Question 1 OR (a)
Why time matters in financial decisions
5 marks
- Time to write
- About 10 minutes
From an older CBCS paper
Question
Question 1 OR (a) · 5 marksWhy is it important to consider time in financial decision making?
Reworded from the university paper; the task is the same. The original paper belongs to the University of Delhi. See DU's question bank.
Before you write
Read off the question and its marks
Read from the question
- WhyReasons, not a description: each reason explained in a line or two.
Write it in this order
- Read; underline the asks; jot your points 1 min
- 1 Why the time value of money matters, with reasons 3 marks 5 min
- 2 Compounding and discounting 2 marks 3 min
- Check: every ask answered, key terms underlined 1 min
Short on time? Trim steps 1 and 2 evenly rather than skip one: each is capped at its own marks.
Try it first. About 10 minutes for 5 marks. Write it out, then open the solution.
Solution
Hover or tap a marked figure, like 72,000, to see how it is made and where else it appears.
Why it matters. Financial decisions compare money paid or received at different times. ₹1,000 now is worth more than ₹1,000 after a year: we part with money now only for something more later, and that extra is interest, the time value of money. Money has time value because of the preference for present consumption, the opportunity to invest present cash, the uncertainty of the future (the most important reason) and inflation. Adding up cash flows of different years as if they were equal would overvalue distant benefits and lead to wrong investment, financing and dividend decisions.
How time is adjusted. Cash flows of different dates are brought to a common date at an interest (discount) rate:
- Compounding (future value): interest earned becomes part of the principal at the end of each period, so a sum grows to P(1 + i)ⁿ after n periods; all flows are carried forward to a future date.
- Discounting (present value): the exact opposite: a future sum is divided by (1 + i)ⁿ to find its value today, and all flows are brought back to the present. Capital budgeting uses this, through NPV, IRR and the profitability index.
Tables of compound and present-value factors (and annuity factors for equal annual amounts) make the adjustment simple.
Where the 5 marks sit
| # | Component | Marks |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Why the time value of money matters, with reasons | 3 |
| 2 | Compounding and discounting | 2 |
| Total | 5 |
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