Thursday, April 17, 2008

oh goodness


Well, it's 1:30am and I am officially done with my last project for school for this semester. A case study from hell for financial management class. I spent the majority of my time elusively chasing numbers and trying to re-arrange formulas and find answers to life's burning questions.
Like...

How do you calculate a firm's weighted average cost of capital when you don't have their expected rate of return on debt or equity?
How does one properly value a European firm whose financial statements are in their home currency but cross over into the Euro currency time frame?
Why the hell can't I find a goddamm SIMPLE formula to discount the expected future free cash flows?

In the end, I had to settle for a much more scaled back set of tables and spreadsheets and a lot more bullshitting and theorizing on the "qualitative" analysis. It's freaking 1:30am and I have to be at work all day tomorrow and this is due in class right after work. Better to have something to turn in that sucks than nothing to turn in at all.

I hope.

Why can't we read romance novels for credit? hmph.

10 comments:

KT Grant said...

Huh?
I have no clue. You are so smart.
I feel your pain.

lisabea said...

Oh Sula. I remember G locking himself in his office, or checking into a hotel room on the eve of any project...such stress.

When G and his classmates graduated, we held a huge party here at the house. They built a bon fire and BURNED their least favorite work. It was cathartic. And dramatic. You can come to my house and throw that sucker in the fire pit.

Anonymous said...

Since I spent the morning looking up definitions of duration (general, modified, McCauley), convexity, and DV01 and then trying to understand them all, I can definitely feel your pain. Way more Greek letters and mathematical symbols than I feel comfortable with. Best wishes for good luck and good grades!

Anonymous said...

P.S. My firm has models to do all those calculations. And then there's the fact that you may have different capital requirements for credit, market, and operational risks -- it's mind-blowingly complicated.

Sarai said...

Lud good luck on the project. I am feeling like a moron but I'm so happy you understand it!!!
*crossing my fingers for you*

Stacy~ said...

Sula you're way smarter than me, that's all I have to say. Feel proud that you understand this stuff. It's Greek to me.

Carolyn Crane said...

Well, I'm impressed with your findings! Good luck at work today, and I hope your professor loves it.

Because hey, if that equation doesn't express DPV, I don't know what does.

lisabea said...

DPV is that,like, Deep Point of View? Suze Brockmann has an excellent guide on that.....

lisabea said...

Katie.V not P. Isn't V for something else?

KT Grant said...

OOPS!! Deep Penis Vein?
heh