What is Long Term Financing? It is a form of financing that is provided for a period of more than a year to those business entities that face a shortage of capital. Before delving into the advantages of long term financing I would like to present you few fascinating facts on the economy that will blow your mind. Dell “has spent more money on share repurchases than it earned throughout its life as a public company,” writes Floyd Norris of The New York Times.According to Forbes, if a Google employee passes away, “their surviving spouse or domestic partner will receive a check for 50% of their salary every year for the next decade.”Start with a dollar. Double it every day. In 48 days you’ll own every financial asset that exists on the planet — about $200 trillion. Wow…According to Bloomberg, “Americans have missed out on almost $200 billion of stock gains as they drained money from the market in the past four years, haunted by the financial crisis.The “stock market” began in May 17th, 1792 when 24 stock brokers and merchants signed the Buttonwood Agreement.The Securities Exchange Act of 1934 creates the Securities and Exchange Commission, charged with the responsibility of preventing fraud and to require companies provide full disclosure to investors.Wall Street was laid out behind a 12-foot-high wood stockade across lower Manhattan in 1685. The stockade was built to protect the Dutch settlers from British and Native American attacks. Sources of Long Term Finance Long-term loans (External)Issue of shares or equitySale and leaseback (Internal)Retained profit Examples of long-term financing include – a 30 year mortgage or a 10-year Treasury note. Financial Markets and Securities Purpose of Long Term Finance To finance fixed assets.To finance the permanent part of working capital.Expansion of companies.Increasing facilities.Construction projects on a big scale.Provide capital for funding the operations. Factors determining Long-term Financial Requirements Nature of BusinessNature of Goods producedTechnology used Long term finance for businesses A Clear Perspective on Break Even Analysis Let us look at some of the Advantages of going for a Debt Financing Option Debt is the cheapest source of long-term financing. It is the least costly because interest on debt is tax-deductible, bondholders or creditors consider debt as a relatively less risky investment and require lower return.Debt financing provides sufficient flexibility in the financial/capital structure of the company. In case of over capitalization, the company can redeem the debt to balance its capitalization.Bondholders are creditors and have no interference in business operations because they are not entitled to vote.The company can enjoy tax saving on interest on debt. Disadvantages of Long Term Debt Financing Interest on debt is permanent burden to the company:  Company has to pay the interest to bondholders or creditors at fixed rate whether it earns profit or not. It is legally liable to pay interest on debt.Debt usually has a fixed maturity date. Therefore, the financial officer must make provision for repayment of debt.Debt is the most risky source of long-term financing. Company must pay interest and principal at specified time. Non-payment of interest and principal on time take the company into bankruptcy.Debenture indentures may contain restrictive covenants which may limit the company’s operating flexibility in future.Only large scale, creditworthy firm, whose assets are good for collateral can raise capital from long-term debt. Financing through Debt Vs Equity There are a number of ways to finance a business using debt or equity. Though the first choice of  many small-business owners would be equity, they may also prefer to utilize some type of debt to fund the business rather than take on additional investors. When done the right way, long-term debt financing provides a number of advantages to the business and its owner. Term Loans from Banks Most banks provide term loans,...

SOLVENCY OR LEVERAGE RATIOS Long-term solvency ratios analyze the long-term financial position of the organization. Bankers and creditors are interested in the liquidity of the firm, whereas shareholders, debenture holders and financial institutions are concerned with the long term prosperity of the firm. There are thus two aspects of the long-term solvency of a firm. Ability to repay the principal amount when due Regular payment of the interest.  The ratio is based on the relationship between borrowed funds and owner’s capital it is computed from the balance sheet, the second type is calculated from the profit and loss a/c.  The various solvency ratios are  Debt equity ratio Debt to total capital ratio Proprietary (Equity) ratio Fixed assets to net worth ratio Fixed assets to long term funds ratio Debt service (Interest coverage) ratio  1.  DEBT EQUITY RATIO OR EXTERNAL – INTERNAL EQUITY RATIO Debt equity ratio shows the relative claims of creditors (Outsiders) and owners (Interest) against the assets of the firm. The relationship between borrowed fund and capital is shown in debt-equity ratio. It can be calculated by dividing outsider funds (Debt) by shareholder funds (Equity)   Ebt equity ratio = Outsider Funds (Total Debts) /  Shareholder Funds or Equity (or) Long-term Debts / Shareholders funds  Shareholders fund = Preference capital + Equity capital + Reserves & Surplus – Goodwill & Preliminary expenses  Outsiders funds = Current liabilities + Debentures + Loans The ideal ratio is 2:1. High ratio means, the claim of creditors is greater than owners and vice-versa  2.  DEBT TO TOTAL CAPITAL RATIO Debt to total capital ratio =  Total Debts / Total Assets  3.  PROPRIETARY (EQUITY) RATIO This ratio indicates the proportion of total assets financed by owners.  It is calculated by dividing proprietor (Shareholder) funds by total assets. Proprietary (equity) ratio = Shareholder funds / Total Tangible assets The ideal ratio is 1:3. A ratio below 50% may be alarming for creditors, because they incur loss during winding up. 4.  FIXED ASSETS TO NET WORTH RATIO This ratio establishes the relationship between fixed assets and shareholder funds.  It is calculated by dividing fixed assets by shareholder funds. Fixed assets to net worth ratio =  Fixed Assets X 100 / Net Worth The shareholder funds include equity share capital, preference share capital, reserves and surplus including accumulated profits.  However fictitious assets like accumulated deferred expenses etc should be deducted from the total of these items to shareholder funds.  The shareholder funds so calculated are known as net worth of the business. 5.  FIXED ASSETS TO LONG TERM FUNDS RATIO Fixed assets to long term funds ratio establishes the relationship between fixed assets and long-term funds and is calculated by dividing fixed assets by long term funds. Fixed assets to long term funds ratio = Fixed Assets X 100 / Long-term Funds 6.  DEBT SERVICE (INTEREST COVERAGE) RATIO This shows the number of times the earnings of the firms are able to cover the fixed interest liability of the firm.  This ratio therefore is also known as Interest coverage or time interest earned ratio.  It is calculated by dividing the earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) by interest charges on loans. Debt Service Ratio = Earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) / Interest...