When to use it

Use it when receipts and payments occur in different currencies or at different dates.

When to be cautious

A current conversion rate is not a hedge or a prediction of settlement rates.

Apply it

Home-currency cost = foreign amount × home currency per foreign unit

State the quote direction. An inverted quote requires division, and the rate date or scenario must be explicit.

  1. List exposures by currency and settlement period.
  2. Apply explicit exchange-rate scenarios using consistent quote directions.
  3. Discuss hedging decisions and authority with the responsible finance function.

An example in practice

Equipment is invoiced in a foreign currency while project funding is domestic. Test the payable under several rates and record which exposure remains open.

Source & credit

Standard financial mathematics; no single inventor is asserted.

OpenStax: Principles of Finance, capital budgeting

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