Exam 21: Supply Chains and Working Capital Management

Data on Mertz Co.for the most recent year are shown below,along with the payables deferral period (PDP)for the firms against which it benchmarks.The firm's new CFO believes that the company could delay payments enough to increase its PDP to the benchmarks' average.If this were done,by how much would payables increase? Use a 365-day year. Cost of goods sold = \ 75,000 Payables = \ 5,000 Payables deferral period = 24.33 Benchmark payables deferral period = 30.00

Which of the following items should a company report directly in its monthly cash budget?

Short-term financing is riskier than long-term financing since,during periods of tight credit,the firm may not be able to rollover (renew)its debt.This is especially true if the funds are used to finance long-term assets rather than short-term assets.

Accruals are "spontaneous," but unfortunately,due to law and economic forces,firms have little control over the level of these accounts.

If one of your firm's customers is "stretching" its accounts payable,this may be a nuisance but it does not represent a real financial cost to your firm as long as the customer periodically pays off its entire balance.

Although short-term interest rates have historically averaged less than long-term rates,the heavy use of short-term debt is considered to be an aggressive current operating asset financing strategy because of the inherent risks of using short-term financing.

Which of the following statements is CORRECT?

Since depreciation is a non-cash charge,it neither appears on nor has any effect on the cash budget.Thus,if the depreciation charge for the coming year doubled or halved,this would have no effect on the cash budget.

Data on Liu Inc.for the most recent year are shown below,along with the inventory conversion period (ICP)of the firms against which it benchmarks.The firm's new CFO believes that the company could reduce its inventory enough to reduce its ICP to the benchmarks' average.If this were done,by how much would inventories decline? Use a 365-day year. Cost of goods sold = \ 85,000 Inventory = \ 20,000 Inventory conversion period (ICP) = 85.88 Benchmark inventory conversion period ( ICP )= 38.00

Which of the following actions should Reece Windows take if it wants to reduce its cash conversion cycle?

Firms generally choose to finance temporary current operating assets with short-term debt because

Exhibit 21.1 Hardwig Inc. is considering whether to pursue a restricted or relaxed current asset investment policy. The firm's annual sales are expected to total $3,600,000, its fixed assets turnover ratio equals 4.0, and its debt and common equity are each 50% of total assets. EBIT is $150,000, the interest rate on the firm's debt is 10%, and the tax rate is 40%. If the company follows a restricted policy, its total assets turnover will be 2.5. Under a relaxed policy its total assets turnover will be 2.2. -Refer to Exhibit 21.1.If the firm adopts a restricted policy,how much lower would its interest expense be than under the relaxed policy?

Cash is often referred to as a "non-earning" asset.Thus,one goal of cash management is to minimize the amount of cash necessary for conducting a firm's normal business activities.

The cash budget and the capital budget are handled separately,and although they are both important,they are developed completely independently of one another.

Summary balance sheet data for Greener Gardens Co.is shown below (in thousands of dollars).The company is in a highly seasonal business,and the data show its assets and liabilities at peak and off-peak seasons: Cash Peak Off-Peak Marketable securities \ 50 \ 30 Accounts receivable 0 20 Inventories 40 20 Net fixed assets 100 50 Total assets Payables and accruals 30 \ 10 Lhort-term bank debt \ 50 0 Cong-term debt 300 300 Common equity 310 \ 310 Total dams From this data we may conclude that

Hinkle Corporation buys on terms of 2/15,net 60 days.It does not take discounts,and it typically pays on time,60 days after the invoice date.Net purchases amount to $550,000 per year.On average,what is the dollar amount of total trade credit (costly + free)the firm receives during the year,i.e.,what are its average accounts payable? (Assume a 365-day year,and note that purchases are net of discounts.)

The concept of permanent current operating assets reflects the fact that some components of current assets do not shrink to zero even when a business is at its seasonal or cyclical low.Thus,permanent current operating assets represent a minimum level of current assets that must be financed.

Which of the following statements is most consistent with efficient inventory management? The firm has a

A lockbox plan is most beneficial to firms that

Which of the following statements is CORRECT?