Islam and Business Finance

Asalam Alaykum readers, today I will be writing about fasting "O you who have believed, decreed upon you is fasting as it was decreed upon those before you that you may become righteous" Quran, Chapter 2:183. Fasting during the month of Ramadan is compulsory except you are suffering from an illness whether temporary or long term (such as diabetics), travelling for long, elderly (however, the elderly person can feed one person through out the fasting period if he/she is capable of doing so), menstruating, breastfeeding, pregnant. Fasting  is the act of refraining from food, drinks, sexual relations and evil deeds from dawn to sunset. It takes the 4th position when it comes to the 5 pillars of Islam. Some individuals that are exempted during fasting must pay it back after by fasting for the number of days that they were exempted for. These individuals include the temporary sick, the traveler, the pregnant woman, the nursing woman and the menstruating woman. Ramadan is ...

Hello readers,    I hope your week has been fine so far. T oday I will be writing about the difference between corporate strategy and business strategy. But first of all, what is strategy? It can defined as a plan designed to help achieve a particular goal(s). Corporate strategy is concerned about your business as a whole while business strategy focuses on a unit within your business. In other words, a corporate strategy is formulated for the whole business while a business strategy is formulated for a single unit within your business. Corporate strategy directs a business and helps your business to achieve its long term goals. It is created to fulfill the vision of the organisation. The top management is responsible for the development of the corporate strategy. It guides the decision making process within the organisation. It is concerned about the industry in which the business operates in. Business strategy on the other hand helps the departments within your b...

Hello readers, today I am going to be telling you about the benefits of planning. It is important to plan before embarking on any project as it will help you formulate strategies you will use to achieve your business goals. Planning in this context can be define d as a situation that predetermines actions to be taken in order to achieve business goals. Without a plan, you might not achieve your business goals. As such planning is essential to the success of your business. Thus, managers and business owners should always make plans. Planning in business helps you to know what actions you need to take in order to improve your business. It also helps management allocate resources appropriately, as a plan will let you know what projects are likely to succeed. It will also let you know the ones that are likely not to succeed. Thus, it encourages management to spend adequate funds on the projects that are likely to succeed. It contributes to the management of finance within an organisat...

Hello readers, today I will be telling you about the principles that you should adhere to when carrying out your business activities. Here they are: 1. Relationship with Allah You should maintain a good relationship with Allah, that is you should become a Muslim and carry out righteous deeds. He has the final say, whatever He wills happen and He is the kindest. 2.Integrity Honesty is always good all the time. It is a quality that can help your business grow as it helps to develop trust between you and your business colleagues. It also develops trust between you and your customers. When you are not always honest, individuals will not know when you are saying the truth, as such, it can damage your reputation. It is best to always say the truth all the time. 3. Community You should add value to your communities by making donations to the individuals in the community. In other words, fulfill your philantrophic responsibility. For example you can donate exercise books or ...

Asalam Alaykum readers, today I will be writing about Zakat. This is one of the 5 Pillars of Islam (the Pillars are obligatory). All the 5 Pillars of Islam are important, however, Zakat takes the 3rd position when it comes to importance, following Prayers which takes the 2nd position and Declaration of Faith which takes the 1st position. "And they were not commanded except to worship Allah, [being] sincere to Him in religion, inclining to truth, and to establish prayer and to give zakah. And that is the correct religion." Quran, Chapter 98: 5 Zakat is a compulsory alms giving. "Zakah expenditures are only for the poor and for the needy and for those employed to collect [zakah] and for bringing hearts together [for Islam] and for freeing captives [or slaves] and for those in debt and for the cause of Allah and for the [stranded] traveler -an obligation [imposed] by Allah. And Allah is Knowing and Wise." Quran, Chapter 9: 60. This verse tells you who zakat  shoul...

Hello readers, today I will be writing about vegetables that you should be eating. I have carried out a research for you as usual. Here they are:  1. Bell pepper They are generally good for you, however the red ones contains the highest amount of vitamin C which is good for your skin. Bell pepper in general has vitamin E in it. Vitamin E helps many organs in the body function well. It also have some other antioxidants  as well as anti-inflammatory benefit in it. 2. Broccoli This is one of the best vegetables when it comes to your health. It prevent heart diseases and it is also good for your brain. It has vitamin A which is good for your eyes. It also has a high level of other antioxidants in it. It reduces the risk of developing obesity. It is also good for your digestive system as it is high in fiber. It contains vitamin K which is good for the health of your bone. 3. Carrot This is also a good vegetable for your health, as it is good for your immune syste...

According to investopedia.com, "a market research is a process of assessing the viability of a new good or service through research conducted directly with the consumer which allows a company to discover the target market and record opinions and other input from consumers regarding interest in the product."  A market research helps you to know who your customers are. It also let you know what you need to do to gain a competitive advantage over competitors. It tells you who your competitors are and what their weaknesses are. A market research needs to be done before starting your business. A market research will also let you know what new products you can introduce to the market. You will also be informed about how these potential new products will perform in the market in terms of profits. It can also be done to know if you can change your existing products. A market research can be done using primary ways (primary research) or secondary ways (secondary research)...

Economies of scale is the cost advantage achieved when an increase in production leads to a fall in the unit costs of production, as fixed costs are spread over a larger amount of products. Thus, a larger company will have a lower unit cost when compared to smaller companies. This is because larger companies have the capability to make more products An example of economies of scale; if a company will pay $500 to keep 2000 bottled water in a storage facility, however this same storage facility has the capability to store 4000 bottled water. This same company now decides to increase the amount of bottled water it produces to 4000 units and keeps them in the same storage facility. Economies of scale is said to arise when the unit costs of storing drops from $0.25 ($500/2000) to $0.125($500/4000). The company ends up saving $0.125($0.25-$0.125) on each product as result of increasing its production. Economies of scale could be internal or external. Companies can enjoy it externall...

Hello readers, today I will be telling you about the importance of your brand name. You must have been to a store to pick up an item and you saw different brands on the aisle, I am sure you ended picking up the most popular brand. Individuals pick the popular brands most of the time except in situations when you may decide to pick a particular brand because it is cheaper and it provides value for money. A good brand name gives your customer assurance. They feel assured that they are buying a product of good quality. It also makes customers know that a company is responsible for the brand, making them feel secure about the product; some of these brands come with warranty. A good brand name helps you promote your products, the product sells itself. Ths brand name serves as a marketing tool. A good brand name can also help your customers refer family and friends through the word of mouth to buy your product. It also helps customers to remember your product when they have a need o...

Hello readers, today I will be writing about prayers. It is obligatory to pray 5 times daily. You should check the internet or a qibla to know what time you are meant to pray as it varies between states and countries Fajr Prayers This prayer starts before dawn time and ends by sunrise. You make two rakats when observing this prayer. You can make 2 rakats (naflah) before saying your Fajr prayer. Zuhr Prayer This prayer takes the 2nd position when it comes to the 5 daily prayers. You make 4 rakats when observing this prayer while reciting the Tashahhud after every 2 rakats. 4 rakats (naflah) can be observed before saying your Zuhr prayers and 2 rakats (naflah) can be observed after saying your Zuhr prayers. Asr Prayer This is the 3rd prayer when it comes to the 5 daily prayers. You make 4 rakats when observing this prayer. You will recite the Tashahhud after every 2 rakats. No naflah should made around this prayer. Maghrib Prayers This is the 4th prayer when it c...

Hello readers, today I have carried out a research for you on fruits that you should be eating regularly. Fruits are delicious and they also add value to your health. Two portion of fruits is recommended at every meal. Here they are: Grapes This fruit is delicious and it has a high level of antioxidants in it. These antioxidant helps your brain stay active. The high level of polyphenol found in it reduces the risk of having a heart disease. The high pottasium found in it is good for the blood pressure. This fruits prevents acne and the high water level found in it prevents constipation. Blueberries This fruit is also delicious and it has got nutrients that help build and maintain strong bones. It also contains pottasium  that helps the blood pressure. It also very good for the brain as it is high in antioxidant. The fiber in this fruit helps reduce the risk of having a heart disease. It also helps your skin look good. Water Melon This is another delicious fruit w...

Hello readers, today I am going to be writing about how you can increase your market share. Here they are: Acquiring competitors This is one medium you can use to increase your market share. You will gain the market share of any company you acquire. That is one of the ways Walmart used to become the market leader in its industry. That was also the way it expanded. It bought supermarkets in other countries, today it operates in 28 countries. Acquiring a competitor will also help reduce the competition that exists in your target market. Having a good customer relationship Customers will always talk about good products. The individuals they talk to may include their relatives, friends or colleagues at work. When they talk about your products, it helps you get more customers. When a company works on having a good relationship with customers it prevents them from going to competitors. Good customer service may include responding to their issues as fast as you can. It also means...

Enjoy! Do have a nice one...

Hello  readers, hope you are good today. I will be writing about some low cost airlines. They provide value for money. I am going to cut across various continents. I will be looking at  airlines that fly within countries. In other words, low cost airlines that offer domestic flights. Here they are: Mango Airline This airline has its headquarters located in Gauteng, South Africa. It offers low prices to customers, it has 10 airplanes and it covers 8 destinations. It was founded in 2006. Air Asia It is the largest low cost airline in Asia by passengers they carry and the amount of planes they have.  It has 82 airplanes and it covers 68 destinations.  Its headquarters is located in Malaysia. It was founded in 1993 and began operations in 1996. Southwest Airline This is the airline that offers the cheapest prices in the world. It is also the largest low cost airline in the world. Its headquarters is in Texas, USA. It was founded in 1967 and started ope...

Hello readers, so today I will be writing about assets, liabilities, income and expenses. The IFRS framework states that before any item can be identified, it must meet the definition of an asset, liabilities, income and expenses. You must also have enough proof that a change as occurred in your assets or liability. It must also be measured in monetary terms.  There are some situations whereby you can recognise an income even when you have not received it. For example it could take a project a long time to complete, income should be recognised when you execute a part of the project. The further you execute the project the more income you can recognise. I will advise you not to wait till the end of the project before you start asking for your money, read this  article . According to the IFRS " an asset is a resource controlled by an entity, as a result of a past event from which future economic benefit are expected to flow to the entity". As such,  an item is ...

Hello readers, today I will be telling you about ways you can use to sustain your competitive advantage. It is good to note that everything happens by Allah's (SWT) Will. However, you are always responsible for your actions cause you have freewill. If your competitive advantage is not given enough attention it can be overtaken by competitors. You should always challenge your competitive advantage in order for it to be sustainable. Being innovative is one medium you can use. Competitors can erode your competitive advantage by imitating your products that is why you must have barriers in place to prevent them from imitating your products (this article  will give you an idea on how to set barriers). This will help your company sustain its competitive advantage. You have to pay attention to the technology in play. You should always improve the technology you use so as to be up to date with the trends in the market. That way your competitors will not see the technology you use...

Hello readers , today I will be telling you about the Istikharah prayer. It is a prayer of guidance. When you want to make a major decision in your life, it is best you seek Allah's guidance. You should always pray to Allah to guide you through the right path in your daily activities. Istikharah prayer is recommended for a major decision such as getting married, starting a business and others. How do you perform the Istikhara prayer? Make two rakats (Nafila). During your first rakat, after reciting Surat Fatiha recite Surat Ikhlas, during your second rakat  after reciting Surat Fatiha recite Surat Kaafirun. After saying Asalam Alaykum Waramatullahi to the right and then the left recite this: "Allahumma inni astakhiruka bi-ilmika wa astaqdiruka biqudra-tika, wa as'aluka min fadlikal Azeemi fainnaka taqdiru wa la aqdiru, wa ta'lamu wa la a'alamu, wa Anta Allamul-Ghuyubi, Allahum-ma in kunta ta'lamu anna  [then mention the thing to be decided] khairun ...

Hello readers, last week I gave you a list of the largest companies in the world by revenue. Today, I will be looking 6 large companies in the world as a result of the profit they made between 2011 to 2015. The lowest profit I will be reporting today is $16.2 billion. It could guide you as to what industry to start your business in. Here they are: Apple Inc. This company made a profit of $53.4 billion in 2015. It operates in the consumer electronics industry. In 2014, it made a profit of $39.51 billion while in 2013, it made a profit of $37.04 billion. In 2012, it made a profit of $41.73 billion. Exxon Mobil Corp. It made a profit of $41.1 billion in 2011, a profit of $44.9 billion in 2012, a profit of $32.6 billion in 2013 and a profit of $32.5 billion in 2014. It made a profit of $16.2 billion in 2015. It operates in the oil and gas industry. Its headquarters is in Texas, USA. Royal Dutch Shell Plc. It also operates in the oil and gas industry. It made a profit of ...

Hello readers, today I will be writing about your corporate plan. A corporate plan is a neccessary tool needed to achieve business success. A corporate plan focuses on a strategy for a long-term period. When I say long-term in this context, I am talking about a period of 2 to 5 years, it can exceed 5 years, however, it must not be lower than 2 years. A corporate plan looks at the actions employees should take in order to achieve the business goals of an organisation. The actions which were written in the corporate plan that employees will take must include the ways they should deal with business challenges when they occur; the corporate plan should also denotes training employees in order to be able to excel while carrying out the day to day business transactions. Corporate plan breaks larger business goals into smaller goals. Your corporate plan must ensure that there is an alignment between all the departmental actions within your business organisation, All your staff have to be...

Hello readers, the marketing mix will be used to discuss the marketing activities that a telephony company should adopt.  Marketing mix helps to implement the marketing strategy. The mix includes product, price, promotion and place.  • Product: Telephony companies should provide services of high quality; they should also provide physical goods to customers by serving as an intermediary between mobile phone makers and final customers.  Products (goods and services) should be optional to customers. Resources should be used to provide maximum satisfaction to customers. Your telephony company should offer different form of services thereby offering customers flexibility. The composition of the product should provide customers with various mobile phone options, information services and discounts which will help differentiate the product. All of this contributes to the competitive advantage of any telephony company. • Price: The price charged by your telephon...

Hello readers, today I will be writing about brand recognition.  There are some products that are of good quality but they are not selling as they should because the brand is not really known. I am sure you have gone to buy bottled water (in a developing nation) and have seen a funny name and you were like I do not know this product so I won't buy it and you end up going for the famous brands like Eva, Mowa or Swan. Individuals whose product(s) are not famous or who are about to start a business could learn from this article. You have to create a buzz about your product(s). The best way to create awareness is to advertise on tv. Most people watch tv if not all. Cut your clothes according to your size, go for the television station(s) whose advert rates you can afford. Also advertise your product(s) on radio stations. This will also make your product(s) famous. The packaging and the name you attach to your product(s) also helps your product(s) sell. The name you use w...

Allah is the Greatest. One of the 99 names of Allah is Al Ghaffar which means The Repeatedly Forgiving. Allah is the Most Forgiving and the Most Merciful. There is absolutely no one like Him. "Lo! men who surrender unto Allah, and women who surrender, and men who believe, and women who believe and men who obey and women who obey, and men who speak the truth and women who speak the truth, and men who presevere (in righteousness) and women who persevere, and men who are humble and women who are humble, and men who give alms and women who give alms, and men who fast and women who fast, and men who guard their modesty and women who guard (their modesty), and men who remember Allah much and women who remember-Allah hath prepared for them forgiveness and a vast reward" Quran Chapter 33:35 We all commit sins, it is very possible to avoid the major sins. When you avoid the major sins, Allah says He will overlook your minor sins. Allah loves charity, when you give out charity...

Hello readers, the largest companies in the world by revenue are going to be provided to you so that it could influence your decision about what industry you want to start a business in. Here they are: 1. Walmart Stores, Inc. This is the largest company in the world with a revenue of $ 482 billion as of January, 2016. It operates in the retail industry. The company is owned by a family. Its headquarters in USA. They are present in 28 countries. 2. China Petrochemical Corporation This company is also reffered to as Sinopec Group. It is the second largest company in the world by revenue. As of 2014, it had a a revenue of $455 billions. They operate in the oil and gas industry. 3. China National Petroleum Corporation This is a state-owned oil and gas corporation. It is the 3rd when its comes to the largest companies in the world by revenue. As of 2014, it had a revenue of $428 billion. 4. Saudi Aramco This company is also known Saudi Arabian Oil Company. It is the...

Hello readers, so really you have an accountant that helps you with the preparation of your financial statements, however the financial statements of your company are also your responsibility. Today I will be telling you about 6 characteristics needed when it comes to preparing the financial statements. We have the fundamental qualitative characteristic and the enhancing qualitative characteristics. The fundamental qualities are the main ones while the enhancing qualities enhances the main ones. Here they are: Fundamental Qualitative Characteristics Relevance A financial statement should be prepared in such a way that it will meet the decision making needs of its users. The financial statement should also be prepared in such a way that it will correct any wrong information that has been provided in the previous statement. An information is said to be relevant if the omission and misrepresentation of it will affect the decisions of its users. Faithful Represention The f...

Hello readers, today I will be writing about the goodwill of a company. Goodwill is an intangible asset that is calculated upon the acquisition of a company by an individual, a group of individuals or a company. Goodwill should include  the good reputation of a company, going concern (whether the future of the company looks prosperous or bleak) of  a company, employee relations and customer relations and others. As such , the goodwill can not be separately identified without the sale. There are some other intangible assets but they are not part of the  goodwill, this include the patent right, licenses, trademarks and others. Goodwill could be negative, this happens when the fair market value of the company is lower than the value of the total asset. Then a loss is made by the seller, this represents the negative goodwill. When a sale is made  to a buyer and the seller makes a gain from the sale, a situation where the fair market value is higher than the value of...

Hello readers, there are some places you go to and you realise they do not have what you want despite the brand being a reputable one. You prefer their product, however, the supply chain of the maker of the product is not on point. Today I will be writing about how you can improve your supply chain so that your goods and services will be supplied in an effective and efficient way. A supply chain focuses on the creation and sharing of products within a network. It starts from when you buy the raw- material to its conversion into finished products and finally delivering it to customers. Some world market leaders have attained such a position through an enhanced way of supplying goods. Supply differentiation is one way to stay competitive, some world market leaders (company) use technology that will help you them know the right time to deliver goods and services to their customers. This helps their business do well. Even after a market leadership position has been attained you mu...

Hello readers, today I will be telling you about some healthy drinks that you should be taking to stay active. This drinks include: - Aloe Drinks This type of drink helps the body to regulate its blood sugar. It also help the skin to stay radiant. It aids digestion . It cleanses your body as well. It can also help your body against diseases. It also has antioxidant which helps with stress levels. Cranberry Juice This is one healthy drink as it provides benefits such as antixodants. It also helps with respiratory disorder, stomach disorder, gum diseases and much more. It also prevent a lot of health problem. It is a good one, so at least 1 cup a day will not be a bad idea. Hot Chocolate This is another drink as it provides a lot of antioxidants, antioxidant increases in the hot chocolate the moment it is heated up. It helps improve the blood flow. Thus, contributing to a healthy heart. It also contributes to having a healthy mind. Vegetable Juice This is a t...