Economic Capital

Finding the perfect capital structure in terms of risk and reward can ensure a company meets shareholder expectations and protects a firm in times of recession. Capital structure refers to how a business puts its money to “work”. The two forms of capital structure are equity capital and debt capital. Both have their benefits and limitations. Striking that perfect balance between the two can mean the difference between thriving versus trying to survive.

Ross, S. A., Westerfield, R. W., & Jordan, B. D. (Eds.). (2011). Essentials of corporate finance (7th ed., Rev.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Irwin.

Equity Capital: represents the risk capital staked by investors through the purchase of a company’s stock.

However, two known authors in this field of study believe that companies with low business risk obtains factors of production at a lower cost which may also pave to the ability of the firm to operate more efficiently (Amit & Wernerfet, 1990). Therefore, many stockholders faced a high of uncertainty; this is because some companies do not have the financial strengths to cover its debts that even may result to bankruptcy.

Managing debt levels to maintain an investment grade credit rating as well as operate with an efficient capital structure for its growth plans and industry

Baye, M.R., Prince, J.T. (2014). Managerial Economics and Business Strategy. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Irwin

Rajat Singh, a managing director at Hudson Bancorp, needs to find a way to rejuvenate the paper check corporation. One main part that needs to be calculated is the appropriate mixture of debt and equity for the firm. The company needs to determine the correct mixture so that they can both minimize the cost of capital and increase the shareholders value. I will analyze the current and future situation of the company, trying to find the correct credit rating to use that will increase income. With the new credit rating, I will be able to recommend a certain amount of debt for the company to take on and be profitable.

The current research programs in the Centre for Health Economic at Monash University took my interest as the university is providing a wide range of research areas in the field of Health Economics. Furthermore, the researches are mainly centred on economic evaluation, health outcomes and performance in the health care system which help me to get a comprehensive knowledge and understanding of micro econometrics and other statistical methods, while focusing on Health Economics. In addition to my postgraduate experience, during my volunteer work at King Edward Memorial Hospital and Multiple Sclerosis Society of Western Australia, I have acquired experience in designing questionnaires in relation to ongoing health programs and analysed the surveys’ data focusing on pre-and post-health outcomes. All these academic and extracurricular activities enhance my interest in Health Economics and therefore I am willing to go for further studies to have a sound knowledge of in this specific field.

A combination of business risk and financial risk shows the risk of an organization’s future return on equity. Business risk is related to make a firm’s operation without any debt whereas financial risk requires that the firm’s common stockholders make a decision to finance it with debt. Business risk can be evaluated volatility in earnings and profits (coefficient of variation of returns on assets and of operating profits). A measure of business risk is also asset beta or unlevered beta. In case of AHP, it is 1.2 (βa) which is very low signifying low business risk for the firm.

Our analysis attempts to answer the question, “What are the things a company must consider when analyzing a new investment or project?” According to the text, a firm’s first objective when deciding to take on new debt should be that its return on net assets (RONA) should be greater than its weighted average cost of capital (WACC). Since we are working with an income statement only and do not have an amount for net assets, we will instead use return on invested capital (ROIC), which measures how well a company is using its money to generate returns. Comparing a company 's return on capital (ROIC) with its cost of capital (WACC) reveals whether invested capital was used effectively. From our spreadsheet calculations we see that using our estimated operating profit provides us with a 19.9% return on invested capital with only a 7.2% weighted average cost for that same capital. If these numbers are even close to correct, George should definitely make the move.

Generally, firms can choose among various capital structures in order to maximize overall market value of the company. It is proposed however, that

Gapenski, L. (2006). Healthcare Finance (4th Ed.). Retrieved from The University of Phoenix eBook Collection database.

The course project involved developing a great depth of knowledge in analyzing capital structure, theories behind it, and its risks and issues. Before I began this assignment, I knew nothing but a few things about capital structure from previous unit weeks; however, it was not until this course’s final project that came along with opening

This case study focuses on where financial theory ends and practical application of the weighted average cost of capital (WACC) begins. It presents evidence on how some of the most financially complex companies and financial advisors estimated capital costs and focuses on the gaps found between theory and application. The approach taken in the paper differed from their predecessors in several various respects. Prior published information was solely based on written, closed-end surveys sent to a large number of firms, without a focused topic. The study set out to see if financial theory, specifically cost-of-capital, is truly ubiquitous in true business applications.

Already in 1958, Modigliani and Miller have pointed the discussion of capital structure towards the cost of debt and equity. According to their first proposition, in a world of no corporate taxes and with perfect markets, financial leverage has no effect on a firm’s value. In their second proposition, they state that the cost of equity equals a linear function defined by the required return on assets and the cost of debt (Modigliani and Miller, 1958).