...A Case Study: How CIGNA Streamlined its Foreign Currency Payments Global Finance CIGNA, an international employee benefits provider, makes cross-border payments by wire, check and ACH to more than 225,000 beneficiaries in over 70 countries. The company wished to simplify and automate its foreign currency payments. Key objectives were to accelerate payment processing time, trim cost and to ensure a superior service to their clients. The Problem: Payment Timing is Critical to Service Quality Typically, producing checks and Explanation of Benefits (EOB) statements (i.e., remittance advices), adds a week or more to processing time in addition to the time for crossborder delivery. But payment timing is of the essence. The payment process must be as effective as if the beneficiary were using a local insurance provider while also reflecting the superior service that CIGNA provides. The Solution: Simple and Seamless Citigroup provided CIGNA with a single solution for all of its cross-border payments. CIGNA uses a direct file-delivery connection to send one payments file to Citigroup covering all of its foreign currency payments. WorldLink® Payment Services handles the rest. Printing and distributing checks with EOB details at Citigroup's regional centers accelerates check payment. Citigroup debits CIGNA's U.S. bank account for an aggregated amount covering the total dollar equivalent of all foreign currency payments. Following payment execution, the bank sends CIGNA one file...
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...functional currency: 4 2. Determine whether the functional currency of the subsidiary is also its home currency. 4 a) If the functional currency is the home currency, 4 b) If the functional currency of the subsidiary is not its home currency, 5 III. Reasons for Translation 5 A. Recording direct business transactions 5 B. Reporting operations conducted through a foreign enterprise 6 C. Measuring the enterprise exposure to the effects of currency fluctuation 7 D. Communicating with foreign audiences-of-interest 7 IV. Financial statement effects of alternative translation rates 7 A. Exchange rates used in translation 7 1. Current rate: 7 2. Historical rate: 7 3. Average rate: 8 B. Risks associated with fluctuations of exchange rates 8 1. Currency transaction risk 9 2. Currency translation risk 9 V. Foreign Currency Translation Methods 9 A. Single rate method 10 1. Current rate method 10 B. Multiple rate method 11 1. Current/noncurrent method 11 2. Monetary/nonmonetary method 11 3. Temporal method 12 VI. Foreign Currency Transactions 13 A. Exchange rate mechanisms 13 1. Independent float: 13 2. Pegged to another currency: 13 3. European monetary system: 13 B. Foreign currency markets 13 1. Exchange Rate 13 2. Types of Exchange rates 14 a) Spot rate: 14 b) Forward rate: 15 c) Swap transaction: 15 C. Hedging foreign exchange risk 16 1. Definition 16 2. Techniques for hedging foreign exchange...
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...FOREIGN CURRENCY RISK EVALUATION ACC401 With Firm XYZ’s proposed expansion into three new foreign markets there will be several problems that arise. A risk assessment will need to be completed and presented to the board. The following is a risk assessment, with relevant subsequent mitigation measures in the area of foreign currency. Types of Risk There are primarily three types of risk that the firm XYZ faces with the expansion abroad. These are the accounting exposure, transaction exposure and the operating exposure. Accounting exposure, is defined as the exposure that a company faces due to the reduction of its value; as a result of foreign exchange differences between the currency used in the main branch and the currency used in the other country (Gertler, Kiyotaki and Queralto, 2012). Accounting exposure is also referenced as translation exposure. The item most affected by this risk is the balance sheet. This is because the balance sheet is the statement which shows the net worth of a company. Transaction exposure is the risk that a company involved in international trade might incur. Upon entering into an agreement, a company may have to pay higher costs to meet those financial obligations as a result of changes in the foreign exchange. Unlike economic exposure, transaction exposure is well-defined and short-term. Transaction exposure is simply the amount of foreign currency that is receivable or payable. Operating exposure is the risk that a firm with a foreign...
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...Foreign Currency & The Economy Author: Ashish Ghangrekar Abstract: This paper attempts to discuss about the relation between Foreign Currency & the Economy. The paper develops the correlation between foreign currency & the economy. It further goes on to discuss the various parameters that affect this correlation. Finally, a few hypotheses drawn from the discussion are presented at the end of the paper. Introduction: Foreign Exchange & foreign currency is the elastic link between various independent political states. The Central Bank of a country frames the monetary policy to maintain a desirable Foreign exchange rate & regulate the flow of foreign currency in an economy. Now let us understand the correlation & interplay between foreign currency & the various economic parameters. In a floating regime of exchange rates, the interest rates in the country are adjusted so as to vary its real exchange rates & also as a measure to control inflation. Therefore a developing capitalist country will have its Central Bank adopt the policy of keeping its interest rate as low as possible. This will enable the entrepreneurs & the various economic actors to obtain capital at a cheaper rate. It will also help to maintain a low real exchange rate & hence boost domestic exports. Growing exports will see a positive trade balance or a Current Account Surplus. With a current account surplus the country can make strategic investments in the foreign markets or acquire factories. This will result...
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...Foreign currency exchange rates . 3/28/2014 Instructor name Student name Foreign currency exchange rates Introduction: Foreign currency exchange rates deals with the study of foreign exchange gains and losses facing companies when they are trading there subsidiaries outside their reporting entity jurisdiction. A reporting entity is an entity which is the principle co of different subsidiaries operating under their control. Subsidiaries are the companies reporting under a principle co whose accounts are consolidated at the end of the reporting entity period. Reporting entity period is the period where the reporting entity accounts are prepared and subsidiaries accounts are prepared according to their reporting period and at the end they are consolidated with the reporting entity accounts so that their accounts give a true and fair view. Now the point is that subsidiaries accounts may be prepared in a different jurisdiction where as the reporting entity accounts are prepared in their home jurisdiction. Subsidiaries must report their accounts in their own jurisdiction currency as well as in the reporting entity jurisdiction currency so that there is fair accounting and the accounts are prepared according to standards. Body: IAS 21 “The Effects of Changes in Foreign Exchange Rates” International accounting standard on foreign currency deals with the study of foreign exchange risks faced by a company. An entity must report their accounts in their home jurisdiction currency...
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...International Accounting, 7/e Frederick D.S. Choi Gary K. Meek Chapter 6: Foreign Currency Ch 6 F i C Translation 1 Learning Objectives Why do firms translate from one currency to another? What is the difference between a spot forward and swap spot, forward, transaction? What exchange rates are used in the currency translation process and what are their financial statement effects? How does a translation gain or loss differ from a transactions gain or loss? Is there more than one way of translating financial statements from one currency to another? If so, what are they? y , y How does the temporal method of currency translation differ from the current rate method? What is the relationship between currency translation and inflation? 2 1 01/09/2013 Why do Firms Translate? Facilitates the preparation of consolidated financial statements that allow readers to see the performance of a multinational company s total operations both domestic and company’s foreign. Facilitates the measurement of a firm’s exposure to foreign exchange risk. Facilitates the recording of foreign currency transactions; i.e., f foreign currency sales, purchases, borrowing or lending in the consolidated entity’s reporting currency. Facilitates reporting domestic accounts to foreign audiences-of-interest. 3 Types of Transaction Rates Spot transactions: the physical exchange of one currency for another in which delivery takes place immediately. Direct...
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...Donivan Tan Part A - Cash Flow Hedge of Foreign Currency Receivable 11/1/Y1 Accounts receivable (Pesos) [400,000 x $0.23] $92,000 Sales $92,000 No journal entry for the forward contract. Memo entry. 12/31/Y1 Foreign exchange loss $12,000 Accounts receivable (pesos) [400,000 x ($0.23-$0.20)] $12,000 Forward contract [400,000 x ($0.22-$0.18)] x .9610 $15,376 AOCI $15,376 AOCI $12,000 Gain on forward contract $12,000 Premium Expense [($0.22-$0.23) x 400,000]/3 $1,333.33 AOCI $1,333.33 Impact on Year 1 income: Foreign exchange loss (12,000.00) Gain on forward contract 12,000.00 Premium Expense (1,333.33) Impact on net income (1,333.33) 4/30/Y2 Cash – Foreign currency (pesos) (400,000 x $0.19) $76,000 Foreign exchange currency loss $4,000 Accounts receivable (pesos) [20,000 x ($1.12-$1.05)] $80,000 AOCI [400,000 x ($0.22-$0.19) = $12,000 – $15,376] $3,376 Forward contract $3,376 AOCI $4,000 Gain on forward contract $4,000 Premium Expense [($0.22-$0.23) x 400,000] x 2/3 $2,666.67 AOCI $2,666.67 Cash USD [400,000 x $0.22] $88,000 Forward contract $12,000 Cash - Foreign currency (pesos) $76,000 The impact on net income for Year 2 is: Foreign Exchange Loss $(4,000.00) Gain on Forward Contract $ 4,000.00 Premium Expense (2,666.67) Impact on net income (2,666.67) Notes: ...
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...The Transformation of Language and The Pardoner’s Tale Summary: The Pardoner’s Tale is a moral story of greed and treachery, in which three young hooligans go on a quest to find Death so they can kill him. Instead of finding Death, they find a golden treasure, and their scheming over the hoard leads them to murder each other, so that their original purpose is fulfilled. Although this is a solemn tale teaching that “greed is the root of all evil,” the Pardoner is a con artist of the highest degree, a rap artist who preaches morality strictly for his own profit, merchandising and scamming his way to a fortune at the expense of his poor fans. Baba Brinkman’s solo performance, “The Rap Canterbury Tales,” first appeared at the Edinburgh Festival in 2004. It is a re-creation of Chaucer’s fourteenth century poem, in which a group of pilgrims traveling from London to Canterbury enter into a tale-telling contest. Every element of the performance closely parallels Chaucer’s original text, but in a contemporary setting. Baba Brinkman plays Chaucer, who is both the narrator and a participant in the pilgrimage. In this case, he is a hip-hop fan who goes to a rap concert and manages to stow away on the tour bus after the show. The rappers, to his surprise, decide to stage a storytelling battle to help pass time on the road between gigs, and each of the Tales is an exact retelling of one of the pilgrim stories. As the narrator, Brinkman/Chaucer attempts to recount the exact experience...
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...to include foreign currency transactions and foreign operations in the financial statements of an entity and how to translate financial statements into a presentation currency. [IAS 21.1] The principal issues are which exchange rate(s) to use and how to report the effects of changes in exchange rates in the financial statements. [IAS 21.2] (IASPlus, Deloitte) Key definitions [IAS 21.8] -Functional currency: the currency of the primary economic environment in which the entity operates. (The term 'functional currency' was used in the 2003 revision of IAS 21 in place of 'measurement currency' but with essentially the same meaning.) -Presentation currency: the currency in which financial statements are presented. Exchange difference: the difference resulting from translating a given number of units of one currency into another currency at different exchange rates. -Foreign operation: a subsidiary, associate, joint venture, or branch whose activities are based in a country or currency other than that of the reporting entity. (IASPlus, Deloitte) An entity considers the following factors in determining its functional currency: (a) The currency: (i) that mainly influences sales prices for goods and services (this will often be the currency in which sales prices for its goods and services are denominated and settled); and (ii) of the country whose competitive forces and regulations mainly determine the sales prices of its goods and services. (b) the currency that mainly...
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...denominated in the currency of business operations. But have recently been suggested to consider borrowing in British pounds sterling in order to take advantage of a borrowing opportunity in that currency. Carrefour is exposed to exchange rate risk because of foreign-currency exposure from imported goods. This risk was being hedged through forward contracts. The €13.5 billion of debt on the Carrefour books is 97% hedged in Euro currency, €6.4 billion of that being publicly traded bonds. Carrefour has a large exposure risk to the Euro because of their hedging policy. 2) Why does the Eurobond market exist? A Eurobond is an international bond that is denominated in a currency not of the currency to the country where it is issued. Like many bonds, Eurobonds are usually fixed-rate, interest-bearing notes, although many are also offered with floating rates and other variations. Most pay an annual coupon and have maturities of 3-7 years. Eurobond issues are made to cater to the issuers' and investors' needs, and can vary in terms and form substantially. The Eurobond market exists for large corporations such as Carrefour to make transactions involving cheaper access to capital in a particular currency or funds at a lower interest rate that two or more parties capitalize on by exchange payments on parallel or opposing debt issues to take advantage of arbitrage conditions or complementary financial advantages. 3) What can a firm do to manage the exchange rate risk of foreign currency...
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...Foreign Currency Transactions IAS 21 The Effects of Changes in Foreign Exchange Rates AND IAS 39 Financial Instruments: Recognition and Measurement Five Basic Types of Transactions: 1. Non-hedged foreign currency transactions (p.p.523-527)(example provided) • use two transaction approach – record transaction at spot rate (IAS 21.21) and adjust monetary asset or liability to year end spot rate through profit or loss (IAS 21.23) • foreign currency gains/losses will occur throughout the transaction 2. Speculative foreign currency positions (p.p.527-530)(example provided) • occurs when a company is essentially betting that a foreign currency will either appreciate (take a long position) or depreciate (take a short position) • since the transaction is speculative, it is by definition not hedged and hence any gains and losses will be recorded in income • If a forward exchange contract is used, both the receivable and payable to the bank will be recorded in journal entries, but will be netted against each other for financial statement presentation purposes Hedges • Used when there is both a hedged item (i.e. a receivable, payable, future cash inflow or future cash outflow) and a hedging item (forward exchange contract, offsetting loan payable or receivable) • Firms with good borrowing and investing capacity can replicate a forward exchange contract by borrowing and lending in foreign currencies...
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...760: INTERNATIONAL FINANCE FINAL EXAM HOW THE TRANSACTION (SUPPLY AND DEMAND) OF CURRENCY TAKES PLACE IN THE FOREIGN EXCHANGE MARKET By ABIOLA BAKARE MONROE COLLEGE MBA FINANCE Foreign exchange markets facilitate the trade of one foreign currency for another. Most exchanges are made in bank deposits and involve U.S. dollars. Over a trillion dollars in foreign exchange trades take place every day; foreign exchange dealers handle most transactions. Businesses, financial institutions, governments, investors, and individuals use the foreign exchange markets to adjust their currency holdings. The foreign exchange market (forex, FX, or currency market) is a global decentralized market for the trading of currencies. In terms of volume of trading, it is by far the largest market in the world. The main participants in this market are the larger international banks. Financial centers around the world function as anchors of trading between a wide range of multiple types of buyers and sellers around the clock, with the exception of weekends. The foreign exchange market determines the relative values of different currencies. The foreign exchange market works through financial institutions, and it operates on several levels. Behind the scenes banks turn to a smaller number of financial firms known as “dealers,” who are actively involved in large quantities of foreign exchange trading. Most foreign exchange dealers are banks, so this behind-the-scenes market is sometimes called...
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...Chapter 8 Translation of foreign Currency financial statements Chapter Outline I. In today's global economy, many companies have invested in operations in foreign countries. A. In preparing consolidated financial statements on a worldwide basis, the foreign currency accounts prepared by foreign operations must be restated into the parent company's reporting currency. B. There are two major issues related to the translation of foreign currency financial statements. 1. Which method should be used? 2. How should the resulting translation adjustment be reported on the consolidated financial statements? C. Translation methods differ on the basis of which accounts are translated at the current exchange rate and which are translated at a historical exchange rate. Translating accounts at the current exchange rate creates a translation adjustment. D. Historically, accountants have experimented with a number of different translation methods. The dominant methods currently in use are the temporal method and the current rate method. E. Translation adjustments can be either (1) reported as a gain or loss in income or (2) deferred in the stockholders' equity section of the balance sheet. II. The primary objective of the temporal method is to maintain the underlying valuation method used by the foreign entity to account for its assets and liabilities. A. Assets and liabilities carried at current or future value are translated at the current exchange...
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...17. If the spot rate of the Malaysian ringgit is $.30 and the six month forward rate of the ringgit is $.32, what is the forward premium or discount on an annual basis? A. premium; about 14.5% B. discount; about 14.5% * C. premium; about 13.3% D. discount; about 13.3% E. premium; about 16.7% Solution: use Equation (5-4) [(.32 - .30)/.30] x (360/180) = 13.3% 18. If the spot rate of the Israel shekel is $.32 and the six month forward rate is $.30, what is the forward premium or discount on an annual basis? A. discount; 11.5% B. premium; 11.5% C. premium; 12.5% * D. discount; 12.5% E. premium; 22.5% Solution: use Equation (5-4) [(.30 - .32)/.32] x (360/180) = -12.5% 19. If the Canadian dollar is equal to $.86 and the Brazilian real is equal to $.28, what is the value of the Brazilian real in terms of Canadian dollars? * A. about .3256 reals B. about .3568 reals C. about 1.2 reals D. about 1.5 reals E. about .5600 reals Solution: cross rate .28/.86 = .3256 20. If the Japanese yen was worth $.0035 six months ago and is worth $.0045 today, how much has the yen appreciated or depreciated? * A. appreciated; about 29% B. appreciated; about 25% C. depreciated; about 20% D. depreciated; about 18% E. appreciated; about 15% Solution: use Equation (5-1) (.0045 - .0035)/.0035 = 29% 21. Assume: (1) the US annual interest...
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...Chapter 10 Translation of foreign Currency financial statements Chapter Outline I. In today's global economy, many companies have invested in operations in foreign countries. A. In preparing consolidated financial statements on a worldwide basis, the foreign currency accounts prepared by foreign operations must be restated into the parent company's reporting currency. B. There are two major issues related to the translation of foreign currency financial statements. 1. Which method should be used? 2. How should the resulting translation adjustment be reported on the consolidated financial statements? C. Translation methods differ on the basis of which accounts are translated at the current exchange rate and which are translated at a historical exchange rate. Translating accounts at the current exchange rate creates a translation adjustment. D. Historically, accountants have experimented with a number of different translation methods. The dominant methods currently in use are the temporal method and the current rate method. E. Translation adjustments can be either (1) reported as a gain or loss in income or (2) deferred in the stockholders' equity section of the balance sheet. II. The primary objective of the temporal method is to maintain the underlying valuation method used by the foreign entity to account for its assets and liabilities. A. Assets and liabilities carried at current or future value are translated at the current...
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