3.3 - Effective financial management Flashcards
What is Financial Management?
Changing monetary variables such as cash flows to achieve financial objectives such as improved cash flow.
Why is cash important?
If a business’s outflows are greater than its inflows then it could run out of cash and trading will cease.
What are the 5 main ways of improving Cash OUTFLOWS (i.e. decreasing it) ?
- Delay paying invoices
- Leasing rather than buying
- Reduce stock orders.
- Improve credit terms with suppliers.
- Use cheaper suppliers.
What are the 5 main ways of improving Cash INFLOWS?
- Increasing sales revenue.
- Destocking.
- Reduce credit terms with customers.
- Encourage customers to pay early (incentives).
- Use short-term sources of finance, e.g. overdrafts and short-term loans.
What can profit-improving techniques do to a business?
It can affect the performance of a business and in the long term, this could reduce profits.
What are the 5 profit-improving techniques and what are its consequences (outcomes) ?
- Cutting material costs - Lower quality products
- Cutting labour costs - lower motivation of workforce
- Cutting investment - damages long-term competitiveness
- Improve products - expensive development costs
- Increase prices - customers switch to competitor’s products
What are the 2 main areas that a business can focus on to improve profit?
- Increasing revenue
2. Lowering costs
What is the formula for Total Revenue?
Total Revenue = Number of Products Sold x Average Price
What 3 methods can a business perform to increase revenue?
- Improved marketing
- Better products
- Increasing its selling price.
What is the impact of a business increasing its selling price?
The impact an increase in price has on revenue depends on how sensitive demand is to a change in price.
What is the formula for Total Costs?
Total Costs = Fixed Costs + Variable Costs
What are the 2 main ways in which a business could reduce its costs?
- Cutting costs of raw materials, labour or research and development costs.
- Cutting its marketing
What are Variable Costs?
Costs that change directly with the number of products made.
e.g. materials
What is the Break-Even Point?
The point where total costs is equal to the total revenue, thus equalling to ZERO profit.
How can you locate the B/E point on a graph?
The point on the graph where total costs and revenue meet.