In: Accounting
Answer to
1. How is it possible to have high sales and high profits and run out of cash?
That is the classic description of a poor cash flow. A firm sells lots of merchandise on credit and buys more, paying promptly. Credit sales are great, and the firm buys more merchandise on credit. One day the creditors ask for money, and the firm cannot collect its accounts receivable fast enough; it is cash poor. It could go bankrupt if it can’t borrow money someplace to cover until accounts receivable are collected.
2. Why did Katherine do better when she raised her prices and refused to sell on credit?
Higher prices increase cash flow when the terms are cash and slow the need to borrow funds to buy on credit. Too rapid growth often leads to cash flow problems because the growth is all financed and there is not enough cash available to back it up.
3. What was the nature of Katherine’s problem? Was she correct to go to the banker for help, even though she owed the bank money? How could she have prevented some of the problems she eventually found herself faced with?
Katherine had a classic cash flow problem, and, yes, a bank is an excellent place to turn for help. The bank can provide funds, help in designing a cash budget, and provide further guidance to avoid cash flow problems in the future. What got Katherine in trouble in the first place was being too free to grant credit to customers and not being more insistent about collecting overdue accounts. To slow business, she could have raised prices and given credit only to her best customers.