Natali Orekhova – författare

This book presents new methodologies for rating non-financial issuers and project ratings based on the BFO (Brusov-Filatova-Orekhova) theory of capital cost and structure, and its perpetuity limit (Modigliani-Miller theory), as well as modern investment models created by the authors.

It first provides a critical analysis of the methodological and systemic shortcomings of the current credit ratings of non-financial issuers and project ratings. In order to increase the objectivity and accuracy of rating assessments, it  then modifies the BFO theory for companies of arbitrary age as well as and the perpetuity limit (Modigliani-Miller theory) for rating needs. The authors also incorporate the financial indicators used in the rating methodology into both the BFO theory and the Modigliani-Miller theory. Within the framework of the modified BFO theory for rating needs, they then present a detailed study of the dependence of the weighted average cost of capital of WACC, used asthe discount rate for discounting financial flows, on the financial ratios used in the rating, on the age of the company, on the leverage level and on the level of taxation for a wide range of values of equity cost and debt cost for companies of arbitrary age. This makes it possible to correctly assess of the discount rate, taking into account the values of financial ratios. 

The use of well-established corporate finance theories (BFO theory and its perpetuity limit) opens up new horizons in the rating industry, providing an opportunity to switch from mainly qualitative methods for determining the creditworthiness of issuers to mainly quantitative methods in rating, and as such improving the quality and accuracy of rating scores.

The original theory of capital cost and capital structure put forward by Nobel Prize Winners Modigliani and Miller has since been modified by many authors, and this book discusses some of them. The book’s authors have created general theory of capital cost and capital structure – the Brusov–Filatova–Orekhova (BFO) theory, which generalizes the Modigliani–Miller theory to encompass companies of an arbitrary age (and arbitrary lifetime). Despite the availability of this more general theory, the classical Modigliani–Miller theory is still widely used in practice. In this book, the authors for the first time generalize it for cases of practical relevance: for the case of variable profit; for the case of advance tax-on-profit payments and interest on debt payments; for the case of several tax-on-profit and interest on debt payments per period; and for the combination of all three effects. These generalizations lead to valuable theoretical results as well as significantly widen of practical application this theory in practice and increase of the quality of finance management of the company. As well, the book investigates the applications of said results in corporate finance, investments, taxation and ratings, where employing a generalized Modigliani–Miller theory can be very fruitful.

This textbook is designed to facilitate a thorough learning for students of financial mathematics. It includes exercises and theoretical questions across seven chapters: Interest Theory, Financial Flows and Annuities, Profitability and Risk of Financial Operations, Portfolio Analysis, Bonds, Modigliani-Miller Theory, and Brusov-Filatova-Orekhova Theory. The last two chapters are dedicated to modern theories of capital structure, including problems and tasks. More than 130 detailed solutions are provided to help students solve the assignments in the textbook.

This textbook is suitable for undergraduate and graduate students in all financial and economic fields, including finance and credit, accounting and auditing, taxes, insurance, and international economic relations. It is also useful for professionals in financial and economic specialties, including financial analysts, as well as anyone interested in mastering quantitative methods in finance and economics.