What is finance?

According to the website investopedia, “Finance is a broad term that describes

two related activities: the study of how money is managed and the actual process of

acquiring needed funds. Because individuals, businesses and government entities all

need funding to operate, the field is often separated into three sub-categories: personal

finance, corporate finance and public finance.”

Importance of Finance

A business depends on many factors and the most important of them is finance.

Whether your company is large or small, money is the oxygen for survival, growth as

well as stability. Planning definitely provides framework but if you talk about

infrastructure, finance is the only answer for development and diversification of

business. It assists organizations to take advantages of opportunities, employ workers

to attain business goals, acquire licenses and offer support through good and bad

times. Hence, finance can be defined as the science of managing funds for crucial

purposes which include paying wages, clearing debts and meeting up other immediate

necessities.

Corporate or business finance works on matters like cash flow management,

debt management, investments, credit analysis and other financial decision that

organizations need to take. It is aimed at enhancing the corporate values by managing

risk involved in investments. Corporate finance looks into matters related to dividends,

taxation and so on. Research and development is the key to create an identity through

innovativeness. But without the financial support a company cannot process to bring
changes in its old products. A company requires promoting itself through advertising,

sales, distribution and it cannot be conducted without finance. Therefore, it is the

backbone to run smoothly in the extreme competitive marketplace. (GBS Blogger, 2016)

Factors that will leave an impact to Finance in the future according to Forbes

Finance Council

As technology integrates even deeper into consumers’ lives, the banking and

finance industries are seeing profound residual effects. Mobile banking and payments

are gaining traction and fewer people are visiting banks’ branches, while new software

and automation programs are streamlining work for businesses and individuals.

Many of these developments have happened gradually, but with continual

improvements to technology and consumers’ increasing reliance on it, changes are

likely to happen even more rapidly.

Five Forbes Finance Council members – executives at accounting, financial planning,

wealth and asset management, and investment firms – outline changes they seeing

impact their industry in the next year or two.

1. Banking Technology Will Take Off –

“Banking is changing,” says Jessica Mah, CEO, co-founder and product

architect of inDinero, a financial services company that helps business

owners manage their finances. And Mah, who started developing inDinero

when she was 19 years old, anticipates that these changes will come quickly.
 “It’s almost like the move from flip phones to smartphones; one day you

didn’t see that older technology except with your grandma, and now even she

has a smartphone!” she says. These banking technology changes will be

broad: “The way banks behave, the way they are becoming virtual in every

way, the way they are specializing and coming up with niche products that

we’ve never had before (the Bitcoins of the world).”

2. Artificial Intelligence Will Continue To Advance

“People love instant gratification,” says Louie Balasny, managing director

at Botkeeper. “They want results now, not a week from now, and certainly not

a month from now.”

This is an idea that fits with Botkeeper’s business platform: The Boston-

based company automates bookkeeping and offers 24/7 support to its clients.

“As AI continues to advance, the ability to provide more and more

accounting in real-time with reporting and charts at your fingertips is going to

change the bookkeeping industry and the traditional monthly accounting

process,” Balasny says. “We are already doing a lot of this and most clients

say they don't know how they functioned without it prior.”