Financial Planning and Resources

Financial Planning is the process of estimating the capital required and determining it’s competition. It is the process of framing financial policies in relation to procurement, investment and administration of funds of an enterprise.

Objectives of Financial Planning
Financial Planning has got many objectives to look forward to:

1. Determining capital requirements- This will depend upon factors like cost of current and fixed assets, promotional expenses and long- range planning. Capital requirements have to be looked with both aspects: short- term and long- term requirements.
2. Determining capital structure- The capital structure is the composition of capital, i.e., the relative kind and proportion of capital required in the business. This includes decisions of debt- equity ratio- both short-term and long- term.
3. Framing financial policies with regards to cash control, lending, borrowings, etc.
4. A finance manager ensures that the scarce financial resources are maximally utilized in the best possible manner at least cost in order to get maximum returns on investment.
   

Importance of Financial Planning
Financial Planning is process of framing objectives, policies, procedures, programmes and budgets regarding the financial activities of a concern. This ensures effective and adequate financial and investment policies. The importance can be outlined as-

1. Adequate funds have to be ensured.
2. Financial Planning helps in ensuring a reasonable balance between outflow and inflow of funds so that stability is maintained.
3. Financial Planning ensures that the suppliers of funds are easily investing in companies which exercise financial planning.
4. Financial Planning helps in making growth and expansion programmes which helps in long-run survival of the company.
5. Financial Planning reduces uncertainties with regards to changing market trends which can be faced easily through enough funds.
6. Financial Planning helps in reducing the uncertainties which can be a hindrance to growth of the company. This helps in ensuring stability an d profitability in concern.

Characteristics of a Financial planning

The success of a business very much depends upon a financial plan (capital plan) based upon certain basic principles of corporation finance.

The essential characteristics of an ideal capital plan ae as follows:-

1. Simplicity:  The capital plan of a company should be as simple as possible. By 'simplicity' we mean that the plan should be easily understandable to all and it should be free from complications, and/or suspicion-arising statements. At the time of formulating capital structure of a company or issuing various securities to the public, it should be borne in mind that there would be no confusion in the mind of investors about their nature and profitability. 
2. Foresight: The planner should always keep in mind not only the needs of 'today' but also the needs of 'tomorrow' so that a sound capital structure (financial plan) may be formed. Capital requirements of a company can be estimated by the scope of operations and it must be planned in such a way that needs for capital may be predicted as accurately as possible. Although, it is difficult to predict the demand of the product yet it cannot b an excuse for the promoters to use foresight to the best advantage in building the capital structure of the company. 
3. Flexibility: The capital structure of a company must be flexible enough to meet the capital requirements of the company. The financial plan should be chalked out in such a way that both increase and decrease in capital may be feasible. The company may require additional capital for financing scheme of modernisation, automation, betterment of employees etc. It is not difficult to increase the capital. It may be done by issuing fresh shares or debentures to the public or raising loans from special financial institutions, but reduction of capital is really a ticklish problem and needs statesman like dexterity. 
4. Intensive use: Effective use of capital is as much necessary as its procurement. Every resource should be used properly for the prosperity of the enterprise. Wasteful use of capital is as bad as inadequate capital. There must be 'fair capitalisation' i.e., company must procure as much capital as requires nothing more and nothing less. Over-capitalisation and under capitalisation are both danger signals. Hence, there should neither be surplus nor deficit capital but procurement of adequate capital should be aimed at and every effort be made to make best use of it. 
5. Liquidity: Liquidity means that a reasonable amount of current assets must be kept in the form of liquid cash so that business operations may be carried on smoothly without any shock to term due to shortage of funds. This cash ratio to current ratio to current assets depends upon a number of factors, e.g., the nature and size of the business, credit standing, goodwill and money market conditions etc. 
6. Economy: The cost of capital procurement should always be kept in mind while formulating the financial plan. It should be the minimum possible. Dividend or interests to be paid to share holder (ordinary and preference) should not be a burden