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FX Initiative Blog

Actionable insights on foreign exchange risk management from FX Initiative.

FX Strategies for Foreign Subsidiaries

Would you like to optimize FX strategies for foreign subsidiaries? FX Initiative’s Hedging Foreign Subsidiaries course outlines the fundamentals of hedging net income and net investment exposures in foreign subsidiaries, and reveals the cash flow and financial reporting implications of hedging FX translation risk with currency derivatives. Get started with our foreign exchange risk management training, which provides 24/7 365 access to our complete suite of foreign exchange (FX) continuing professional education (CPE), examples and events at FXCPE.com. Start Training >

 

 

Learn the Language of FX Risk Management

Ready to learn the language of FX risk management? FX Initiative’s FX Terms Glossary will teach you the key terms and definitions related to FX risk management. Newcomers and seasoned professionals alike can leverage this online dictionary to clarify the conversation, and develop a working vocabulary of important and frequently encountered concepts concerning foreign currency. Get started with our foreign exchange risk management training, which provides 24/7 365 access to our complete suite of foreign exchange (FX) continuing professional education (CPE), examples and events at FXCPE.com. Start Training>

 

 

Identify The Top Two FX Hedge Objectives

Ready to optimize your firm’s FX hedge objectives? FX Initiative’s Hedging FX Transactions course covers best practices employed by Fortune 500 companies and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) for achieving the top two FX hedge objectives, illustrated in detail with real world economic and accounting examples. Get started with our foreign exchange risk management training, which provides 24/7 365 access to our complete suite of foreign exchange (FX) continuing professional education (CPE), examples and events at FXCPE.com. Start Training >

 

 

How to Test FX Transactions & Hedge Strategies

Ready to learn how to test FX transactions & hedge strategies? FX Initiative’s Foreign Exchange Transaction Simulator is a risk modeling tool that illustrates common FX exposures such as revenues, expenses, receivables and payables. The result is a detailed and interactive FX risk analysis that charts the economic payoff of a hedge strategy along with accounting journal entries and references to U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP). This tool serves to simplify the risk analysis process for you so you can focus on the practical bottom line impact to your global business. Get started with our foreign exchange risk management training, which provides 24/7 365 access to our complete suite of foreign exchange (FX) continuing professional education (CPE), examples and events at FXCPE.com. Start Training >

 

 

Discover the Different Types of FX Derivatives

Do you want to discover the different types of FX derivatives in detail? FX Initiative’s FX Spot & Derivatives course will help you distinguish the different type of FX derivatives firms employ to effectively hedge FX risk. This program provides a comparative analysis of FX derivatives with simulated examples to demonstrate the instruments your firm can use. Get started with our foreign exchange risk management training, which provides 24/7 365 access to our complete suite of foreign exchange (FX) continuing professional education (CPE), examples and events at FXCPE.com. Start Training >

 

 

Identify Internal Controls for FX Risk Management

Interested in identifying internal controls for FX risk management? FX Initiative’s FX Risk Policy Drafter tool will help your firm establish internal controls by appointing personnel to the roles of trading, accounting, and confirmation, and specifying the individual responsibilities that fall under each segregated duty. Get started with our foreign exchange risk management training, which provides 24/7 365 access to our complete suite of foreign exchange (FX) continuing professional education (CPE), examples and events at FXCPE.com. Start Training >

 

 

Explore How To Forecast FX Rates

Want to explore how to forecast FX rates? FX Initiative’s FX Market Overview course provides proven best practices and real world examples to help you forecast future exchange rate movements in the $5+ trillion daily FX market, the largest and most liquid market in the world. Get started with our foreign exchange risk management training, which provides 24/7 365 access to our complete suite of foreign exchange (FX) continuing professional education (CPE), examples and events at FXCPE.com. Start Training >

 

 

Learn Where to Look for FX Risk

Ready to learn where to look for FX risk? Get started with our foreign exchange risk management training, which provides 24/7 365 access to our complete suite of foreign exchange (FX) continuing professional education (CPE), examples and events at FXCPE.com. Start Training >

 

 

Attend the Net Investment Hedging webinar!

You're invited to the

Net Investment Hedging webinar!

Thursday, November 15th | 2PM Eastern | 1 CPE Credit

Program Overview
Join us for a live webinar and learn how to hedge assets & equity in foreign subsidiaries operating abroad. This 1-hour session covers 4 key learning objectives:

  1. Discover the concept of a foreign exchange (FX) net investment hedge.
  2. Recognize the accounting and cash flow implications of hedging subsidiaries.
  3. Identify the top reasons why some corporations employ net investment hedges.
  4. Explore how forward contracts can be used to hedge equity in foreign operations.

Who Should Attend
New and seasoned finance, accounting, treasury, and related professionals (CPA, CIA, CRMA, CFE, etc.) interested in international business.

Explore the Zero Sum Game of FX Gains & Losses

Explore the Zero Sum Game of FX Gains & Losses

Hedging foreign exchange risk can be viewed as a zero sum game, meaning that when one side of the hedge gains the other side loses. The degree by which those gains and losses do or do not perfectly offset depends on the derivative instrument, hedge coverage level, and strategy used. The FX hedge game isn't about winning or losing, it's about making the outcome more certain.

Balance sheet hedging is the most common practice among multinational corporations, and the goal is often to reduce foreign exchange gains and losses on the income statement to zero. The most effective way to largely achieve this goal is to hedge using a forward contract, which has a symmetrical payoff profile relative to the spot exchange rate, and to hedge 100% of the underlying exposure. However, even under this perfect scenario, there will still be residual FX gains and losses reported in earnings.

When companies hedge near 100% of their balance sheet exposures using forward contracts, controllers and treasurers often wonder why they are never able to achieve that zero sum outcome entirely. This is due to the forward point component of the forward rate on the derivative contract, and the fact that forward contracts are revalued based on forward rates compared to the underlying spot exposure, which is revalued based on spot exchange rates.

As a result, there will almost always be a difference in the "mark-to-market" accounting of a forward contract hedge and an underlying spot exposure. The only time this would not be the case is if interest rates were exactly equal for the countries or regions associated with the two currencies in the pair, which is highly uncommon. This is a typical area of frustration global corporations struggle with, and it highlights that understanding the accounting for underlying exposures and derivatives can clarify why there is a residual impact in earnings. Furthermore, it helps set realistic expectations as to what can be achieved when trying to play the zero sum game of FX hedging.

FX Initiative's Currency Risk Management Training covers balance sheet hedging in detail using Apple as an example to show how multinational corporations can hedge common exposures such as receivables and payables with forward contracts to mitigate foreign exchange gains and losses on the income statement. Our focus is on both the cash flow and financial reporting aspects of the hedge strategy, and we reinforce our teaching with visual displays of the economic and accounting ramifications.

If you are interested in learning how to hedge FX balance sheet exposures, forecasted transactions, and net investments in foreign subsidiaries, start your training today and explore our real world examples of all three scenarios. Furthermore, you can use our FX Transaction Simulator and Foreign Subsidiary Consolidator to customize your own risk model using company specific variables that reflect your actual exposures. Our video based curriculum puts academic theory into practice, and can help you and your team deliver more effective bottom line results in a time efficient manner. Take the FX Initiative for your organization by subscribing here.

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Cheers,

The FX Initiative Team
support@fxinitiative.com