Chapter 15
Working Capital Terminology
Working capital: current assets.
current assets – current liabilities.
Net operating working capital:
current assets – (current liabilities – notes payable).
controlling cash, inventories, and A/R, plus short-term liability management.
2
Working Capital Financing Policies
Aggressive: Use short-term financing to finance permanent assets.
Moderate: Match the maturity of the assets with the maturity of the financing.
Maturity Matching, or “Self-Liquidating”, approach
Conservative: Use permanent capital for permanent assets and temporary assets.
3
Cash Conversion Cycle
The cash conversion cycle focuses on the length of time between when a company makes payments to its creditors and when a company receives payments from its customers.
4
Cash Conversion Cycle
15-5
5
Cash Budget
Forecasts cash inflows, outflows, and ending cash balances.
Used to plan loans needed or funds available to invest.
Can be daily, weekly, or monthly, forecasts.
Monthly for annual planning and daily for actual cash management.
6
Cash and Marketable Securities
Currency
Demand Deposit
Marketable Securities
Inventories
Supplies
Raw materials
Work in process
Finished goods
Accounts Receivable: Credit Policy
Credit Period: How long to pay? Shorter period reduces days sales outstanding (DSO) and average A/R, but it may discourage sales.
Cash Discounts: Lowers price. Attracts new customers and reduces DSO.
Credit Standards: Restrictive standards tend to reduce sales, but reduce bad debt expense. Fewer bad debts reduce DSO.
Collection Policy: How tough? Restrictive policy will reduce DSO but may damage customer relationships.
9
Accounts Payable: Trade Credit
Trade credit is credit furnished by a firm’s suppliers.
Trade credit is often the largest source of short-term credit, especially for small firms.
Spontaneous, easy to get, but cost can be high.
10
period
deferral
Payables
period
collection
Average
period
conversion
Inventory
CCC
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