ICT in Financial Inclusion, Taxation, Excise and Finance – Abhishek Sinha

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Please also visit FIPS(“Financial Inclusion & Payment System”) fips.eletsonline.com

Elets – A platform for disseminating creative ideas on ICT

Elets Technomedia is a technology media and research company that focuses on ICT in government, education, healthcare, agriculture and rural development sectors. Our mandate is to provide effective information on latest development in different ICT tools, techniques and their applications across our verticals through premier print publications, online portals and premier events, seminars, conferences and summits. Elets has created a name for itself as a technology media and research vendor of choice.

Strategies

To strengthen and facilitate knowledge sharing platforms engaging with partners across the globe through International conferences to provide cross-cultural grounding to stakeholders and participants To provide stakeholders with a platform to share models of best practice, knowledge and experience on a range of issues in the domain of ICT in Governance, Education, Health, security, Urban and Rural Development To mobilise the communities towards creating a digitally informed knowledge society based on shared understanding

Elets Focus Areas

Elets provides an unmatched versatility for working with multiple partners and consultants to mutually share knowledge. With a vision to provide effective information on latest development in different ICT tools, techniques and their applications across various verticals with focused reference to governance, education and health, we

a) bring niche monthly publications;

b) provide knowledge exchange fora and

c) conduct research projects, primarily through Events & Conferences.

Is The Eurozone Falling Apart

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The Eurozone is also called the Euro area because of what it stands for. This union is made of 17 countries, members of the European Union which agreed to adopt the same currency and the same legal tender. This turns the Eurozone into a monetary and economic union. When the Eurozone was established back in 1999 it represented one of the first things that pointed out towards the tendency of globalization. Is this tendency no longer wanted? Do European leaders no longer want to be united under the same currency? Or is the Euro the cause of the current financial problems and maintaining this union can no longer be profitable or safe?

All these questions started to worry leaders from the Eurozone and not only. Even though the 17 countries that are part of this union are the ones directly involved and affected by a possible falling apart, the other European countries or states from other continents are very likely to suffer from the consequences of such a breakup too.

Most financial specialists say that the main cause of a possible Eurozone crash is the huge debts many of the 17 countries cannot pay back. The fact that Greece was threatened by a default and that only another loan was able to postpone what some consider the inevitable makes things even worse. Analysts say that this financial crisis resembles the incurable diseases called cancer. If it is ignored it doesnt go away. Instead it spreads until the patient dies. If the patient is the Eurozone, only an intense treatment can save the Euro and the economies of the states that adhered to it.

There are some investors who speculate that the end of the Eurozone is close and try to find ways of making money out of this crush. Some of the financial analysts say that it is because of these people who speculate for their own interest that the Euro is threatened and that the Eurozone can fall apart. In spite of that, there are obvious signs that things are not as they should be and that the common currency might cause more problems than help.

Investors get scared of all the negative news they hear and try to do their best to preserve their wealth. Many of them fear that keeping money in banks is not a good solution and choose to invest in assets that have high intrinsic value. Many of them choose to invest in gold or other precious metals that are the only hard assets that seemed to increase their value these days. They are making the right decisions since buying gold has, is and will always be a profitable investment.

A Guide On Managing Hotels Kpi

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KPI management is as important as implementation process of Balanced Scorecard. Sure thing, the choice of the right key performance indicators and development of the right strategy is vital for BSC success. At the same time maintenance of Balanced Scorecard and management of key performance indicators is a critical success factor for efficient use of Balanced Scorecard. By the way, improper management of key performance indicators is one of the most common mistakes in implementation and maintenance of Balanced Scorecard. Just having a set of key performance indicators is not enough. It is necessary to adequately measure them, exchange obtained information between different managerial levels, as well as use evaluation results in decision making and strategy revision. This also concerns hotel Balanced Scorecard. Hotel industry is known as being extremely competitive. Indeed, there is no lack of options when looking for the hotel to spend the night there or the entire vacations. Hotels are eager to use
Balanced Scorecard since this system can certainly help transform strategic plans into real actions. This is only possible if all rules and norms of Balanced Scorecard maintenance and KPIs management are observed.

As known, Balanced Scorecard consists of four categories: financial, customer, internal business processes, learning and growth. What makes Balanced Scorecard unique? Unlike similar performance evaluation systems of Balanced Scorecard evaluates nonfinancial indicators as well. In terms of a hotel industry these indicators refer to customer satisfaction, improvement of hotel personnel professional level, optimization of internal processes, for example laundry, dining services, housekeeping and cleaning, reception services etc.

No less imagine such a situation hotel top managers have developed a strategy and selected a set of key performance indicators that fall into the above mentioned four categories. Now is the time to start using Balanced Scorecard and evaluate the selected KPIs. It needs mentioning that key performance indicators should be measurable and understood. As time passes by the first results are obtained. This is perhaps the most important stage since top managers have to find out whether are not they have made the right choice and assigned the right weights for indicators. For instance, such a key performance indicator as room occupancy may not matter much as visitors tend to stay for more than three days in a hotel and maintenance of vacant rooms requires little expenses. This is just a hypothetical example.

Having obtained the first results, top management needs to analyze them. KPI evaluation results show progress or regress of a hotel on its way to implement strategic goals. Thus, hotel managers and owners locate problematic areas and make decisions as to necessary improvements. For instance, if your kitchen performance prevents hotel from optimize an overall performance, relevant decisions need to be made (e.g. hiring new chef, changing food supplier etc.). Balanced Scorecard will work only in case the information it provides is actually used to initiate changes. Balanced Scorecard will not change the situation by itself but rather offer important and valuable information for top managers and business owners.

How To Prepare For The Investment Banking Interview

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It seems that the investment banking industry has narrowly escaped Armaggedon and the survivors are waiving the bonus flags again. Intern classes are getting bigger and Business Week reported that Goldman Sachs has reclaimed the top spot as the most popular employer among elite MBA students again. If you are a career switcher and one among many MBA applicants dreaming of joining Goldman Sachs or another bulge bracket investment bank for the summer internship, this article is for you. Below we provide an overview of an investment banking interview and explain why its important to prepare in advance. This is especially true if you are a career switcher.

There are several types of questions which you are likely to be asked in your interview. They include career questions, educational questions, competency questions, fit questions, technical questions and industry questions.

While its difficult to predict which questions exactly you will be asked, there are four questions which will appear in any investment banking interview:
– The WMTYR (Walk me through your resume)
– The 3 Why’s (Why investment banking? Why our bank? Why (should we hire) you?

The answer to the first and the second questions may be quite similar to those you provided in your MBA admission interviews. Answer to the third question is a little bit more complicated and will require specific preparation.

The usual reason for interest in any specific investment bank include: (a) a strong platform, which means strong coverage teams, diverse offering of advisory and financial products, many interesting deals and opportunities to learn (b) a strong presence in specific markets or industries (c) and the most important, tons of wonderful and smart people with whom you talked with during your recruiting process and whom you really made a connection with. Networking is a critical component for your interview preparation but we will discuss this area in one of our
future postings.

Why (should we hire) you? To answer this question you need to reiterate your main strengths, interest in a specific bank and a great fit you feel for the bank you are interviewing with.
You should prepare for this question especially well as a banks approach to this question will usually be that a person who cannot sell himself cannot sell the banks products and banking is definitely a sales job.

Good to know Other challenging fit questions examining your understanding of the
investment banking can be:
– What does an investment banker actually do?
– What is the role of an associate in the investment banking?
The answer to the first question will usually go in the following way:
An investment bank serves as intermediaries between their clients
who need capital in the form of debt and equity
It provides strategic advisory services by structuring transactions
that meet clients needs and objectives
Overall, Investment bank works with companies on the transactions
that will enhance their value. This may include accessing capital
markets to find growth or expand operations, as well as investing in another
company through merger or acquisition. Banks are not only the
matchmaker between parties involved in a transaction, but also the primary
architects of the deal.

A typical answer to the question about the role of an associate will
go like this :
Analyzing industry and company data related to the transaction
Building excel models to valuate companies
Joining strategic meetings
Performing due diligence meetings with the clients
Creating, editing client presentations
Monitoring, paying close attention to documentation associated with
the deal (prospectus, internal memos)
Managing relationship with an analyst
The most important attributes that an associate should have are:
quantitative skills, the ability to learn quickly, discipline, a strong work ethic, the ability to
work in teams, detail orientation and dependability.

While answering competency and behavioral questions you should be structured and succinct. Banks like well organized and structured thinking and will quickly dismiss candidates who ramble or cannot distinguish important points from the less important ones. We recommend creating 3 bullet points for each of your answers and putting them on the paper in advance. Practice your answers with friends and be sure that your story is consistent and flows well before the interview.

The technical part

The technical part of the interview will test your familiarity with the accounting and financial terms. This will definitely require thorough preparation even if you study at one of the top MBA programs . First of all you will need to be familiar with the financial statements and their analysis. The profit and loss statement, the balance sheet and cash flow statements are all fair game in the interview.
Secondly, you will need to have a basic understanding of the company’s valuation methods. You should be very familiar with terms such as cost of capital, cash flow discounting, multiples, accretion and dilution, LBO, CAPM, WACC and Beta.

You also may be asked how M&A and IPOs work and even be given a case study on a business situation. It is strongly recommended that you start b-school having at least a basic understanding of accounting and finance.

Here are some books that can help you.
VAULT Guide to Finance Interviews by D. Bhatawedekhar, Dan Jacobson,
and the Vault Staff
Vault Career Guide to Investment Banking by Tom Lott, Derek Loosvelt
and the Staff of Vault
Heard on the Street by Timothy Falcon Crack.
Valuation: Measuring and Managing the Value of Companies by Tom
Copeland, et al, John Wiley & Sons Inc
Valuation: Measuring and Managing the Value of Companies
by McKinsey and Company
Financial Modeling, 3rd Edition (Hardcover), Simon Benninga

In the industry part of the interview the interviewers will test your understanding of the industry and your professional interests.
You will be asked about financial news and trends, current articles related to investment banking, discussions of the economic environment and economic trends, trends in M&A and definitely about specific deals.

To be prepared for this part of the interview its advisable to start reading financial and economic newspapers and journals. The Wall Street Journal, FT and Economist are good sources to gain relevant knowledge.

A couple of additional hints:
– Know recent interesting deals executed by banks with which you are interviewing.
– Talk about deals with passion the interviewers will test not only your level of knowledge but also your passion for IB
– And finally, always read the news in the morning before your interview

Some additional books to better understand investment banking before your interview include:
The Business of Investment Banking: A Comprehensive Overview , by K.
Thomas Liaw
Blue Blood and Mutiny: The Fight for the Soul of Morgan Stanley , by
Patricia Beard
The Last Tycoons: The Secret History of Lazard Frres & Co. , by
William Cohan
The Accidental Investment Banker: Inside the Decade that Transformed
Wall Street , By Jonathan Knee
More entertaining books include:
Barbarians at the Gate , By Bryan Burrough and John Helyar.
Bombardiers , By Po Bronson
Monkey Business: Swinging through the Wall Street Jungle, By John
Rolfe and Peter Troob.
Liars Poker: Rising Through the Wreckage on Wall Street , By Michael
Lewis, Norton Books.

Good luck with your interview!

Explaining The Meaning Of Uninsured Losses

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Car insurance is not merely an important part of protecting yourself financially on the road – its a legal necessity. However if youre trying to make a claim after being involved in an accident that wasnt your fault, you might come across something called uninsured losses. We take a look at exactly what that means for your cover

Uninsured losses can be described as potential financial losses, and they aren’t usually covered by a standard insurance policy. Uninsured losses generally include: injury to yourself or your passengers; loss of earnings; cost of alternative travel arrangements; or recovery of your policy excess from a third party. These are all very common costs incurred as a result of an accident, and you will understandably want to protect yourself against them.

According to the Department for Transport, around 3,500 people are killed and 40,000 are seriously injured on Britain’s roads each year. If youre involved in an accident, it could seriously affect your health or ability to work, and therefore have grave financial implications too. Standard insurance will always cover liabilities to third parties. However, if an accident isnt your fault, you will have to make a case to the other partys insurance provider in order to cover the damage incurred. If the other party does not take responsibility, this could potentially turn into a costly and lengthy legal procedure.

Some insurance providers may recommend that you take out optional additional cover, often from as little as 20, to boost your protection and cover uninsured losses. With Greenbee Legal Protection, for example, you would have up to 100,000 towards legal expenses to help recover these potential losses. Just make sure you contact your insurance provider immediately after an accident, as there may be time limits that apply.

The Government is currently investing in a road safety strategy, which is aiming for a 40% reduction in the number of people killed or seriously injured in road accidents by the end of 2010. We can all do our part to make Britains roads safer by driving carefully at all times. However, even if you are a safe and conscientious driver, you cannot always guarantee how other people may behave on the roads. By taking out comprehensive insurance you will give yourself great financial protection from accidents and as a result hopefully feel a little safer behind the wheel.