ARS.2 E-Textbook

CHAPTER 4: CREDIT MANAGEMENT

— Income Statement. This is also called a Profit & Loss Statement, Statement of Earnings, or Statement of Operations. It is a listing of sources and monetary amounts of a company’s revenues and expenses, gains and losses, for a particular period (e.g., quarter or year). A company’s profitability is calculated from revenues and gains minus expenses and losses. Statements usually cover 12 months of operation, with interim statements monthly and quarterly. — Cash Flow Statement — Auditor’s Report, with explanatory notes.

For a consumer: — Tax returns—formal documentation of income (also B2B); — Bank statements.

A point to remember is that all these documents are a reflection of the past and must be used in conjunction with other research to make a solid decision on a credit limit. This should be done not only when reviewing a new customer, but periodically to keep the customer file current once a line of credit is granted.

The key aspects of financial statement analysis with the use of standard ratios are these: — Stability (income to support debt/expenses and several months reserve)

— Degree of leverage/indebtedness (debt-to-equity ratio) — Degree of liquidity (ability to acquire cash quickly) — Capacity to pay — Trends

Key ratios and formulas used to analyze statements (B2B and B2C) include the following:

— Quick ratio (also known as the “acid test ratio”). This ratio compares the total amount of cash + marketable securities + accounts receivable to the amount of current liabilities. — Current ratio (company’s ability to pay off short-term liabilities with its current assets) — Other business ratios: { Turnover ratio (the frequency of inventory turnover) { Cash Conversion Cycle = (days inventory outstanding + days sales outstanding) - days payable outstanding, i.e.: ƒ Days inventory outstanding (DIO) = inventory/(cost of sales/365) ƒ Days sales outstanding (DSO) = trade receivables/(credit sales/365) ƒ Days payable outstanding (DPO) = trade accounts payable/(cost of sales/365)

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THE ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE SPECIALIST CERTIFICATION PROGRAM E-TEXTBOOK

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