Leverage, Working Capital, EFT, Effective Interest Rate, Lender

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Managerial Finance Homework Questions

1) Explain how combined leverage brings together operating income and earnings per share.

Degree of financial leverage is the ratio of the EBIT/EBT-earnings before interest and taxes divided by earnings before taxes. When a business relies on borrowed funds for its operations-the financial leverage is created as the business incurs fixed financial obligations or interests on the borrowed funds. A given percentage change in the firm's operating income (EBIT) produces a larger percentage change in the firm's net income (NI) and earnings per share. Indeed, a small percentage change in operating income (EBIT) is magnified into a larger percentage reduction in net income. The degree of financial leverage (DFL) measures a firm's exposure to financial risk or the sensitivity of earnings per share (EPS) to changes in EBIT.

Therefore, DFL indicates the percentage change in earnings per share (EPS) emanating from a unit percent change in earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT). In general, a firm's short-term financing needs are influenced by current sales growth and how effectively and efficiently the firm manages its net working capital-current assets minus current liabilities. Note that ongoing short-term financing needs may reflect a need for permanent long-term financing including an evaluation of the appropriate mix and use of debt and equity-the capital structure.

2) Explain haw rapidly expanding sales can drain the cash resources of a firm?

Growing firms often find themselves strapped for money. A gap in cash is created when bills are paid weeks before cash comes in from customers. The cash gap can be shortened by concentrating efforts on fast moving inventory, implementing a just-in-time inventory model, negotiating extended credit terms to suppliers, and getting cash out of customers through discount programs and credit card transactions. Only after exhausting these alternatives does factoring typically make sense.
When a company pays its suppliers before it collects from its customers, the cash drain presents a financing need. The gap between payments is managed by getting cash out of inventory quickly all-the-while avoiding payment to suppliers as long as possible. Concentrating purchasing efforts on fast moving inventory, giving discounts to customers who pay early, and negotiating extended credit terms with suppliers all help to reduce the cash gap.

Small cash gaps are best. When inventory is purchased, sold, and collected in the same amount of time it takes to pay for the goods the cash gap closes to zero. Even better, a negative cash gap is a modern day version of robbing Peter to pay Paul. Customer Peter advances payment before the inventory is paid to Paul supplier. For example, customers of E-commerce companies like amazon.com forward credit card payments for books brought in on a just-in-time basis and paid for under thirty-day credit terms following the sale. Under ...