Modern financial management theories and small businesses
Here are some examples of modern theories of financial management developed on the principles considered "a set of basic principles that form the basis of financial theory and decision -making in funding" (stone Others al.1991). Attempt will be made to link the concepts behind these principles in the financial management of small businesses.
Agency Theory
Agency theory deals with people who own businesses, and all others who have an interest in it, for example, managers, banks and creditors, and family members, and staff. Agency theory assumes that the day-to-day running of the enterprise by agents who participated by business owners as native actors who are also known as shareholders managers. The theory on the concept of "two-sided transaction" principle which holds that any financial transactions involving two parties, both of which are working in their favor, but with different expectations.
problems are usually identified with the agency and could include the theory:
i. Information asymmetry- situation in which agents have information about the conditions and opportunities of the financial institution that does not know the principals (Emery et al.1991). For instance he stressed, "The Round Table" which is in communication with shareholders and investors planning, companies need to consider the shareholders never misleading or false information about the company's operations or financial situation. In spite of this principle, there is a lack of transparency in the management of Enron, which led to its collapse,
II. Moral hazard situation in which agents deliberately take advantage of the information asymmetry for re-distribution of wealth for themselves in a way unseen, which is ultimately the principals account. One example of this is the Council of the Compensation Commission Enron's management failed to ask any questions about the granting of salaries and benefits, and pensions and life insurance and bonuses for the executive members at a critical point in the life of Enron. With a single executive he has ever won a share of the ownership of aircraft companies reward and also a loan of $ 77M Chief Executive Although the Sarbanes-Oxley in the United States prohibit loans by companies to their executives. And
III. Check on these negative regarding the situation in which agents distort the skills or abilities they bring to the institution. As a result of that wealth is the principal speaker (Emery et al.1991).
In response to the potential threat posed by dealers seeking to make the most of their interests to the detriment of the principals (ie all stakeholders), trying all stakeholders to increase the reward expected to return to participate in the project. Creditors may increase the interest rates that you get from the institution. Other replies monitors and bonding to improve access of the headmaster to reliable information and devise ways to find common ground for agents and principals respectively.
Based on the risks faced by the agency theory, and researchers for the financial management for small businesses contend that in many small projects may be the agency between the owners and managers are absent relationship because the owners are also managers; and predominantly small and medium-sized companies make the usual solutions to agency problems such as monitoring and bonding costly and thus increase the cost of transactions between the various stakeholders (Emery et al.1991).
However, the theory provides useful knowledge in many things in the financial management of small and medium enterprises, and shows great ways on how small and medium-sized companies and must be exercised financial management and seen. It also enables the academic and practitioners to follow strategies that can help in maintaining the growth of small and medium-sized companies.
signal theory
signal theory depends on the interpretation of the information at hand for businesses to transfer the capital market, and book on perceptions resulting in conditions that are available for project funding. In other words, the money flows between the institution and the capital market depends on the flow of information among them. (Stone et al., 1991). The decision of the administration, for example to make an acquisition or liquidation. To buy back outstanding shares. As well as decisions by outsiders, such as, for example, the institutional investor's decision to withhold a certain amount of equity or debt financing. Emerging evidence pointing to the importance of financial management theory of small enterprises mixed. Until recently, there was no practical guide concrete and reliable that refers to the theory accurately represents certain situations in the financial management of small and medium enterprises, or it adds insights that are not offered by the modern theory (Emery et al.1991).
Keasey et al. (1992) writes that the ability of small companies to indicate their value to potential investors, only the signal from the detection of earnings expectations and found to be positive and significant related to enterprise value among the following: the stock held by owners ratio, net revenues He raised the issue of justice, choosing a financial advisor to the issue (assuming that most reputable accountant, banker or auditor may cause more faith to put in a prospectus to float), the level of under-pricing issue. Which suggests the theory is now considered to be more insightful to some aspects of the financial management of other small projects (Emery et al. 1991).
pecking-order of the frame or theory (POF)
This is another financial theory, which need to be considered with regard to small and medium enterprises and financial management. A financial theory which suggests that the administration would prefer to finance the first to retained earnings, then with debt, followed by hybrid forms of financing such as convertible loans, and last of all by using the property issued by the overseas rights. With bankruptcy costs, and the costs of the agency, and the asymmetry of information plays little to influence the policy of capital structure of the role. As a research study conducted by Norton (1991b) found that 75% of small businesses that were used appeared to take the financial structure of the decisions in the framework of hierarchical or pecking order .Holmes and others. (1991) admitted that POF is consistent with small sectors because they are owner-managed, which does not want to dilute their ownership. Usually they prefer companies that owner-managed the retained earnings because they want to maintain control over the assets and business operations.
This is not surprising given the fact that in Ghana, according to the empirical evidence, are small and medium enterprises financing of about 86% of private equity, as well as loans from family and friends (see Table 1). The loss of this money is like losing one's own reputation, which are usually considered very serious in Ghana.
access to capital
report Bolton outlined in 1971 on small issues underlying the concept of companies "funding gap" (This has the elements of knowledge is limited debt gap due to lack of awareness of appropriate sources, the advantages and disadvantages of financing; and the gap between supply -unavailability funds or cost of debt for small enterprises exceed the cost of debt for big companies) as follows: there is a range of difficulties faced by a small company. And hit small businesses more difficult than taxes, and the face of rising costs of the investigation to get loans, and generally much lower than the reported funding sources and less able to meet the loan requirements. Small companies have limited access to capital markets, money, and thus suffer from chronic capitalization. As a result of; it is likely to be excessive recourse to expensive funds price that act as a brake on economic development.
Leverage
This is the term used to describe the opposite of indebtedness which is the ratio of total funded assets from stock and can be called a shareholders' assets ratio rights. It focused studies under review in this section for influence in total debt as a percentage of capital or total assets. However, there are some studies on the relative shares of different types of debt held by small and large companies.
equity funds
It is known
also equity and equity capital and or net worth.
Costand et al. (190) that "large companies will use higher than the debt of small businesses funding levels. This means that large companies will rely relatively less on capital shares more than small business financing. According to the framework pecking order, and small businesses has two problems when it comes to equity financing [McMahon et al. (1993, pp153)]:
1) small businesses usually do not have an additional issue of shares to the public option.
2) the owner managers are exposed strongly any dilution of its ownership interest and control. This method which is unlike the big concerns that typically have only a limited degree of control managers and limited, if any, possessiveness, and are therefore prepared to recognize a wide range of financing options.
financial management in small and medium enterprises
with a high wave of financial problems that contribute to the high failure rate of small and medium enterprises, what literature on small business and say about financial management in small companies to combat these failures?
Osteryoung et al. (1997) writes that "while the financial management is a critical component of business management as a whole, in the context of this asset management function and perhaps the most important. In the long term, the asset purchase direct path which will take action during the life of these assets , but did not see action in the long term if it can not be an appropriate policy planning to achieve effective working capital management. " In fact the financial mismanagement of the owners or managers lack of financial management is exactly the main reason behind the problems in the financial management of small and medium enterprises.
Hall and Youth (1991), in a study conducted in the United Kingdom of 3 samples and found 100 small enterprises that were subject to the liquidation is voluntary in 1973.1978, and 1983 that the reasons given for failure, and was 49.8% of the character financial. The perceptions of the official reception interviewed the same small businesses, was 86.6% of the 247 reasons due to the financial nature. It was also documented a direct correlation between financial mismanagement or non-existent (including basic) Accounting and commercial failures in Western countries, according to Peacock (1985a).
which one can deny that in spite of the need to manage every aspect of small projects with internal support and external very little, it is in many cases that the managers have experience or training in some functional areas only.
there is a school of thought that believes in "well-run businesses must be unconscious as of its financial resources as healthy right person is his or her breathing." It must be possible to production, marketing and distribution procedure, and the like, without causing over and over again, or hampered, financial pressures and tensions. This does not mean, however, that financial management can be ignored by the small business owner manager. Or, as often happens, because of the accountant to take care of. Whether it was clear or not to the casual observer, the owner of a thriving small business managers themselves have a solid understanding of financial management principles actively in their application to their situation and participate. "McMahon et al. (1993)
tried
some researchers to predict small enterprises failed to ease the collapse of small businesses McNamara et al. (1988) model to predict the small enterprises failed to give the following four reasons:
- to enable management to respond quickly to changing circumstances
- Training lenders to identify important factors involved in determining the probability of failure of the institution
- Help lending organizations in the field of marketing by identifying the financial needs of its customers more effectively
- to be a candidate in the process of assessing credit
went on to say that small businesses are very different from large companies in the field of borrowing by small businesses, and the lack of long-term debt. Various financial provisions and taxes.
for small private companies, and these measures are not reliable methods and textbooks to judge the investment opportunities are not always useful in organizations owned by the private sector to give a true and fair view of the events taking place in the company.
Thus, administration of modern finance is not the ultimate solution to the problem of all the works, including large and small businesses.However, and we can say that there is some food for thought for small and medium-sized companies on the whole concept is considered in this study. For example, it can be seen (from a review of the literature) that the intended financial records to study and analyze the companies' operations. Return on equity and return on assets and return on investment, and the ratio of debt to equity and metrics are useful for measuring the performance of large companies and small and medium companies as well.