Question

Cash management is a very important function of managers. Companies need to manage their operations in a way that they can sustain growth and yet not run out of cash.

Consider the case of Black Sheep Broadcasting Company’s:

Black Sheep Broadcasting Company’s is a mature firm that has a stable flow of business. The following data was taken from its financial statements last year:

Annual sales	$9,900,000
Cost of goods sold	$6,732,000
Inventory	$2,900,000
Accounts receivable	$2,200,000
Accounts payable	$2,600,000

Black Sheep Broadcasting’s CFO is interested in determining the length of time funds are tied up in working capital. Use the information in the preceding table to answer the following questions. (Note: Use 365 days as the length of a year in all calculations, and round all values to two decimal places.)

What is the inventory conversion period?

53.56 days

44.11 days

50.41 days

157.23 days

What is the average collection period?

25.81 days

24.38 days

81.11 days

21.51 days

What is the payable deferrals period?

50.84 days

45.19 days

53.67 days

140.97 days

What is the cash conversion cycle?

33.44 days

36.96 days

29.92 days

97.37 days

Both the inventory conversion period and payables deferral period use the average daily COGS in their denominators, whereas the average collection period uses average daily sales in its denominator. Why do these measures use different inputs?

-Current assets should be divided by sales, but current liabilities should be divided by the COGS.

-Inventory and accounts payable are carried at cost on the balance sheet, whereas accounts receivable are recorded at the price at which goods are sold.

The management at Black Sheep Broadcasting Company’s wants to continue its internal discussions related to its cash management. One of the finance team members presents the following case to his cohorts:

Case in Discussion:

Extensive Enterprise’s management plans to finance its operations with bank loans that will be repaid as soon as cash is available. The company’s management expects that it will take 40 days to manufacture and sell its products and 35 days to receive payment from its customers. Extensive’s CFO has told the rest of the management team that they should expect the length of the bank loans to be approximately 75 days.

Which of the following responses to the CFO’s statement is most accurate?

-The CFO’s approximation of the length of the bank loans should be accurate, because it will take 75 days for the company to manufacture, sell, and collect cash for its goods. All these things must occur for the company to be able to repay its loans from the bank.

-The CFO is not taking into account the amount of time the company has to pay its suppliers. Generally, there is a certain length of time between the purchase of materials and labor and the payment of cash for them. The CFO can reduce the estimated length of the bank loan by this amount of time.

Answer 1

Answer a.

Inventory Conversion Period = 365 * Inventory / Cost of Goods Sold
Inventory Conversion Period = 365 * $2,900,000 / $6,732,000
Inventory Conversion Period = 157.23 days

Average Collection Period = 365 * Accounts Receivable / Annual Sales
Average Collection Period = 365 * $2,200,000 / $9,900,000
Average Collection Period = 81.11 days

Payable Deferrals Period = 365 * Accounts Payable / Cost of Goods Sold
Payable Deferrals Period = 365 * $2,600,000 / $6,732,000
Payable Deferrals Period = 140.97 days

Cash Conversion Cycle = Inventory Conversion Period + Average Collection Period - Payable Deferrals Period
Cash Conversion Cycle = 157.23 days + 81.11 days - 140.97 days
Cash Conversion Cycle = 97.37 days

Answer b.

Inventory and accounts payable are carried at cost on the balance sheet, whereas accounts receivable are recorded at the price at which goods are sold.

Answer c.

The CFO is not taking into account the amount of time the company has to pay its suppliers. Generally, there is a certain length of time between the purchase of materials and labor and the payment of cash for them. The CFO can reduce the estimated length of the bank loan by this amount of time.