It is concerned with decisions relating to current assets and current liabilities
Best Buy Co, NA s largest consumer electronics retailer, has performed extremely well over the past decade. Its stock sold for $50 in late 2007 up from $2 ten years earlier. Its excellent performance stemmed from sound financial and operating practices, especially in working capital management. WCM involves finding optimal levels for cash marketable securities, accounts receivable and inventory and then financing that working capital for the least cost. Most of best buy s customers use credit cards, so neither in-store cash nor accounts receivable is significant. Therefore Best buy s working capital focuses on inventories. 2
To maintain sales, its stores must be well stocked with the goods customers are seeking at the time they are shopping. This involves determining what new products are hot, determining where they can be obtained at the lowest cost and delivering them to stores in a timely manner. Dramatic improvements in communications and computer technology have transformed the way Best Buy manages its inventories. It now collects real-time data from each store on how each products is selling and its computers place orders automatically to keep the shelves full. Moreover, if sales of an item are slipping, prices are lowered to recue stocks of that item before the situation gets so bad that drastic price cuts are necessary. Working capital needs to be managed to maximize profits and stock prices. 3
Inventories Raw materials and components Work-in-progress Trade debtors Loans and advances Bills Receivable Marketable securities Cash and bank balances Sundry creditors Bills payable Outstanding expenses Trade advances Borrowings Provisions 4
Gross working capital is the total of all current assets Net working capital = current assets - current liabilities The working capital cycle can often be expressed as a period of time (60 days) Current ratio and Quick ratio Cash budget is an estimate of future cash inflows and outflows Characteristics of current assets Short life span Swift transformation into other asset forms 5
6
Operating cycle is the time that elapses between the purchase of raw materials and the collection of cash for sales. It is divided into 4 stages: raw materials, WIP, finished goods inventory and debtors collection = Inventory conversion period + accounts receivable period Cash conversion cycle is the time length between the payment for raw material purchases and the collection of cash for sales =Inventory conversion period + accounts receivable period accounts payable period 7
Reported as cash and cash equivalents in the balance sheet Marketable securities - Very liquid securities that can be converted into cash quickly at a reasonable price. They tend to have maturities of less than one year. Furthermore, the rate at which these securities can be bought or sold has little effect on their prices. Examples of marketable securities include commercial paper, banker's acceptances, bank certificates, Treasury bills and other money market instruments. Case of Microsoft one time dividend, stock repurchase program, retiring debt, acquiring firms, financing major expansions etc. 8
Short term securities that can be bought and sold at short notice Securities are held mostly for precautionary purposes but earn returns Invest in securities when interest rates are high otherwise it is expensive and time consuming to convert them into cash Firm which have high growth rate Firms with volatile cash flow Small new firms which do not have exceptional credit ratings 9
Cash discounts on cash payment to suppliers Maintain and improve its credit rating Take advantage of favorable business opportunities Meet emergencies 10
An estimate of receipts, disbursements and cash balances for a firm over a specified future period 11
Goals of inventory management To ensure that inventories needed to sustain operations are available To hold the costs of ordering and carrying inventories to the lowest possible level Types of costs Ordering & Receiving costs (cost of placing orders, shipping and handling costs) Carrying costs (warehouse rent, interest on capital locked up, insurance, property taxes, spoilage, depreciation and obsolescence, pilferage) Shortage or stockout costs (loss of sales, customer, goodwill, disruption of production schedules) Inventories are supplies, raw materials, work-inprogress and finished goods 12
What should be the size of the order? When should the order be placed? Assumptions: The forecast demand for a period is known Orders can be replenished quickly The only costs are ordering and carrying The cost per order does not change with size Cost of carrying is a percentage of inventory value 13
It implies that a firm should maintain a minimal level of inventory and rely on suppliers to provide parts and components just in time to meet its assembly requirements It requires a strong and dependable relationship with suppliers who are geographically not very remote from the mfg facility a reliable transportation system an easy physical access in the form of enough doors and conveniently located docks and storage areas to dovetail incoming supplies to the needs of assembly line impeccable quality maintenance of component parts by the supplier Lowers the ordering cost and also the safety stock by forging stronger long term relationship with the suppliers, average inventory level is lower 14
A sole trader having $800 capital buys stock for $800. The next day he sells the stock on a 10 day credit for $1000 and takes an overdraft of $800 for stock purchase. Accounts receivable is determined by Volume of credit sales Average time between sales and collection Increase in receivables must be financed in some way Entire amount of receivables need not be financed because of the profit component which does not involve any cash flow 15
Credit period: 2 / 10, net 30; lengthening the credit period pushes sales up, lengthens cash conversion cycle, requires larger investment in debtors, leads to higher incidence of bad debts loss Cash discount and trade discount Should attract new customers Will increase cash flow Credit standards: 5 C s of credit are character, capacity, capital, collateral and conditions on which information is received from financial statements, bank references, firm experiences and stock market data Collection policy: procedure that the firm follows to collect accounts receivable Profit potential in granting credit through carrying charges levied on credit sales (nominal and effective interest rates) makes credit sales more profitable than cash sales 16
It is unsecured short term pro notes of large firms with high credit rating having an interest rate below the prime rate (a published interest rate charged by commercial banks to large, strong borrowers) Maturity period ranges from 90 to 180 days Generally sold at a discount from its face value and redeemed at its face value, difference constitutes interest. No well developed secondary market The minimum size of commercial paper issue is Rs.2.5 and in denominations of half a million or more Commercial paper is not backed by any form of collateral, so only firms with high-quality debt ratings will easily find buyers without having to offer a substantial discount (higher cost) for the debt issue. The proceeds from this type of financing can only be used on current assets (inventories) and are not allowed to be used on fixed assets, such as a new plant, without SEC involvement. 17
A factor is a financial institution which offers services relating to management and financing of debts arising from credit sales, which ensures a definite pattern of cash inflows from credit sales of an organization and eliminates the need for credit and collection department RBI authorized public sector banks that do factoring: SBI, Canbank, PNB, Bank of Allahabad selects the accounts of the client and establishes the credit limits factor assumes responsibility for collecting the debt Advances money against not yet collected / not yet due accounts Factoring is on a recourse basis Besides interest on advances against debt the factor charges a commission which maybe 1 2% of the face value of the debt factored 18