Lesson 4.5: Working Capital Management Flashcards
refers to company’s investment in short term asset such as cash,
inventory, short-term marketable securities, and account receivable.
working capital
refers to the difference between the firm’s current assets and
current liabilities.
net working capital
If the firm’s current assets exceed its current liabilities, the firm
has a
positive working capital
if current liabilities exceed
current assets, the firm has a
negative working capital
specifically refers to the efficient management of
the firm’s current assets (cash, receivables, and inventory) and current liabilities
(short-term payables).
working capital management
involves the maintenance of a cash and marketable
securities investment level, which will enable the company to meet its cash
requirements and at the same time optimize the income on idle funds.
cash management
Although cash has generally considered a non-earning asset, business firms must
hold cash for the following reasons:
transaction; precautionary; speculative; contractual MOTIVE
cash needed to facilitate the normal transactions of the
business, that is, to carry out its purchases and sales activities.
transaction motive
Cash may held beyond its normal operating requirement
level in order to provide for a buffer against contingencies such as unexpected
slow-down in accounts receivable collection, strike or increase in cash needs
beyond management’s original projections.
precautionary motive
cash held ready for profit making or investment
opportunities that may come up such as a block of raw materials inventory offered
at discounted prices or a merger proposal.
speculative motive
A company may be required by a bank to maintain a certain
compensating balance in its demand deposit account as a condition of a loan
extended to it
contractual motive
a metric that expresses the number of days it takes for a company to convert its inventory into cash flows from sales.
cash conversion cycle
The
operating cycle of a firm is mainly composed of two current asset categories which are
inventories and accounts receivable
It measures as the sum of the Average Age of
Inventory and Average Collection Period.
operating cycle
refers to the
time that lapsed when a good manufactured and eventually sold.
average age of inventory
refers to the time when the sale made and
collected.
average collection period
formula for operating cycle
operating cycle = average age of inventory + average collection period
average collection period and average age of inventory is measured in
days
reduces the number of days a
firm’s resource has tied up to its operating cycle.
accounts payable
cash conversion cycle formula
cash conversion cycle = operating cycle - average payment period
the time it takes for the firm to pay its accounts
payable expressed in number of days.
average payment period