Use of Microsoft Excel

1. Create Charts – MS Excel allows users in data visualization through data insertion. Through MS Excel, data analysis can be done & represented in the form of charts.

2. Conditional formatting – Through MS Excel, various conditions can be imposed on the analysis & further data can be highlighted.

3. Trend Analysis – MS Excel is among the widely used tool to identify the trends from the data. Business owners often use excel worksheets in reporting & decision making process.

Microsoft Excel being a free & simple tool has been utilised across industries especially SME sector. Hence , for students & young executives it is highly recommended to learn MS Excel.

Click the below link to download MBA STAR MS Excel shortcuts

[download id=”766″]

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And also these signs

Like other sub domain of Finance, Stock Market is full of numbers. SENSEX, NIFTY, Stock Price, Opening Price, Closing Price & many other benchmarks, all are extremely confusing. But as a Finance student it is desirable to understand how these numbers are derived. To be able to analyze these stock market indices & stock prices, it is recommended to understand the in & out of the market by acting as a trader. In depth knowledge of this ecosystem offers job opportunities such as Equity Analysts, Investment Portfolio Manager, Investment Advisor etc.

In order to trade in stock markets, demat account is mandatory. This account is required to hold the stock (shares, securities) electronically. But, in order to encourage prospective & current individual investors & students to learn the basics of stock market trading in a real environment without the requirement of real money , country’s pioneer stock markets Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) & National Stock Exchange (NSE) offers stimulation platforms. Through these platforms, virtual trading can be done using real time market scenario. Business platforms like Money Control & Private Banks like ICICI also offer similar platforms along with few other players. Below are the platforms widely used for virtual trading. Take a look

1. NSE Paathshala – National Stock Exchange (NSE) has launched its virtual trading cum education platform for the investors called as “NSE Paathshala” that simulates live market prices.

This platform is free & upon a simple registration, each user has been given a virtual cash of 5,00,000 (INR) to trade. Users can place orders in three segments Equity, Derivatives & Currency Derivatives

Learn more about this platform

2. Dalal Street Investment Journal – Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) operates the stock market challenge which is a trading game where users can create and manage their own investment portfolio and compete with other players in a risk-free environment.

This is a powerful tool for building skill, evaluating and tuning strategy, and gaining important investing experience. Stock Market Challenge is free and easy to use.

Learn more about this platform

3 Money Bhai – One of India’s largest virtual trading platform powered by Business News publisher Money Control (A Network 18 Group Company). Upon a simple registration, each user has been given a virtual currency of Rs 1 crore for investing in shares, commodities, mutual funds, or fixed deposits.

Learn more about this platform

4. Virtual Stocks – Virtual Stocks as the name suggests is a stock investing / trading platform using virtual money in a simulated environment. This platform is offered by ICICIdirect Centre for Financial Learning. Virtual Stocks allow users to invest / trade in stocks in almost live environment with no exposure to the risks of live markets. Each user will be allotted a virtual limit of Rs. 15 Lacs to start. Further, any surplus (profits) generated by you will be added to this limit and similarly losses incurred will be deducted

Learn more about this platform

5. Money Pot – Money Pot provides a scalable virtual trading platform for colleges and university students, corporates & investors. Users get Rs 2 Million virtual cash in their account for trading. Money Pot also allows users to socialize with the investor community and discuss investment strategies with other traders

Learn more about this platform

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Accounting as a Career
Accounting as a career offers a great opportunity to the students to work in a highly data driven environment. Acquiring a qualification in commerce or economics is the first step towards a career in accounts. Professional Certifications like, chartered accountancy (CA), management accountancy (ICWA) or company secretary (CS) offered by autonomous bodies, allow students to pursue these courses immediately after completing 10+2 level. These courses provide cutting edge skills to the students with the blend of theoretical & practical knowledge.

In the international level, chartered Financial Analysts (CFA) programme offered by the Association for Investment Management and Research (AIMR), Certified Public Accountants (CPA), Chartered Institute of Management Accountants course (CIMA) and the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) are some of the great options available for the students seeking border-less careers.

An MBA degree in Finance & Accounts offers enhanced & diversified skills to the students like Financial Services, Corporate Finance, Investment Banking, Financial Planning & Research etc.

What role / profile of accountants’ employability can you enjoy in big organizations?
Some of the roles or profiles that accounts professionals enjoy are
• Management accountants
• Auditors
• Tax preparation specialists
• Financial statement auditor
• Internal auditors who act more or less like the sniffers. They enjoy the profile of examining the company’s internal controls and prevent fraud, inaccuracy and mismanagement.
• Forensic accounting
• Environmental accounting
Employers for Accounts

There are many companies those who recruit qualified & skilled accounts professionals for various positions. Some of them are as
• Standard & Poor (S&P)
• Ernst & Young (E&Y)
• Deloitte
• KPMG
• PWC
• Grant Thornton
• McGladrey

The tools that come handy in your accounting career
One of the most important and basic tool that every accountant should know is the MS Excel. Small & mid-level firms maintain accounts using Excel sheets only. Advance knowledge in Excel (micros, advance formula etc) adds value to the student profile. Another vital tool is SAP, employed by Top companies & exporters. SAP certified professionals with Finance specific modules have always been in high demand in the job market.

Future and scope of accounting as a career
It wouldn’t be wrong to say that accounting is not confined to financial statements alone. Its realm is far stretched and offers unlimited options. With the growth in India’s economy, the only road that lies ahead is growth & accounting as a career will be rider on this growth wave.

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A stock market index is a method to measure the movement of a particular section or industry or the entire stock market. An index is created by selecting a group of stocks that are capable of representing whole or section of the market based on certain parameters. Example – BSE Energy Index, BSE OIL & Gas Index, BSE Power Index, NSE 50, Dow Jones (US), FTSE (UK) & many others. Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) & National Stock Exchange (NSE) are the top stock exchange in the country & is widely used by traders & investors.

Before going into the mathematics behind these indices, first let us understand the basic difference between the two

• Sensex – Sensex is a benchmark or index which represents Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE). It stands for “Sensitive Index” and is a group of 30 top trading stocks of the market (at a given time)

• Nifty – This index is used to represent National Stock Exchange (NSE). It is the group of 50 top trading stocks of the market (at a given time) & is the abbreviation of National Stock Exchange & Fifty stocks.

As discussed above, an index comprises of top trading stocks of the market. Now, let us understand the criteria for selecting the top stocks

1. Listing History – The stock should have a listing history within the market for at least last 01 year.

2. Market Capitalization – Company should be among 100 market capitalizations of the market & the company should have 0.5% of total market capitalization of the index. In other words “market capitalization” is the total worth of the issued shares of the company.

3. Trading Frequency – Stock was in continuous trading in last 01 year

4. Industrial representation – Stock should be among the leader in its category / industry (Power / Banking etc.)

Calculation Methodology

Sensex is calculated using the “Free-float Market Capitalization” methodology (Free float Market Capitalization is the total worth of all the shares of the company which are available in the open market for trading).

As per this methodology, the level of index at any point of time reflects the Free-float market value of 30 component / bunch of stocks relative to a base period.

The base period of Sensex is 1978-79 and the base value is 100 index points. The calculation of Sensex involves dividing the Free-float market capitalization of 30 companies in the Index by a number called the Index Divisor.

Formula for SENSEX Calculation

Example – Consider there are only 02 companies trading on BSE, named TATA & BIRLA

• TATA has total 10,000 shares issued while only 5,000 are available for trading on the open market. Market price of each share is Rs 100

• Birla has total 5,000 issued shares while only 3,000 are available for trading on the open market. Market price of each share is Rs 50.

Market Cap Calculation

Free Float Market Cap Calculation

Sum of Free Float Market Cap of both the companies

• 5, 00,000 + 1, 00,000 = 6, 00,000

• Assume, market cap in 1978-79 = 5, 00,000

• Apply above formula: (6, 00,000 X 100 / 5, 00,000) = 120 this is the value of SENSEX

For NIFTY the calculation is similar except

• Base year is 1995 & base value is 1000

• Nifty comprises of 50 stocks

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Now, let us first understand why the separate “Payment Banks” were required?

According to Reserve Bank of India (RBI), “there is a need for transactions and savings accounts for the under-served in the population (migrants, people below poverty line, daily wagers, socially backward class etc.) with lower transaction cost enabling high volume-low value transactions in deposits and payments / remittance services in a secured technology-driven environment & to achieve this goal, “Payment Banks” were required”.

On the first phase, RBI has issued payment bank licenses to 11 companies out of total 41 applications. Licenses were given to companies like Paytm, Airtel, Vodafone, Reliance & others based on the fulfillment of certain pre-requisites & guidelines.

As per the recent estimates of Bank of America Merrill Lynch, the share of Indian mobile banking is poised to raise upto 10% from current 0.1% in the payment market with a value of approx. $3.5 trillion thus impacting core revenue area of traditional banks like commission on RTGS / NEFT / Cheques

As per RBI guidelines, a payment bank can offer

1. ATM / Debit Cards

2. Issue Cheques / Drafts

3. Take Deposits

4. Payment / Remittance Services

5. Financial Products like Mutual Funds / Insurance

The only thing that a payment bank cannot do for now is to lend the money to anyone but only to the Government, hence being Government the only borrower, payment bank can be considered as a safe haven for deposits.

With such a transformation in the banking ecosystem, the traditional banks are bound to change their pedagogy. The new entrants are not just technically equipped but also adding value for a commoner like 24×7 accessibility, faster services, integration with others services and many other benefits. Even banks like State Bank of India (SBI) has joined the payment bank league by partnering with Reliance Industries. SBI Chairperson Arundhati Bhattacharya, were recently seen saying “If you can’t beat them, join them”, clearly indicating the upcoming competition.

Let’s see if the big banking conglomerates amend their processes to fit into this new era of banking or payment banks will get more freedom to enhance their service offerings.

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Ever thought why companies are mandatory using this phrase & what its meaning is?

Before going into the purpose of the use of the phrase, let us understand the meaning of the term “solicitation” & “insurance”.

According to Oxford dictionary, solicitation means “to ask for” while “insurance” is a guarantee by the insurer to the insured person to compensate the loss occurred during the insurance term as per mutual contract / agreement

According to the India’s Insurance Regulator “Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority” (IRDA), “Insurance” is not a ready-made product, service or entity which can be consumed directly by the customers. To avail an insurance policy, customers have to discuss their requirement with an insurance advisor regarding expert suggestions and professional advice who will suggest the right insurance products and services specially tailored or customized to meet an individual’s requirement.

This implies that Customer “is asking for” the right policy. Hence, the term “Solicitation” is being used with the insurance.

Insurance can always be supplied only on demand and not on compulsion.But, in India the situation is opposite. Here instead of demanding, customer has been approached to buy the policy.

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