The funds the capital of a business consists of;

2. the classification of capital;

3. the types of financing.

The capital of a business consists of the funds used to start and run the business. The funds may be either the owner’s (equity capital) or creditor’s (debt capital). Equity capital consists of those funds provided to the business by the owner(s). These funds come from the personal savings of the owner. Debt capital consists of borrowed funds that the business owner owes to the lender. With debt capital the entrepreneur doesn’t have to share ownership, but has a legal obligation to repay the borrowed money (principal) plus interest at a future data even if the business does not make profit.

Capital is also classified, depending on it use, as fixed or working. Fixed capital refers to items bought once and used for a long period of time. These items include real estate, fixtures, equipment. With a grocery, for example, the real estate consists of the store itself and the land on which it is built. The fixtures include such objective as counters, refrigerators, shelves. Equipment covers such articles as cutting machines, knives, scales. Working capital refers to the funds used to keep a business working or operating. It pays for merchandise, inventory and operating expenses such as rent, utilities (light and heat), taxes, wages. Cash on hand and accounts receivable are also considered working capital. Therefore, working capital is cash, or anything that can easily and quickly be turned into cash.

Equity financing (obtaining owner funds) can be exemplified by the sale of corporate stock. In this type of transaction, the corporation sells units of ownership known as shares of stock. Each share entitles purchaser to a certain amount of ownership. For example, if someone buys 100 shares of stock from Ford Motor Company, that person has purchased 100 shares worth of Ford resources, material, plants, production and profits. The person who purchases shares of stock is known as a stockholder or shareholder.

All corporations, regardless of their size, receive their starting capital from issuing and selling shares of stock. The initial sales involve some risk on the part of the buyers because corporation has no record of performance. If the corporation is successful, the stockholder may profit through increased valuation of the shares of stock, as well as by receiving dividends. Dividends are proportional amounts of profit usually paid quarterly to stockholders. However, if the corporation is not successful, the stockholder may take losses on the initial stock investment.

Often equity financing does not provide the corporation with enough capital and it must turn to debt financing, or borrowing funds. One example of debts financing is the sale of corporate bonds. In this type of agreement, the corporation borrows money from investor in return for bond. The bond has maturity date, a deadline when the corporation must repay all of the money it has borrowed. The corporation must also make periodic interest payment to the bondholder during the time the money is borrowed. If these obligations are not met, the corporation can be forced to sell its assets in order to make payments to the bondholders.

All businesses need financial support. Equity financing (as in the sale of stock) and debt financing (as in the sale of bonds) provide important means by which a corporation may obtain its capital.

T E X T 4

Read the text. Define the main idea of each paragraph. Underline the sentences expressing these ideas.