You are working in a company which has been dealing in foreign exchange your company has been the effects of recent exchange fluctuations and its impact on business your managing director has asked f?
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You Are Working In A Company Which Has Been Dealing In Foreign Exchange. Your Company Has Seen The Effects Of Recent Exchange Fluctuations And Its Impact On Business. Your Managing Director Has Asked For Your Advice In The Matter And Requested For A Brief Report On The Subject. Write Such Report
Answer:
TO: THE MANAGING DIRECTOR,
FROM: FOREIGN EXCHANGE OFFICER,
DATE: 28 AUGUST, 2010
SUBJECT: BRIEF REPORT ON THE EFFECT OF RECENT EXCHANGE
RATE FLUCTUATION AND ITS IMPACT
Recent Fluctuation in Foreign Exchange Rates has greatly affected our foreign exchange business. I have gone through all the risks involved with sales and purchases made in a foreign currency and accordingly compiling this report to reduce the risks of our businesses and remain competitive internationally.
Current Foreign Exchange Market
Current Foreign Exchange Market is vast in size and scope and exists to fulfill a number of purposes ranging from the finance of cross-border investment, loans, trade in goods and services and of course, currency speculation. Trading is made for "spot" or "forward" delivery. (A spot contract is a binding obligation to buy or sell a certain amount of foreign currency at the current market rate. A forward contract is a binding obligation to buy or sell a certain amount of foreign currency at a pre-agreed rate of exchange, on or before a certain date.
Spot Dealing
Spot dealing has the advantage of being the simplest way to meet all our foreign currency requirements, but it also carries with it the greatest risk of exchange rate fluctuations, as there is no certainty of the rate until the transaction is carried out. The spot rate we receive will be set by current market conditions, the supply and demand for the currencies being traded and the amount we are dealing. Generally speaking, the larger the amount being dealt, the better the spot rate we will receive.
The Forward Market
The Forward Market requires a more complicated calculation - a forward rate is based on the prevailing spot rate plus (or minus) a premium (or discount) which are determined by the interest rate differential between the two currencies involved. The important thing to remember is that a forward rate is not a guess as to what the spot rate is going to be in the future; it is purely a mathematically driven calculation. A forward rate will protect us against unfavorable movements, but will not allow gains to be made should the exchange rate move in our favor in the period between entering the contract and final settlement of the currency.
Importers, Exporters and Exchange Rates
On the Importer or Exporter side, we find our self exposed to easily identifiable form of foreign exchange risk known as 'Transactional' exposure. This arises from our need to either buy or sell currency relating to a trade transaction in return for sterling. Movements in exchange rates can work in our favor and enhance profitability but, equally, they can have the opposite effect and seriously erode profit margins or lead to making a loss.
Emerging Markets
Certain markets, particularly in Latin America, Eastern Europe and Asia, still have developing economies which often mean that they will have restrictions in the form of legal and regulatory frameworks designed to protect their currencies and economies from speculators. This makes trading in these currencies much more difficult than with the major world currencies and we may need to consider dealing in those countries in a 'hard currency' such as the U.S. dollar instead.
Managing our Foreign Exchange Risk
The options available to us fall into three categories:
I) Do Nothing:
We might choose not to actively manage our risk, which means dealing in the spot market whenever the cash flow requirement arises. This is a very high-risk and speculative strategy, as we will never know the rate at which we will deal until the day and time the transaction takes place. Foreign exchange rates are notoriously volatile and movements make the difference between making a profit or a loss. It is impossible to properly budget and plan our business if we are relying on buying or selling our currency in the spot market.
II) Take out a Forward Foreign Exchange Contract:
As soon as we know that a foreign exchange risk will occur, we could decide to book a forward foreign exchange contract with our bank. This will enable us to fix the exchange rate immediately to give us the certainty of knowing exactly how much that foreign currency will cost or how much we will receive at the time of settlement whenever this is due to occur. As a result, we can budget with complete confidence. However, we will not be able to benefit if the exchange rate then moves in our favor as we will have entered into a binding contract which you are obliged to fulfill. We will also need to agree a credit facility with our bank for us to enter into this kind of transaction.
III) Use Currency Options:
A currency option will protect us against adverse exchange rate movements in the same way as a forward contract does, but it will also allow the potential for gains should the market move in our favor. For this reason, a currency option is often described as a forward contract that we can rip up and walk away from if we don't need it. Many banks offer currency options which will give you protection and flexibility, but this type of product will always involve a premium of some sort. The premium involved might be a cash amount or it could be factored into the pricing of the transaction.
Recommendations
We may consider opening a Foreign Currency Account if we regularly trade in a particular currency and have both revenues and expenses in that currency as this will negate to need to exchange the currency in the first place.
The method we decide to managed our Foreign Exchange Risk will depend on what is right for us but we will probably decide to use a combination of all three methods of managing foreign exchange risks to give us maximum protection and flexibility.
XYZ
Foreign Exchange Officer
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Answer byBill CPAVery knowledgeable in accounting and have been a CPA since 1985. Yes it is. There's a provision for bad debt expense in the incomestatement and that same amount gets either added to the reserve fordoubtful accounts on the balance sheet or reduces the accountsreceivable account, on the balance sheet. That depends on whetherits a reserve for future write-offs or a write off of a certaincustomer balance.