Financial Management Flashcards
Trading/retailing
Businesses purchase goods for resale at a profit
Maintain inventory of goods
Sales are the main forms of income
Selling and distribution expenses
Services
Do not usually maintain inventory as what they sell is the expertise and experience of staff
Income is earned by providing personal service
Management of non-current assets
- The purchase cannot be reversed over time
- It involves large sums of money
- It is geared to long term and so this results in a degree of uncertainty as to future economic conditions and the ability to pay the debt back
- the debt has to be paid and this decreasing cash reduces the firms ability to pay back other debts so the business must be sure it will be able to finance all its obligations
Management of accounts receivable
Means that customers may purchase immediately instead of delaying because of a lack of funds and customers may purchase more because they receive credit
Managing the level of accounts receivable involves:
- internal controls to minimise bad debts
- costs associated with accounting for accounts receivable
- maintaining an appropriate level of debtor turnover
- the delayed cash inflows and bad debts and their effect or liquidity
Inventory
A business must maintain an appropriate level of inventory turnover, not only to be profitable but also to create the cash inflows necessary to repay the debt
Managing inventory levels includes
Having internal controls that ensure that record keeping is complete and accurate, stock is secure and stock losses are prevented
If the type or quantity of inventory is incorrect this can result in slow-moving items or stock being out of date or deteriorating
Over investment
Can lead to oppourtunity cost in that the funds could have been better utilised in some other type of investment
Underinvestment
Can lead to a loss of sales or disruption to production
Cash
Sufficient cash must be held to meet normal operational demands so that debts can be repaid, expenses paid, assets acquired and advantage taken over discounts
Management of cash involves:
- maintaining liquidity: ensuring the business can pay debts as they fall due
- earning an appropriate rate of return on assets
- timing cash flow, setting a cash budget
- cost of cash: accumulating cash instead of using it in the business and the costs of keeping cash secure
Too much cash
In a cheque account is costly as there are fees and a very low interest rate applies
Too little cash
Lead to liquidity problems, important to arrange overdraft facilities in advance
Short term debt
Borrowing which needs to be paid within 90 days to 12 months
An inability to pay this back can leave a company insolvent
An appropriate level of short-term debt is one that will provide the funds necessary but one that will not impact on liquidity so that debts cannot be paid as they fall due
Managing short-term debt
Budgets and cash flow statements should be undertaken monthly so that management is aware of its ability to pay back short-term debt and correct any adverse trends before they occur leading to an inability to lay back the debt
Long term debt
Usually financed over a 10-20 year period
When taking on long-term debt, the costs of the debt should be compared to the income generated by what is done with the funds
Most common types are mortgages and debentures
Equity capital
Is money provided by the business owners (shareholders) to finance the business
If the business is unable to repay the debt, creditors may take control of the business
If equity capital is too high the business will find it difficult to secure debt financing
Ordinary shares
Are past-owners of the business and have voting rights, entitled to receive a dividend but is not guaranteed
Preference shares
Do not have voting right, entitled to a guaranteed dividend
Cash management trust
Raises money and invests this money in short term securities (treasury notes)
Investors are paid interest on the money they have invested
The money market
Is a place where banks and other financial institutions buy and sell debt such as, promissory notes, bank bills and commercial bills
The holder of the hill receives the face value of the bill when it matures
Term deposits
Is an amount of money that has been invested with a financial institution (bank) for a fixed period of time, at a fixed interest rate
Shares
Is the unit of ownership of a company
The ASX is a market place for the buying and selling of the shares of companies listed on the exchange
Debentures
A loan made to the company
An investor receives interest at a fixed rate on the money loaned
A debenture is backed by a right to sell the property of the company if the loan is not repaid on time
Unsecured notes
Is a loan to a company where the money borrowed is not secured by any right to sell the property of the company if the loan is not repaid
Unit trusts
Raises money that is invested in assets, such as fixed interest bank deposits, land or shares of companies listed on the ASX