Answer:
the amount of debt used in the capital structure of the firm.
Explanation:
In Financial accounting, a leverage can be defined as a process which typically involves the use of fixed-charged assets or items in a business with the intention of multiplying potential financial gains and returns.
This ultimately implies that, a financial leverage is a measure of the total amount of debt (borrowed money) used in the capital structure of an organization or business firm. Also, the capital structure of a business firm comprises of the combination of various equities and liabilities used to finance the smooth operations of the business.
Basically, financial leverage which is also known as trading on equity, is the utilization of debt (borrowed money) to acquire or purchase new assets with the intent and expectation that the income generated from these assets would exceed the cost incurred from borrowing. Thus, a business that engages in financial leveraging assumes that it would generate a higher income or capital gain from the amount of debt (borrowed money) used in its capital structure.
