽  
Jared Bruhin ◽  
Christopher N. Boyer ◽  
S. Aaron Smith

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to estimate the amount of cash flow deficit, if any, needed to maintain the operating costs and service debt of a startup cow–calf enterprise. The study compares long-term profitability and risk between starting small and building a herd to full carrying capacity or by starting at desired herd capacity.Design/methodology/approachA dynamic cattle growth model was developed to capture expanding and maintaining the desired herd size. Discounted cash flow (DCF) models over a 15-year period were calculated to estimate net present value (NPV), modified internal rate of return (MIRR) and cash flow deficit to keep the business operating and service debt. Simulation analyses were conducted considering price and production risk.FindingsStarting at the desired herd size was preferred, according to NPV/MIRR and cash flow deficit, but the differences were not substantial. Assuming the operation is liquidated at book values, there was a 36.3% probability of this enterprise having a zero or positive NPV. If the conservative terminal value assumption is relaxed up to feasible market values, the cow–calf enterprise is economically attractive at an estimated 2.4% opportunity cost of capital. However, the producer would experience a cash flow deficit during the first seven years, which was simulated to be $14,892 and $15,985 annual for both strategies.Originality/valueInnovative methods used in this study include varying the annual opportunity cost of capital as a function of financing decisions, stochastic prices by cattle type and stochastic weaning weights that are a function of a dynamic cattle model.


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