Essays
Transaction exposure
Transaction exposure refers to gains or losses that can arise from settlement of transactions whose terms are stated in foreign currencies. The value of a firm’s future contractual transactions in foreign currencies is affected by exchange rate movements. The sensitivity of the firm’s contractual transactions in foreign currencies to exchange rate movements is referred to as transaction exposure. Transaction exposure can have a substantial impact on a firm’s value. It is not unusual for a currency to change by as much as 10 percent in a given year. If an exporter denominates its exports in a foreign currency, a 10 percent decline in that currency will reduce the dollar value of its receivables by 10 percent. This effect could possibly eliminate any profits from exporting.
To assess transaction exposure, an MNC needs to
(1) estimate its net cash flows in each currency and
(2) measure the potential impact of the currency exposure.
Estimating Net Cash Flows MNCs tend to focus on transaction exposure over an upcoming short-term period (such as the next month or the next quarter) for which they can anticipate foreign currency cash flows with reasonable accuracy. Since MNCs commonly have foreign subsidiaries spread around the world, they need an information system that can track their currency positions. To measure its transaction exposure, an MNC needs to project the consolidated net amount in currency inflows or outflows for all its subsidiaries, categorized by currency. One foreign subsidiary may have inflows of a foreign currency while another has outflows of that same currency. In that case, the MNC’s net cash flows of that currency overall may be negligible. If most of the MNC’s subsidiaries have future inflows in another currency, however, the net cash flows in that currency could be substantial. Estimating the consolidated net cash flows per currency is a useful first step when assessing an MNC’s exposure because it helps to
Transaction exposure refers to gains or losses that can arise from settlement of transactions whose terms are stated in foreign currencies. The value of a firm’s future contractual transactions in foreign currencies is affected by exchange rate movements. The sensitivity of the firm’s contractual transactions in foreign currencies to exchange rate movements is referred to as transaction exposure. Transaction exposure can have a substantial impact on a firm’s value. It is not unusual for a currency to change by as much as 10 percent in a given year. If an exporter denominates its exports in a foreign currency, a 10 percent decline in that currency will reduce the dollar value of its receivables by 10 percent. This effect could possibly eliminate any profits from exporting.
To assess transaction exposure, an MNC needs to
(1) estimate its net cash flows in each currency and
(2) measure the potential impact of the currency exposure.
Estimating Net Cash Flows MNCs tend to focus on transaction exposure over an upcoming short-term period (such as the next month or the next quarter) for which they can anticipate foreign currency cash flows with reasonable accuracy. Since MNCs commonly have foreign subsidiaries spread around the world, they need an information system that can track their currency positions. To measure its transaction exposure, an MNC needs to project the consolidated net amount in currency inflows or outflows for all its subsidiaries, categorized by currency. One foreign subsidiary may have inflows of a foreign currency while another has outflows of that same currency. In that case, the MNC’s net cash flows of that currency overall may be negligible. If most of the MNC’s subsidiaries have future inflows in another currency, however, the net cash flows in that currency could be substantial. Estimating the consolidated net cash flows per currency is a useful first step when assessing an MNC’s exposure because it helps to