• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Free ACCA & CIMA online courses from OpenTuition

Free ACCA & CIMA online courses from OpenTuition

Free Notes, Lectures, Tests and Forums for ACCA and CIMA exams

  • ACCA
  • CIMA
  • FIA
  • OBU
  • Books
  • Forums
  • Ask AI
  • Search
  • Register
  • Login
  • ACCA Forums
  • Ask ACCA Tutor
  • CIMA Forums
  • Ask CIMA Tutor
  • FIA
  • OBU
  • Buy/Sell Books
  • All Forums
  • Latest Topics

20% off ACCA & CIMA Books

OpenTuition recommends the new interactive BPP books for March and June 2025 exams.
Get your discount code >>

What is the difference between financial risk & business risk

Forums › Ask ACCA Tutor Forums › Ask the Tutor ACCA FM Exams › What is the difference between financial risk & business risk

  • This topic has 9 replies, 3 voices, and was last updated 2 years ago by John Moffat.
Viewing 10 posts - 1 through 10 (of 10 total)
  • Author
    Posts
  • March 17, 2021 at 12:58 pm #614597
    accountguy
    Member
    • Topics: 32
    • Replies: 19
    • ☆☆

    What is the difference between financial risk & business risk and which one is the ungeared & geared beta when it comes to the project-specific cost of capital (Asset Beta & Equity Beta)???

    March 17, 2021 at 3:52 pm #614612
    John Moffat
    Keymaster
    • Topics: 57
    • Replies: 54659
    • ☆☆☆☆☆

    It would seem that you are not watching my free lectures where all of this is explained, and you cannot expect me to type out my lectures in full here!

    Business risk is the risk due to the nature of the business – some types of business are more risky than other types of business.

    Financial risk is the additional risk due to the level of gearing in the business – the more the gearing, the more the fixed interest is payable, and therefore the more risk to the shareholders.

    The ungeared/asset beta is measuring the business risk in the company. The geared/equity beta is measuring the total risk of the shares. The more the gearing, then the more the risk to shareholders and therefore the higher will be the equity beta.

    Again, all of this is explained in detail in my free lectures. The lectures are a complete free course for Paper FM and cover everything needed to be able to pass the exam well.

    March 30, 2021 at 6:58 pm #615538
    accountguy
    Member
    • Topics: 32
    • Replies: 19
    • ☆☆

    Hello Sir, I have seen your lecture on this topic again n again AND,

    I wanted to ask that when we calculate project-specific cost of capital to calculate Asset Beta we need to take the data of Ungeared Company [Ungeared means company which has no debt BUT in example 2 of Chapter 21 we can clearly see that Company Y has 0.2 debt to equity which you take as 20 in your lecture which is fine BUT it clearly does not make sense to USE this company’s data because this company is geared]

    [Doubt #1]
    Why do we UNGEAR proxy company EQUITY BETA? To remove the debt part from the equity beta of proxy company?

    [Doubt #2]
    Secondly, when we calculate Equity Beta we’ve to incorporate data of only the Regeared Company such as X Company BUT I don’t get the logic behind using Ungeared Company Asset Beta to Regeared Company Equity Beta.

    Why do we REGEAR Asset BETA? To add the debt part of our company into the formula?

    March 31, 2021 at 8:23 am #615570
    John Moffat
    Keymaster
    • Topics: 57
    • Replies: 54659
    • ☆☆☆☆☆

    The equity beta measures the risk of the shares which is due to both the business risk and the extra risk due to the gearing.

    The purpose of the asset beta formula is to remove the effect of the gearing and the asset beta is therefore a measure purely of the risk of the type of business.

    It therefore makes perfect sense to find a company in the same type of business, but if it is a geared company then to use the formula to remove the effect of the gearing from its equity beta in order to get the asset beta i.e. the measure of the risk if there was no gearing.

    April 21, 2023 at 7:23 am #683289
    thaarsini
    Participant
    • Topics: 0
    • Replies: 34
    • ☆

    Good day sir, i have a doubt related to business risk and financial risk for systematic and unsystematic risk.
    As i know systematic risk is a broader risk which could not be diversified away but it could be hedge in other ways as compared to unsystematic risk which could be diversified away.
    Business risk can be categories under systematic and unsystematic risk. However my doubt is can financial risk be categories under systematic and unsystematic risk or just under systematic risk?

    April 21, 2023 at 8:29 am #683297
    John Moffat
    Keymaster
    • Topics: 57
    • Replies: 54659
    • ☆☆☆☆☆

    The financial risk (i.e. due to the level of gearing) serves to increase the existing business risk (both the systematic and unsystematic). It is not simply ‘added on’ as extra risk, but multiplies the business risk. Given well-diversified portfolios (as assumed for investors in quoted companies), it is only the systematic risk that is relevant, and where there is gearing this increases the systematic risk.

    Again, I do explain this in my free lectures.

    April 22, 2023 at 2:09 am #683330
    thaarsini
    Participant
    • Topics: 0
    • Replies: 34
    • ☆

    Good day sir, may i know this is under which part of the free lecture?

    April 22, 2023 at 9:45 am #683342
    John Moffat
    Keymaster
    • Topics: 57
    • Replies: 54659
    • ☆☆☆☆☆

    Chapters 19, 20 and 21 (and in Chapters 8 and 9 of Paper AFM given that it seems that you are studying for Paper AFM also).

    April 24, 2023 at 10:40 pm #683486
    thaarsini
    Participant
    • Topics: 0
    • Replies: 34
    • ☆

    Thank you sir 🙂

    April 25, 2023 at 8:01 pm #683528
    John Moffat
    Keymaster
    • Topics: 57
    • Replies: 54659
    • ☆☆☆☆☆

    You are welcome.

  • Author
    Posts
Viewing 10 posts - 1 through 10 (of 10 total)
  • The topic ‘What is the difference between financial risk & business risk’ is closed to new replies.

Primary Sidebar

Donate
If you have benefited from our materials, please donate

ACCA News:

ACCA My Exam Performance for non-variant

Applied Skills exams is available NOW

ACCA Options:  “Read the Mind of the Marker” articles

Subscribe to ACCA’s Student Accountant Direct

ACCA CBE 2025 Exams

How was your exam, and what was the exam result?

BT CBE exam was.. | MA CBE exam was..
FA CBE exam was.. | LW CBE exam was..

Donate

If you have benefited from OpenTuition please donate.

PQ Magazine

Latest Comments

  • nosiphoceliwedlamini@gmail.com on Financial instruments – convertible debentures – ACCA Financial Reporting (FR)
  • NirajNathani99 on PPE – revaluation upwards – ACCA Financial Reporting (FR)
  • AKN1989 on Linear Programming – Maximum contribution – ACCA Performance Management (PM)
  • Motsotase910 on Contingent Assets and Liabilities – ACCA Audit and Assurance (AA)
  • Kim Smith on ACCA F2 Key to success

Copyright © 2025 · Support · Contact · Advertising · OpenLicense · About · Sitemap · Comments · Log in