BUS601: Financial Management

Foreign currency exposures are categorized as transaction/ short-run exposure, economic/long-run exposure, and translation exposure.

Learning Objective

• Explain the differences between short-run, long-run, and translation exposure

Key Points

• A firm has transaction exposure/ short-term exposure whenever it has contractual cash flows (receivables and payables) whose values are subject to unanticipated changes in  exchange rates due to a contract being denominated in a foreign currency.
• A firm has economic exposure/ long-term exposure to the degree that its market value is influenced by unexpected exchange rate fluctuations. Such exchange rate adjustments can severely affect the firm's position with regards to its competitors, the firm's future cash flows, and the firm's value.
• A firm's translation exposure is the extent to which its financial reporting is affected by exchange rate movements.

Terms

• exchange rate

  the amount of one currency that a person or institution defines as equivalent to another when either buying or selling it at any particular moment

• foreign currency exposures

  Foreign currency exposure is a financial risk posed by an exposure to unanticipated changes in the exchange rate between two currencies. Investors and multinational businesses exporting or importing goods and services or making foreign investments throughout the global economy are exposed to foreign currency risk which can have severe financial consequences if not managed appropriately

• foreign bond

  an international debt instrument denominated in the home currency but issued by a foreign company

Exchange Exposure

Foreign currency exposures are generally categorized into the following three distinct types: transaction (short-run) exposure, economic (long-run) exposure, and translation exposure.

Short-Run

A firm has transaction exposure/ short-term exposure whenever it has contractual cash flows (receivables and payables) whose values are subject to unanticipated changes in exchange rates due to a contract being denominated in a foreign currency. To realize the domestic value of its foreign-denominated cash flows, the firm must exchange foreign currency for domestic currency. As firms negotiate contracts with set prices and delivery dates in the face of a volatile foreign exchange market with exchange rates constantly fluctuating, the firms face a risk of changes in the exchange rate between the foreign and domestic currency.

Foreign currency exposure

DAX appreciated in the early 2008, presenting a short-run exchange exposure to companies paying DAX to its suppliers.

Long-Run

A firm has economic exposure / long-term exposure to the degree that its market value is influenced by unexpected exchange rate fluctuations. Such exchange rate adjustments can severely affect the firm's position with regards to its competitors, the firm's future cash flows, and ultimately the firm's value. Economic exposure can affect the present value of future cash flows. Any transaction that exposes the firm to foreign exchange risk also exposes the firm economically, but economic exposure can be caused by other business activities and investments which may not be mere international transactions, such as future cash flows from fixed assets. A shift in exchange rates that influences the demand for a good in some country would also be an economic exposure for a firm that sells that good.

Translation

A firm's translation exposure is the extent to which its financial reporting is affected by exchange rate movements. As all firms generally must prepare consolidated financial statements for reporting purposes, the consolidation process for multinationals entails translating foreign assets and liabilities or the financial statements of foreign subsidiaries from foreign to domestic currency. While translation exposure may not affect a firm's cash flows, it could have a significant impact on a firm's reported earnings and therefore its stock price. Translation exposure is distinguished from transaction risk as a result of income and losses from various types of risk having different accounting treatments. Translation gives special consideration to assets and liabilities with regards to foreign exchange risk, whereas exposures to revenues and expenses can often be managed ex ante by managing transactional exposures when cash flows take place.