In today’s fast paced world, financial literacy should be widespread. Financial literacy- according to its literal meaning- is the “ability to understand and effectively use various financial skills”. This includes investments, budgeting and even personal everyday money management. To help you understand more about how to deal with your everyday finances, Daastan brings to you a panel discussion with extremely professional and talented guests:
Mr. Shahrukh Malik– Founder Hina Shahrukh & Co.
Hina Shahrukh FCA, Managing Partner- Hina Shahrukh & Co.
Ather Haseeb Rao– Team lead of Hina Shahrukh & Co.
Introduction to Financial literacy
Although it may seem like a scary term, it is something all of us have been doing in our day to day life. In layman terms, it is how one saves, spends and manages his expenses. We are sure, you too budget your month when you initially get your salary. You pay bills and fees at the beginning of the month and save up some portion of it. Technically, you are budgeting your own money! However, when financial literacy is linked to businesses, it may become challenging.
Although, there are concepts and methods that you can learn to make more informed decisions about how you manage many. In finance they say, high risk, high return. However, those risks taken are calculated and taken after in depth researches. One tip that our professionals give to everybody who is reading this is to; maintain records. There are many personal finance apps that you can use.
Key concepts of financial literacy
- Budgeting– meaning how to allocate your resources (which in this case is money) in a more efficient manner. Encourage the habit of budgeting in your kids at a very young age. Give them monthly allowance and help them manage it efficiently.
- Investments: If you are investing in a company, research the stocks of the company, the sales and the annual reports of the said company. Furthermore, analyze the findings of your research and evaluate the risks. Make a calculated investment.
- Understanding the concepts of borrowing & spending: Borrowing and spending may seem like simple terms that are thrown around in our everyday life. However, it does not mean that we use them to the best of our abilities. Smart spending and smart borrowing can make your lives much easier. For instance, while taking a loan, you should compare your options and make a decision based on interest rates, the amount of payback time, etc.
To learn more about these concepts and financial literacy in general, Hina suggests you search what you want to learn about on youtube and you can find all sort of information in English, Urdu & Hindi. Moreover, there are also courses on coursera if you are interested to become certified.
Chartered accounting firms
Hina Shahrukh & Co. is an established accounting firm that provides financial services such as record keeping, auditing and also help manage the taxes. The job of such firms and chartered accountants in particular is to be advisors to business or start-ups. They make reports on the financial standing of a company to help make the decision process easier and smoother. Furthermore, they take care of all the problems that arise in a business’s balance sheets, income statements or end of the year annual sales reports.
The data handling done by these companies often allows businesses to grow and make more informed and proper decisions. Hina Shahrukh & Co. realized how overwhelming it can be for start-ups to manage all things at once. They noticed a trend where oftentimes these start-ups were not even documented.
To cater to this problem, they now have a separate department that deals with start-ups only. They ensure that their customers are documented. In addition to that, they acknowledge that small scale businesses do not have enough money to hire accountants, therefore, they make customised packages which leads to their customers not being burdened by only 50,000/- pkr per annum. Within this fees, they handle everything while you can sit back and take a deep breath!
To learn more about Hina Shahrukh & Co. and to get in touch for their services, you can check out their website.
Happy Financing, everybody!
On an ending note, we encourage all our audience to try to become financially independent so that they can learn! Learn to take risks and experiment to grow and get better. Most importantly, do not be afraid to make mistakes. That is the only way you will grow to be successful!
We hope you enjoyed Lit’EDTech Fiesta. You can stream the full episode here. For more literary goodness, stay tuned!
