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Tag: KPMG financial analysis

Best Books For Financial Modeling

Posted on by Imarticus Learning
Reading Time: 3 minutes

A lot of people all over the world believed at one point, that with the advent of the exciting field of technology, books would go on to become entirely redundant. While it is very true that today, the world is a little too addicted (read dependent) upon technology and all things that it has provided, there are absolutely no signs of books becoming obsolete. With the new and exciting developments of e-books, if anything the demand for books has multiplied a dozen. All one needs is to read a book from cover to cover and one would discover an entirely new and different side to themselves. This is the reason why a lot of people today are taking to books, because of the sheer exposure to knowledge that one would get herein.
Financial Modeling is one very attractive field, which is known to offer lucrative career opportunities to any finance aspirant, looking to make it big in the world of business. While there are a number of excellent professional training programs, when it comes to getting trained. Like for instance Imarticus Learning is one such institute that offers excellent professional training programs in, financial modeling as well as other branches of Finance, such as asset management, portfolio management, Financial Analysis, Corporate Finance, Investment Banking and so on. Taking up courses like these, after one completes their regular graduation courses, can help give the candidate an edge over their contemporaries. This holds true especially if you’ve been looking to work with top Investment and Financial Banking Firms like, JP Morgan, Delloite, Deutsche Bank, Goldman and Sachs and so on. Like mentioned earlier, there is absolutely no dearth in terms of book on Financial Modeling, if you are looking to master the art. Here are a few books, which would serve you a long way.

Financial Modeling (MIT Press), Simon BenningaFinancial Modeling (MIT Press), Simon Benninga

This book is considered to be one of the most comprehensive, best books especially when it comes to Financial Modeling. Anyone who is just beginning to get a grasp of this field, can turn to this book. Apart from that, those candidates who have knowledge about VBA, Advance Excels and complex financial modeling might also find this book helpful.
Analysis and Modeling Using Excel and VBA, Chandan Sengupta

Analysis and Modeling Using Excel and VBA, Chandan Sengupta

This book focuses on providing information about everything in depth, about financial modeling. Reading it, you will not only be able to master the basics of financial modeling, but also learn to study VBA. It is a great reference book for those looking to explore this field. The section on forecasting makes for a great part of this book.

Analysis and Modeling Using Excel and VBA, Chandan Sengupta

Financial Modeling In Practice: A Concise Guide For Intermediate And Advanced Level, Michael Rees

As the title suggests, this book is not really suitable for novices or beginners. It includes applications as well as concepts in proper ratios in terms of financial modeling. The examples referred to here, can very well as act as real time case studies, making them absolutely helpful for professionals in this field.

Best Books For Data Valuation

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Reading Time: 3 minutes

In the field of finance, the process of valuation comes to play a very important role. In simple terms, data valuation is a process, with the help of which, a Financial Analyst can figure out the current value of any particular asset or security.
In the field of investment banking, the skills of valuation become extremely important, as it is these skills, which help in facilitating various mergers and acquisitions. This is why a lot of finance professionals, have been on the lookout for getting thoroughly trained in the skills of valuation. Imarticus Learning, offers industry endorsed, specialization programs in Equity and Valuation and various other branches of finance.

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While it is definitely important to try and learn everything, there is to become an expert at valuations. It is also important to supplement that knowledge with the help of books. Here’s a list of some of the best books on valuation.

the-intelligent-investor-benjamin-graham1. The Intelligent Investor, Benjamin Graham

This book is considered to be one of the most important books, especially when it comes to investments and data valuation. It consists of all the strategies that an analyst can use, in order to achieve their goals as well as the ways, in which the risks can be minimized. It discusses the various concepts of value investing, so that one can easily understand the process of investing, on the basis of assets and profits.
theory-of-investment-value-john-burr-williams

2. Theory Of Investment Value, John Burr Williams

This book was first printed in 1938 and basically consists of information about stocks and the values of their present dividends. It gives a very detailed insight about the technique of Discounted Cash Flow, which is well known as the basis for all the investment decisions. Some of the major takeaways from this book are the process through which, discounted value can be derived and thus, enhance the earnings of the various businesses.

valuation-measuring-and-managing-the-value-of-companies3. Valuation: Measuring and Managing The Value Of Companies, McKinsey & Company Inc.

This book is considered to be one of the most comprehensive guides, for corporate valuation. It goes on to reestablish some proven principles of value creation, which go on to completely deny the myths that supposedly prevail throughout the world. This book consists of important case studies, which analyze the historical performance of a company, as well as the rearranged financial statements, which help in having a closer look at the said company’s economic performance.

Equity Asset Valuation, John Stowe4. Equity Asset Valuation, John Stowe

This book is said to combine the concepts of finance and accounting, in a discussion, which provides consistency of notation as well as, the continuity of topic coverage. A number of topics are discussed in great detail here like, the application and processes of Equity valuation, concepts essential for evaluating an investment, discounted dividend valuation, free cash flow valuation, market based valuation, residual income valuation, private company valuation, enterprise and price value multiples and so on. This comprehensive coverage of topics, makes the book a very important read for all those, looking to increase their knowledge and hone their valuation skills.

Introduction to Non-Banking Financial Companies

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Non-banking finance companies (NBFCs) have scripted a fantastic success story so far in India. Leading NBFCs are bigger than many Public Sector Banks.
gdp-contributions

Types of NBFCs:

Types of NBFCs

Factors contributing to the growth of NBFCs:
• Stress on public sector units (PSUs)
• Dormant credit demand
• Digital disruption, especially for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and small and medium enterprises (SMEs)
• Uptick in consumption
• Superior distribution reach and sectors where traditional banks do not lend
Key Challenge:
• NBFCs on both individual and collective basis need to build an open ecosystem for capacity building.
• To keep up with the growth trajectory in the face of heightened regulations, it is the quality of its staff which will determine the health of the sector.
Imarticus Learning offers a comprehensive range of professional Financial Services and Analytics programs that are designed to cater to an aspiring group of professionals who want a tailored program on making them career ready. Our programs are driven by a constant need to be job relevant and stimulating, taking into consideration the dynamic nature of the Financial Services and Analytics market, and are taught by world class professionals with specific domain expertise.

Why Even Students From Top MBA Schools do Short Term Courses?

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One of the most common questions we get asked by MBA students is, ‘Why should I do this course? I have learnt everything I need to in my MBA.’ This is when I tell them about Amal Kothari. Amal did his MBA at Kellogg Business School, currently ranked number three in America and the best part time MBA school in the world. Yet, he still came to us to learn how to model. But he went to Kellogg you say! Why did he need a short-term course in Financial Modelling?. Because they don’t teach you how to do something at MBA school. They teach you the theory and cases where you apply the theory, but they expect you to solve most of the problems by yourself. So if you’re doing something like Financial Analysis or Corporate Strategy, they expect you to learn how to model out a problem and support your analysis. But they don’t teach you HOW to do it. Why? Because there is no time. An MBA, as it’s name suggests is a general study in administration. While they do let you specialize in something and some schools have focus areas they are known for, like Wharton for Finance and Kellogg for Marketing, the first half of your study is a general introduction to Economics, Accounting, Marketing, Business, Corporate Finance, logistics and Strategy. The second half is specialization, where you hone your understanding and get a deeper understanding of your subject. So why does a short course after help? Here are some reasons-

Curriculum Focused on Concepts not Skills

If you check every elective or course list of an MBA school, you will see Corporate Finance and Portfolio Management. You will not see Financial Modelling or Excel for Financial modeling. Why? Because Financial Modelling is a skill set they either expect you to have, or develop when you do the assignments. No one in MBA school is going to teach you how to use V look up or create spinners in a model. That’s because.

Time

For most part each one lecture is devoted to a concept like Time Value of money or Relative Valuation. In fact, it’s not even as specific as that. I don’t even recall studying valuation the way I teach it at our FMVC course because again, MBA’s are not specific. They are general and focus on conceptual understanding and applying concepts to real life. They focus on analysis, not on skill building, because there is no time.

Hand holding

Short Term courses, while short are intense in that they focus on specific skills. For instance, in MBA school you will spend half an hour on Forecasting. In a short term course, you will spend 5 hours learning how to forecast, then be shown how to do it in an excel document, and then have someone supervise you As you do it. This ensures learning and makes you attractive in the job market.
MBA’s and Short Term courses are not mutually exclusive. In fact, if anything, they work well together. The first ensures you have a broad knowledge of everything related to business administration while the latter ensures you have a thorough understanding of your specialization, be it SAS or Financial Modelling. Both add value to the resume and the combination makes you stand out from the crowd because the short term course makes you Job Ready.

Best Course In Corporate Finance

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Reading Time: 2 minutes

The Finance industry landscape in India branches out into three categories, namely investment banking, corporate finance and commercial banking. To get an entry into any of the aforementioned fields, just having a generic education in a finance related background is not enough. As the number of finance aspirants increases, the various employers of top firms and companies, begin to glean out the best-suited candidates, who would be an asset and add business value to their firm. This is why, today those candidates, which have a specialized certification in any particular course are very sought after. This is one of the reasons why certification courses have become really popular in across industries, for an aspirant to land in the best position imaginable.
Finance CoursesLet’s talk about Corporate Finance Courses in specific, here those candidates, who are looking to add value to their C.V, take up these as opportunities to improve their career standing. A lot of these courses basically deal with real-world business solutions and challenges faced in the corporate sector, which a corporate finance professional has to deal with. These also include a number of elaborated topics such as net present value techniques, financial strategies, methodologies and solutions, which make up for most of the subject matter herein. What differentiates these courses from traditional education, is that they are imparted in real-time, which means that every situation dealt with here, exists in real time and equip a candidate to not only analyze these, but also find a solution for the same.
As the popularity of specialization courses increases, so does the popularity of the institutes providing the same. Imarticus Learning is a professional educational institute that deserves a noteworthy mention. This institute strives to bridge the gap between the industry and academics through their offerings of certification courses in Finance and Analytics. They have been acknowledged numerous times, for their contribution to the field of professional learning, with various awards. Their Diploma in Corporate Finance is one such course, which is considered to be one of the best in the finance community.
The DCF or Diploma in Corporate Finance Program is a 250 hour classroom based one and is delivered by experts. This program includes a judicious mix of academics and pragmatic learning with its hands-on learning and experiential approach. This course provides candidates with a comprehensive knowledge of Accounting, Business Writing, Modelling, Valuation, Equity Research, Credit Search and other aspects of domain knowledge. While these come with just the basic offerings of the course, the candidates also receive training in soft skills including Excel and PowerPoint. What sets this program apart from the rest, is the fact that it is entirely based on the requirements of the finance industry and its evolving nature. Theoretical knowledge is sufficiently supplemented with practical aspects and real-time case studies so that the candidates are able to thoroughly job ready. Being certified, the completion of the course, will not just certify you as a professional, but would also prepare you to clear the Corporate Finance Technical Foundation Certification, thus accelerating your career prospects.

How Does A Business Analyst Differ From A Financial Analyst?

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How Does A Business Analyst Differ From A Financial Analyst?

With regard to Analysts, organizations are divided into two broad categories, either they can be firms or companies, exclusively dealing with the financial markets or, companies that deal with other things such as retail, e-commerce, health and others. In organizations coming under the former category, the roles of both the business and financial analysts, are pretty much the same. While in the firms coming under the latter category, the functions of the two differ widely. Business Analysts are supposed to deal with optimization of the businesses, their requirements, analogies, process that help in building the company and so on. Whereas the financial analysts are supposed to work with balance sheets, management of assets, studying and analysing the capital markets, trends and forecasting the market and providing financial results using the same.
Business Analysts are professionals who generally work with statistical data and perform what is known as business analytics. Business analytics or more commonly known as data analytics is a process involving working with a lot of data. These professionals are supposed to work by gathering these huge amounts of data, either generated from the company, or by extracting it from the cloud, storing is, studying it and drawing out insights so as to perform evaluation exercises. Data Analytics has lately been the most sought after industry, when it comes to great career prospects. These data analytics professionals, fall under the category of business analysts and they are required to have specialization in one or more of the tools of data analytics , like SAS Programming, R Programming, Data Hadoop, Python and so on.
While Financial Analysts are supposed to analyse the financial structure of the various firms. In a way the roles of these professionals are pretty similar to that of the Bas but, they perform specific functions like the financial statement analysis, accounting analysis and so on. Their main focus lies on the analysis of finances, which basically refer to the viability, stability and the ability of a business to generate profits. They can also perform risk analysis, company valuations, capital budgeting and the likes. While Business Analysis has a broader scope, Financial Analysis is known to be a narrower, more specific segment of any business firm and includes on the financial part, unlike BA which includes both, the financial and the non-financial parts.
For any aspirant, strong data analytics skills are an absolute must. Whether a candidate aspires to get into business analysis or financial analysis, they should be extremely efficient when it comes to spotting trends, and anomalies and drawing insights from the most complex sets of data. While a financial analyst largely deals with investments, a business analyst deals with operations and management. Thus, it is necessary to possess great quantitative and mathematics skills for either of the jobs. Both the careers, need people with an education from a business background, in specific financial analysis requires individuals with a strong background in economics, finance and accounting. While business analysis, as a career requires individuals from the information technology background.
Imarticus Learning offers specialization courses in the field of finance and data analytics, which can give a candidate certain leverage over their competitors, when it comes to both the careers.

Effective Ways to Tame Nervousness in Interviews

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by Manish Kumar.

What are some ways to tame your nerves? Below are FIVE important tips that will help you calm your nerves before the big interview.
• Reduce your rate of Speech
o Nerves tend to make us speak faster, so while you’re waiting for your interview, breathe in through your nose very slowly for a count of three. Then breathe out through your nose for a count of three. Repeat this three times. That should take you a total of 18 seconds. In that time you will have significantly lowered your heart rate and when you speak, you won’t rush
• Stand up while you wait for your turn 5 minutes prior
o This is something tried and tested, standing up and taking few measured and composed steps eases your nervousness considerably and you will be more confident and relaxed when your turn comes in
• Find your best sitting position
o Firstly, never trust the back of a chair completely. You can easily end up leaning too far back which can tighten your throat. I recommend leaning slightly forward on your chair. You’ll look and feel more dynamic if you sit in this position
• Be a good listener
o When we are nervous or a bit restless, we lose out on a very important essence, i.e., listening to the complete question. So try to slow down your body’s natural responses and listen – it will also help to make the other person feel special and show you value their question.
• Be You
o If we are being ourselves when meeting other people, we will come across as relaxed, authentic and confident. Try to use words you usually use. So, enjoy the interview and be proud of your achievements – you’re already on the shortlist so they must think pretty highly of you already. Remember to slow down, listen and be yourself. If you do that, you’ll come across as relaxed, authentic and confident.
Whether, you are preparing yourself for an interview to start your career in finance or analytics, or any other field, we hope that this informational blog helps you out.

Careers in Corporate Finance

Posted on by Imarticus Learning
Reading Time: < 1 minute

WHAT IS CORPORATE FINANCE?

Corporate finance is the field of finance which deals with financial decisions that business enterprises make and the tools and analysis used to make these decisions.
Corporate finance is primarily concerned with maximizing shareholder value through long-term and short-term financial planning and the implementation of various strategies.

corporate finance
Employment Landscape:

  • JP Morgan
  • Copal Partners
  • Barclays
  • Goldman Sachs
  • Deutsche Bank
  • Royal Bank of Scotland
  • Crisil
  • BNP Paribas
  • StanChart
  • Aranca
  • UBS-Cognizant
  • De Shaw
  • Axience
  • Tres Vista
  • Amba Research
  • Mape Group
  • o3 Capital
  • Avendus
  • Probe Equity Research
  • Integreon

Imarticus Learning offers various short term and long term diploma programs on Corporate Finance. We are especially proud to announce the launch of our 250-hour Diploma in Corporate Finance. Please contact us to learn more.

Be Tax Wise But Invest To Create Wealth

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Reading Time: 4 minutes

By Harish Thakkar
As the Financial Year comes to an end, most people are busy making investments to save tax. Most people think about taxes only when they, or a professional tax consultant, sit down and assess the income tax for the year. By then, it’s too late to take advantage of certain tax deductions, and those who have not done a financial analyst course particularly seem to face this. Tax planning is a year-round process. Most tax-saving actions must be carried out no later than December 31 of that year, or well before that. While it’s February already and most would have done their bit of investments, one can do a bit of better planning for next December.

This is the time of the year when annual premiums would take a toll on the disposable income for the month. There is a larger deduction in the Salary slip owing to lesser than declared investments for the year and at the same time, the due insurance premiums or new investments force the people to spend less. While this is an annually recurring issue, I wonder how many people take out an FD in April maturing after 8 months in December same year so that they can meet the compulsory investments due then. Easier said than done since the bank balance is at all time low and we eagerly await the next salary, it might be a stretch to take out an additional FD. One knows that the Mediclaim premiums or Insurance premiums, by virtue of being bought in Nov, Dec or Jan, would be due every year same month (unless other modes chosen) it may be a good idea to invest in an FD, an equivalent amount at the start of the Financial year for a period of 7-8 months. The amount can be 50-60% if not 100% of the investment amount due in December (not considering the interest earned which may not a big amount).

Most people make investments with a view to save taxes and not invest with the Financial Milestones in mind. Today professional help is easy to get, easy to enroll in Financial analyst course in India, and widespread awareness programs by interested firms seem to have created a better awareness among the people, yet there is a lack of disciplined investing. One should invest with a view to create wealth and achieve financial freedom.

Given the time of the year, It may be a good idea to look at an indicative list of tax saving investments available today.
 
House Rent Allowance (HRA)
This is a part of the salary structure and can be a good tax saving option. A lot of people relocate to different cities and stay on rent but many a times, people tend to ignore this as they may not have duly stamped and filed rent receipts, which they need to submit to claim HRA. If the receipts are not submitted, the amount cannot be claimed as exemption. The exemption limits of HRA are either minimum of 50% of the total income in a metro or 40% of the income in a non-metro, actual rent allowance received by the employer or actual rent minus 10% of salary.
 
Provident Fund (PF) & Voluntary Provident Fund (VPF)
Provident Fund is a mandatory deduction from your salary. The employee as well as the employer contribute to it. While employer’s contribution is exempt from tax, the employee can consider the contribution as a Section 80C investment. The Employee can also opt to contribute additional amount which will be considered as Voluntary Provident Fund (VPF).
Public Provident Fund (PPF)
This is a government scheme with a view to encourage long term investment by anyone and not limited to salaried employees. It has a lock in period of 15 years, but the maturity amount is tax free. One can contribute the amount every month or once in a financial year. There is also an option to withdraw from 6th year.
Life Insurance Premium
Life Insurance policies are eligible under the Sec 80C and the premium paid towards the same is exempted from tax.
 
Mutual Funds (Equity Linked Saving Schemes ELSS)
Mutual funds not only save taxes, but also generates relatively better returns and create wealth An Equity Linked Savings Scheme (ELSS) has a lock in period and offer a tax deduction up to 1.5 lakh under Section 80C. The dividends declared under the ELSS scheme during the investment period are tax-free. The profits on the sale of ELSS units are treated as long-term capital gains, and are not subject to tax.
Fixed Deposit
A fixed deposit with a period of 5 years is eligible for tax exemption under Section 80C.
Pension Funds – 80CCC
Sec 80CCC stipulates that an investment towards retirement planning by way of investing in Pension Schemes is eligible for deduction.
Leave Travel Allowance (LTA)
LTA is paid to the employee as part of travel within the country, with or without family. It can be claimed twice in a block of four years. In case, you are not able to submit claims for the block, you can carry forward one journey to the next year block. The actual travel cost of exempted under LTA. This can be claimed by producing tickets as proof of travel.
Tax Savings on Home Loan
The principal amount of your home loan is also eligible for tax exemption under Section 80C and the interest component can be separately claimed u/s 24.
Salary Restructuring
There are some components of the salary income, which can save some more tax. For example, Food coupons instead of lunch allowance, can be exemptedfrom taxable salary.
Section 80D and 80CCF. Section 80D allows deductions for medical insurance for self and dependents and for parents over 65 years. Section 80CCF allows deductions up for infrastructure bonds.

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Imarticus Learning, an Education Excellence 2015 award winner offers certification courses in finance including financial modeling, risk management courses, and CFA course in India. It offers both online and classroom finance courses to make it extremely easy and flexible for an aspirant to pursue their dream career.
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So You Are A Chartered Accountant How Does IFAP help you?

Posted on by Imarticus Learning
Reading Time: 2 minutes

It will be difficult for you to believe, but passing the CA Final exams is only the first hurdle, and a relatively small one.  This is because your results in academics solely depend on your hard work and talent whereas in your career, market dynamics, business cycles, opportunities, your area of interest and ‘being at the right place at the right time’ will play a very significant role.
After clearing your exams and completing your articles ship, you will be shrouded by confusion in terms of career options and profiles, which will help you, achieve your professional objectives, and provide the desired job satisfaction and professional growth. The question is how can a short course in Financial Analysis help you?

What can you do being a CA?

Arguably, no other profession gives such versatility to you career as a CA degree. Each subject in your CA Final exam can be a career choice in itself. Further, each subject offers you multiple career choices, e.g. under Audit you have Statutory Audit & Internal Audit, under Taxation you have Direct Taxes, Appeals, International Taxation & Transfer Pricing to name a few. Accountancy and Financial Management offer an array of options in the corporate and service sector. Again, all these avenues are open to you as a sole practitioner or as an employee. The possibilities are endless, and investment banking gives you a platform to realize a plethora of opportunities or even more.

What are the problems?

Usually the problem is one of practicality. Most CA’s are fine with accounting but have no idea on how to building financial statements with respect to industries or how to value companies. So many CA’s actually don’t understand the concept of the Dupont Ratio that is taught in our curriculum. They are unable to connect accounting to the real world of Financial Analysis, Equity Research and Investment Banking.

How does Imarticus Financial Analyst program (IFAP) help?

IFAP is one of the leading Banking and Finance Courses in Mumbai and Bangalore. It is a 3.5 month short term skill based course that brings a CA upto speed with Accounting as it is used in Investment Banking, Equity Research and Financial Analysis. A CA will learn how to value a listed and unlisted company, how to analyse industry, how to create financial models and put together collateral such as pitches and Equity research reports.