General

Finance and Risk are two crucial issues in the world of business that cannot be over-emphasized. Finance is the heart and soul of any business; it plays an essential role from its establishment to its growth.  I’m tempted to define ‘finance’, though most of us have an idea of what one means at the mention of the word; Finance in business refers to the availability of cash or funds to meet the needs and demands of that business. Finance usually is pivotal, in most cases, to starting a business, expanding an already existing one, obtaining capital assets, developing new products, and running your business’s day-to-day operations, among many others. It is arguably the core of every business organization today. Inarguably, finance is an essential resource for businesses to develop, maintain and subsequently operate (Cassar, 2004). Finance is a critical factor that determines the growth of a business or company in many cases (Fielding et al., 2019). Risk, on the other hand, is a constant in every business, every business involves risks, and risk-taking is inherent in entrepreneurship and business. Risk connotes the chance of having an unexpected or adverse outcome (Chen & Kwak, 2017). In other words, the risk is the probability that some event will cause an undesirable outcome for your business. Any form of action or activity that results in a loss of any kind can be considered a risk to an enterprise or a business.  The various risks an enterprise or business can face are generally classified into business, non-business, and financial risks. These risks are a potential threat to every business but understanding their potential impact and how to manage or mitigate them, is important for a business’s success. Financial risk is one of the risks that businesses face most because it is integral to business operations and has a substantial impact on the day-to-day activities of most businesses, and therefore could potentially result in insolvency if not properly understood and managed.  Most start-ups and smaller businesses are likely to face financial risk the most as they enter the market and adapt to market and economic conditions.  There are five main types of financial risk, being, market risk, credit risk, operational risk, liquidity risk, and legal risk; liquidity risk being a major risk that affects almost all businesses. This means that business administrators (or managers) must evaluate the nature of finances available to them, analyse the potential risks and then calculate how such risks will impact the operations of the firm or business (Agyapong, 2020). Financial risks can arise from the improper management of cash flowing in and out of business. Financial risk can also arise from an administrator’s inability to properly manage the company’s debt or financial obligations, which can and will affect its growth and profitability, revenue generation or cash flow, and can impose a major obstacle in the company’s future, possibly resulting in its collapse. Some possible causes which are majorly responsible for creating financial risks for a business entity are as follows: •          The exposure to changes in the market prices, e.g. prices such as commodity costs, interest rates, inflation, and exchange rates. The volatile nature of one market may result in businesses and investors incurring losses.  •          It can arise from the actions or activities of and transactions with other enterprises, including customers, and vendors. •          Internal factors or failures within the enterprise with regards to employees, processes, and systems. Internal failures in aspects such as inefficient workforce management and lower productivity can also expose a business entity to financial risks. •          Unexpected competition that may arise from the entry of arrival firms (competitors) in the market can antecedent an adverse impact on the finance of a business.  •          Sudden changes in economic factors or government activities can expose business entities to financial risks. For instance, the government may introduce a policy or law (tax) that can introduce financial risk to many business enterprises. •          Seasonal issues relating to weather changes can also expose a business entity, especially those in the agricultural sector, to financial risks. Similarly, among the common types of financial risks businesses face include: •          Credit risk This refers to the chances of a business not fulfilling its debt obligation or failing to pay its creditors eg. bank, lender, or supplier. It can also result from giving credit to customers who also default on repayment.  •          Market risk This has to do with the probability of incurring a loss resulting from market volatility, upsurge in interest rates, cost of raw materials, and fluctuation in the exchange rate. Especially in developing countries, exchange rate depreciation tends to affect debt repayments and the competitiveness of their goods and services compared to those goods produced abroad. •          Liquidity risk This also manifests from the business’s ability to meet its short-term financial demands or needs to run the operation of the business. This may arise from cashflow constraints resulting from the decline in revenue, low sales, or an inefficient market. •          Operational risk This has to do with the possibility of loss resulting from the adverse effect of the policies, procedures, and systems the business entity has in place. Technical failure, fraudulent activity, and the inefficiency of workers are some examples of operational risks. •          Equity risk  This involves risks associated with the dealing of businesses or enterprises on the stock market. Poor stock market performance can be disastrous for a business that does not have the financial planning measures in place. •          Legal risk This is any financial losses that arises as a result of legal proceedings. •          Competition risk  This risk emanates from the current competitors of the business.   •          Technology risk This type of risk involves losses incurred from damages to operating systems, acquiring technological infrastructure costs, exposure to cyberattacks or data breaches, telecommunication and connectivity issues, and data integrity. Furthermore, financial stability is vital for a business entity to succeed, grow, and fulfil its social responsibilities. As a result, managing the risks that affect a business’s activities is important, and any staid business administrator or manager needs to guide their business against such financial risks. Wu et al.

“Priorities Maxwell!!! There are increased fuel prices, higher cost of living, rising inflation, not to mention COVID, Monkeypox and other health issues and you choose to write about “noise”?? Well……yes. It’s been on my mind ever since moving to the countryside and there is plenty of literary material around on all other matters for our readers to educate themselves anyway. What do you think of when you think of noise pollution? In a country such as Ghana, one of the first things that may come to mind may perhaps be the loudspeakers of your neighbourhood church or mosque, or perhaps the near-perpetual lack of quiet at the more central lorry stations like Accra-Circle and or Tudu. If you decided to jump continents and countries and found yourself in say, Switzerland, you would find quite quickly that the seemingly mundane and habitual act of flushing your toilet may get you very harshly told off by your fellow apartment building cohabitants, or your landlord or landlady. Apparently, in Switzerland,  any flushing between 10PM and 7PM is considered much too loud and classified as a disturbance and noise pollution. YOU READ THAT RIGHT. GOOGLE IT! I wouldn’t have known about it if it hadn’t happened to a close friend of mine. The pollution that noise causes have crept up on Ghanaians so swiftly and for so long that we often do not even think about it anymore. It often appears to be the unavoidable by-product of development and industrialisation. Businesses and business-like activities are popping up around residential areas like mushrooms growing overnight. In most cases, however, these businesses are not predominantly the cause of any (direct) noise by way of their professional operations, except for some cases. Thing is, there is a great deal of associated noise, such as traffic they bring along both automobiles and pedestrians.  Some of the main causes of noise pollution in Ghana today involve:  If we are being honest with ourselves, the sort of noise pollution we experience in Ghana can indeed be a tad unnerving. But putting our emotions aside, is it perhaps in any way harmful to us?  Does noise pollution in Ghana impact our health?  We have been exposed to heightened decibels (of sound) for so long that we have drifted into a place of not even thinking of it much, beyond complaining about the momentary inconvenience it may cause us from time to time. The Center for Disease Control (CDC) states that sound decibels above 70 decibels for prolonged periods can cause damage to our hearing. For some context in the matter, a typical motorbike engine runs at circa 95 decibels; take this information and juxtapose it with your local street funeral or other similar gatherings, especially ones done on regular basis. Noise pollution has been studied and determined to cause a myriad of health concerns including loss of hearing, stress, high blood pressure, heart disease, sleep disturbances, and so on. National Geographic had the following to say on the health impacts of noise pollution:  “Noise pollution impacts millions of people on a daily basis. The most common health problem it causes is Noise-Induced Hearing Loss (NIHL). Exposure to loud noise can also cause high blood pressure, heart disease, sleep disturbances, and stress. These health problems can affect all age groups, especially children. Many children who live near noisy airports or streets have been found to suffer from stress and other problems, such as impairments in memory, attention level, and reading skill“ Noise Pollution | National Geographic, n.d. The same decibels of noise that cause heart disease, high blood pressure, stress, impaired hearing and so on, are the same that affect most of Sub-Saharan Africa. Nigeria is a notable exception because things such as the population size, the relative degrees of industrialisation and the more perverse use of generators give an unusual and notably upward spike in both the data and the severity and frequency of these aforementioned negative health effects. More on the actual data-backed severity can be read in this study, the full reference is below this article, from the National Center for Biotechnology Information. It highlights effects ranging from negative impacts on fetal development (in pregnant women) to other severities such as type 2 diabetes incidents.  A synopsis of a 2019 Study of Noise Pollution Measurements and Possible Effects on Public Health in Ota Metropolis, Nigeria, by the US National Center for Biotechnology Information. “A look at the literature showed the abundance of evidence of the adverse effects of noise pollution on the general public health. The worsening situation of noise pollution is that it has not been upgraded to the level of the other forms of pollution. Also, recommendations suggested by several authors on the different strategies on tackling noise pollution have not been considered and implemented. However, noise pollution continues to impact negatively on fetal development, annoyance and anxiety, mental health crisis, sleep disturbance and insomnia, cardiovascular disorders in pregnant women, cardiocerebrovascular diseases, type 2 diabetes incidence and medically unexplained physical symptoms. Other auditory and non-auditory effects of noise on health are myocardial infarction incidence, peptic ulcers and disruption of communication and retentive capabilities in children.“  A Study of Noise Pollution Measurements and Possible Effects on Public Health in Ota Metropolis, Nigeria. (2019) If we should take anything from this study, it should be that the growing issue of poorly managed noise pollution in Ghana is obviously not an isolated case. Whether or not hard data exists on this claim, we can easily ascertain at least one salient truth, which is that Sub-Saharan Africa is on the rise. Several countries on the continent are undergoing rapid and/or steady industrialisation and economic growth. This immediately means that more places will be populated and commercialised, and more uncontrolled noise will be generated. This trickles down to mean that we can also expect to see an increase in noise-related health complications as a direct and indirect result (of this).  How might we make things… quieter? One of the first steps to making our cities and

Co-Authored by Dr. Maxwell Ampong & Rya G. Kuewor GLOBAL TOPICS AT DAVOS 2022 The World Economic Forum’s Annual Meeting, took place this past week from May 22nd to 26th, 2022. The Agenda for the meeting was to contemplate and discuss current global contexts and explore and fashion new (global) collaborations. Also, as a core section of the meeting, the Forum planned to share and launch new initiatives meant to foster global and regional cooperation in order to secure the structured recovery of the global economy, safeguard the planet, and build healthy, equitable societies. Two major things are happening in the world in very recent times – one that connects the whole world, and the other that appears to concern pockets of populations in isolation. These two things are COVID and its health & wealth-related implications, and climate change. It is worth a deeper dive into the purpose and intended outcomes of this year’s DAVOS Annual Meeting, which was the first time in 2 years it has happened in person again after COVID and after the initial onset of the war in Ukraine. The hot topics at the Annual Meeting at the Davos-Klosters this year included the following: It’s clear to see why this war not only has a harrowing impact on the lives of people within Ukraine, Russia, and countries in Eastern Europe and the European Union who are receiving (Ukrainian) refugees but also on the rest of the world, where, as is obvious, the poorest of the poor will suffer all the more.  Apropos the rising food prices and their negative impact on the world’s impoverished in low-income countries/communities, in a brief on the matter (Global Impact of War in Ukraine on Food, Energy and Finance Systems), the United Nations stated the following:  “Vulnerable populations in developing countries are particularly exposed to these price swings, as they dedicate the larger share of their income to food and energy. The world’s poorest countries tend to be net food importers… export and import measures on trade can further exacerbate rising food prices. At current price levels, FAO [Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations] worst-case estimates of increases in undernourishment and food insecurity are also highly likely.” Directly below, is the FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations) Food Price Index, which shows the drastic spike in food prices between 2021 and 2022. Davos this year featured nearly 2,500 global leaders, more than 50 heads of state and government, and 300 government representatives who shared their vision for the future of the world. In addition to this, over 1,250 leaders from the private sector participated, along with more than 100 Global Innovators and Technology. More than 200 leaders from NGOs, social enterprises, academia, faith-based and religious groups, and labour organisations also attended. The Meeting was covered by over 400 media leaders and reporting press.  It is sufficient to say that it was very well represented! FORGOTTEN LOCAL NEWS As the world and its leaders largely focus on global issues such as rising conflict, food security, climate change and the risk of current and future pandemics, there still exist natural disasters aided by the lack of adequate infrastructure and deteriorating rule of law (in some cases).  In Ghana, for instance, every single year without fail, during the country’s rainy season, several cities are flooded, homes are destroyed, livelihoods are washed away, and lives are often lost. Indeed, the effects of climate change have a role to play in things such as the severity of more recent rains as we observe in South Africa, Uganda, the DRC, Tanzania, Rwanda, Mozambique, Malawi, and Madagascar par exemplar. In taking a more percipient look, we cannot ignore our poor drainage systems that are filled with plastic waste and other kinds of drain blockages. It is important that we highlight these issues and recognise where the effects of climate change stop, and where the effects of a lack of bold, generation-altering initiatives exist. It starts to paint a worrying picture when we add into the mix the laws concerning waste management that does not address these decades-old serious issues for the average Joe.  Davos could function also as a platform that highlights these more low-hanging issues that can be dealt with in more expedient and plausible manners and with speed. As we look to solve the major issues of the world, we should recall also that these issues are solved for the citizens of the world and for the people of our countries, cities, towns, villages and immediate communities.  At this stage of the advancement of technologies and the knowledge that we share as a global community, lives should not be lost to things we can mitigate, control, and arrest, especially as these said things occur every year without fail. Local flooding and the associated carnage is one thing, but the man-caused local disasters that we can solve are aplenty! I hope you found this article insightful and enjoyable. Subscribe to the ‘Entrepreneur In You’ newsletter here: https://lnkd.in/d-hgCVPy.  I wish you a highly productive and successful week ahead!  ♕ —- ♕ —- ♕ —- ♕ —- ♕ Disclaimer: The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author, Dr. Maxwell Ampong, and do not necessarily reflect the official policy, position, or beliefs of Maxwell Investments Group or any of its affiliates. Any references to policy or regulation reflect the author’s interpretation and are not intended to represent the formal stance of Maxwell Investments Group. This content is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal, financial, or investment advice. Readers should seek independent advice before making any decisions based on this material. Maxwell Investments Group assumes no responsibility or liability for any errors or omissions in the content or for any actions taken based on the information provided.