Understanding Capital Management for Finance Assignment

Understanding Capital Management
Working Capital is the net working capital of the firm. By subtracting current liabilities from current assets current we obtain working capital value. It is the capital needed by a firm in the short term asset accounts such as cash, inventory and account receivable, as well as short-term liability accounts such as accounts payable.

Working Capital Management Ratios:

Working Capital Ratio:

WORKING CAPITAL = CURRENT ASSETS – CURRENT LIABILITIES
As told by an assignment help firm, current assets refer to everything that can be easily changed into cash within one year like, cash, accounts receivable, inventory, and short-term investments. These are the company's extremely liquid assets. Current liabilities are any debts due within the following one year. It includes operating expenses and long-term debt payments. Ratio analysis of operating expenses, which include working capital ratio, collection ratio, and inventory turnover ratio, helps to observe and monitor cash flow, current assets, and current liabilities. This helps in maintaining a smooth net operating cycle which is also called cash conversion cycle (CCC). Cash conversion cycle is defined as the time period required to transform current assets into current liabilities. Working capital management involves three ratios: current ratio; the collection ratio, and the inventory turnover ratio.

Current Ratio:

CURRENT RATIO = CURRENT ASSETS / CURRENT LIABILITIES.
Current ratio indicates firm’s financial health and ability to fulfil short term debts. Current ratio below 1.0 means trouble in meeting short-term debts, that is liquid assets are not enough to cover debts due in the coming year. Ratio of 1.2 to 2.0 is considered desirable. Ratio above 2 means the firm is not utilizing its assets efficiently and effectively to generate revenue.

The Collection Ratio

COLLECTION RATIO = (NUMBER OF DAYS IN AN ACCOUNTING PERIOD * THE AVERAGE AMOUNT OF OUTSTANDING ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLES) / TOTAL AMOUNT OF NET CREDIT SALES DURING THE ACCOUNTING PERIOD
The collection ratio indicates how efficiently a firm is managing its accounts receivables. The lower value of ratio means the company is more effectively managing its account receivable.

The Inventory Turnover Ratio:

INVENTORY TURNOVER RATIO = REVENUE / COST OF INVENTORY
A low ratio indicates inventory levels are unduly high, while a high ratio shows insufficient inventory levels.

Components of Working Capital:

There are two components of working capital:
  • Current Assets
  • Current Liabilities

Conceptual Framework

Balance Sheet:

Balance sheet depicts two main capital factors: Gross Working Capital and net working capital. Gross working capital is the amount invested by a firm in current assets. Net Working Capital is the surplus of current assets above current liabilities.

Operating Cycle or Circular Flow Concept:

Most tasks need the structure to put resources into net working capital. The principal segments of net working capital are money, stock, receivables and payables. Working capital combines the money that is estimated to run the firm on an everyday premise. It does exclude surplus money, the money that is required to maintain the business and can be contributed at a market rate. Surplus money might be seen as a feature of the company’s capital structure, balancing firm obligation. Increment in net working capital speaks to a speculation that diminishes the money that is accessible to the firm. Along these lines, working capital adjusts a company's incentive by influencing its free income.


The degree of working capital mirrors the timeframe between when money leaves a firm toward the start of the creation procedure and when it returns. An organization initially purchases stock from its providers, as either crude materials or completed products. Regardless of whether the stock is a completed product, it might sit on the rack for quite a while before it is sold. A firm ordinarily purchases its stock using a loan, which implies that the firm doesn't need to pay money promptly at the hour of procurement. At the point when the stock is discarded, it is regularly sold on layaway. A company's money cycle is the time span between when the firm pays money to buy its underlying stock and when it gets money from the offer of the yield created from that stock.

The operating cycle of the firm determines the average time period it takes to buy the inventory and get the cash back after selling it. But firms usually purchase inventory on credit which reduces the time period between cash paid and received. Lengthier the operating cycle, greater will the working capital, which means more cash will be required for conducting daily operations. If working capital is reduced it will generate a positive free cash flow.

Benefits of Working Capital Management:

It helps to improve a firm's incomes and profitability. It assists in having control over accounts payable and receivable.

Issues in Working Capital Management:

Managing Working capital means organizing all components of working capital cash, securities, receivables, stock, payables. There are lots of components of working capital management that make it a crucial function of the financial administrator, time working capital management, investment working capital and critical working capital. There can be many factors that can cause issues in working capital management, such as unsatisfactory sales, deficient money, over purchasing, unpaid receivables, and stock turnover issues. Working capital is crucial for all companies. Company’s development is directly related to working capital. This means effective and efficient management of working capital is necessary. 


Corporate must anticipate to reserve adequate certainly cashable assets to assure payables are satisfied at due time, and guarantee that commitments are satisfied at an affordable expense. When a company's current liabilities exceed its non-cash current assets, it has negative working capital. This might be a consequence of the company using source credit as a basis of capital. This technique is commonly consumed by the grocery stores.

Albert Barkley

Hello, my name is Albert Barkley. I am working as education consultant with a UK based firm after completion of my PhD. I like to write on different social, tech and education trends.

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