Efficient working capital management, bond quality rating, and debt refinancing risk

2019 ◽  
Vol 45 (7) ◽  
pp. 869-885 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amarjit Gill ◽  
Afshin Amiraslany ◽  
John Obradovich ◽  
Neil Mathur

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of efficient working capital management (WCM) on a firm’s bond quality ratings (BQR) and debt refinancing risk (RFR).Design/methodology/approachTo fulfill its purpose, this study adopted a co-relational research design. Additionally, the COMPUSTAT of Wharton Research Data Services was used to collect data from American production firms for a period of five years (from 2013 to 2017).FindingsThe results of this study suggest that efficient WCM does, in fact, play a role in improving BQR of American production firms. Furthermore, the findings go on to suggest that efficient WCM plays a very little role in reducing RFR for American production firms.Research limitations/implicationsThis is a correlational study that investigated the presence of an association between efficient WCM and firms’ BQR and between efficient WCM and RFR. However, the two do not necessarily share a causal relationship. Moreover, the findings of this study may only be generalized to firms that are similar to those that were included in this research.Originality/valueThis study contributes to the literature on financial factors that improve a firm’s BQR. Firms should consider maintaining an optimal net working capital as it improves BQR. Moreover, the findings of this study may prove useful for financial managers, investors, financial management consultants and other stakeholders.

2016 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 100-109 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amarjit Gill ◽  
Nahum Biger ◽  
Rajen Tibrewala ◽  
Pradeep Prabhakar

The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of merger on the efficiency of working capital management of American production firms. This study applied a co-relational research design. A sample of 497 listed American production firms for a period of 4 years (from 2010-2014) was analyzed. The findings of this study indicate that mergers may contribute to an improvement of the efficiency of working capital management. This is a co-relational study that investigated the association between merger and working capital management efficiency. There is not necessarily a causal relationship between the two, although the paper provides some conjectures to such relationship. The findings of this study may only be generalized to firms similar to those that were included in this research. This study contributes to the literature on the factors that improve the efficiency of working capital management, and in particular on the association between merger and the efficiency of working capital management. The findings may be useful for financial managers, investors, financial management consultants, and other stakeholders.


Author(s):  
M.Yousaf Raza ◽  
Muhammad Bashir ◽  
Khalid Latif ◽  
Touqeer Sultan Shah ◽  
Mushtaq Ahmed

This study explores the impact of working capital management on the profitability of the firms in the oil sector of Pakistan. For the purpose of testing this relationship data from the annual reports of the sample companies is used from the period 2006 to 2010. Cash conversion cycles (CCC), average receivable, Average inventory, average payable, and current ratio are used as a measure of working capital management, while gross operating profit is used as a measure of profitability of the firm. There are three major issues in financial management that are capital budgeting, capital structure, and working capital management. So working capital management is one of the three major issues in financial management. A commercial firm consists of two types of assets, which are fixed assets and current assets. Current assets of a firm consist of cash, bank balance, account receivable, raw material, work in process, and finished goods. While fixed assets of the business require capital expenditure and these are used in increasing the production of the business, the Current assets are used in utilizing the fixed assets in day to day transactions.  Hence Current assets are regarded as lifeblood for any business firm, the play vital role in the daily operations of the business. Current assets and current liabilities regarded as are very important component of total assets and they need to be carefully managed for the long term success of the business. In this paper working capital management provide us profit by using average payable and gross operating profit but other variables in hypothesis shows negative relationships with each other.


Author(s):  
Tushar Rameshbhai Ajmera

Purpose: The main aim of this article is to find out the working capital management and its impact on profitability in Tyre Industry of selected companies which are listed on stock exchange in India. Approach/ Methodology/ Design: For the study, a time span of 8 years from 2011-12 to 2018-19 is considered, and based on it, any relation of net profit margin ratio and working capital components like current ratio, quick ratio, inventory turnover ratio, working capital turnover ratio is considered. The sample is selected based on higher market capitalisation during the study period. Regression analysis is also employed to investigate the impact of WCM on corporate profitability. Findings: The major findings of this study indicate that the profitability of Balkrishana was good   compared to the other companies. The working capital of Ceat shows highly positive working capital management, whereas Apollo shows negative working capital management. These results were identified with the help of accounting tool as Ratio analysis and statistical tools as Regression analysis and ANOVA test for selected data. Practical Implication: The study examines the scenario of tyre industry with the help of working capital management in selected companies. The results of the study could be an indicator of the performance of the selected companies.   Originality/Value:  This paper provides some key insights to health and efficiency of the selected companies. The working capital ratios are indicative of good working capital management, leading to identifying issue in financial management and eventually improving the performance of the tyre industry.


2017 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 80-97 ◽  
Author(s):  
Monica Singhania ◽  
Piyush Mehta

Purpose Excessive working capital or paucity of the same can impair the profits and health of an organization. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the impact of working capital management (WCM) on the profitability of firms for a sample comprising of non-financial companies in countries of South East Asia, South Asia and East Asia. Design/methodology/approach Analytical modeling has been used to estimate the impact of WCM on profitability with the help of financial data of the companies listed in major indices of the target countries (India, Pakistan, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Hong Kong, Japan, China, South Korea and Taiwan). The mathematical model presented in the paper has been tested using two-step-generalized method of moments. Findings The study reveals a non-linear relationship between profitability of a firm and WCM for 11 economies of the Asia Pacific region. Research limitations/implications The results are subject to the differences in the market dynamics of different economies (countries). Moreover, the limitations of the specific statistical method used to verify the model apply to the model too. Practical implications The research can be used as a tool by the firms (global as well as local) to ameliorate their performance by understanding the effects of WCM on profitability in different global markets and adjusting their working capital accordingly. Originality/value The research on the impact of WCM on profitability of the firms of South East Asia, South Asia and East Asia is a new effort and tries to make the importance of WCM more luciferous.


2019 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 191-204 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ben Le

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the effects of working capital management on firm valuation, profitability and risk.Design/methodology/approachThe paper uses a panel data set of 497 firms covering the period 2007 to 2016. The authors test the effects of working capital management on firm valuation, profitability and risk using the panel data methodology that includes firm and year fixed effects regressions.FindingsThe authors find a significantly negative relationship between net working capital (NWC) and firm valuation, profitability and risk. The results suggest that, in managing working capital, firm managers must make a trade-off between their objectives for profitability and risk control. Working-capital management is of particular importance in firms with less access to capital; it is also important when firms are expanding their investments during periods of economic recovery.Originality/valueThis paper contributes to the literature in several ways. First, to my knowledge, it provides the most comprehensive investigation, to date, on the relationship between working capital management and firm valuation, profitability and risk in an emerging market. Second, this study documents the existence of an optimal level of NWC in an emerging market. Third, firm performance, as measured in both market and accounting value, can be improved with efficient working capital management. Finally, the study includes the impact of the business cycle in an analysis of the effects of working capital management on firm performance.


Author(s):  
Kumar Sanjay Sawarni ◽  
Sivasankaran Narayanasamy ◽  
Kanagaraj Ayyalusamy

PurposeThis paper aims to investigate the impact of the efficiency of working capital management (WCM) on the performance of a sample of Indian companies and explore how the nature of the firm's business influences the significance and direction of this impact.Design/methodology/approachThe data for this study were collected for the period of 2012–2018 for 414 non-financial firms listed on the Bombay Stock exchange. Fixed-effect regression models were run by taking Tobin's Q and return on equity (ROE) as dependent variables, and net trade cycle (NTC) and its components as explanatory variables in the presence of liquidity, leverage, size, age and growth as control variables. Sample firms were segregated into manufacturing, trading and service groups, and regression models were used for all the groups to understand the effect of the nature of a firm's business.FindingsWCM efficiency has a significant impact on the performance of the sample firms. Non-financial Indian firms deliver better financial performance by maintaining lower NTC. Like NTC, its components also impact firm value and profitability. The results report that the significance of the relationship varies depending upon the nature of the firm's business.Originality/valueThe previous research studies had not used a sample of large number of Indian firms. Unlike previous studies, this study reports the influence of the nature of business on the relationship between WCM and firm performance. Further, this paper also examines how the individual components of working capital influence the performance of Indian firms.


2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (6) ◽  
pp. 151
Author(s):  
Yasmeen Tarek ◽  
Mary Rafik

Financial management has two main objectives profit and wealth maximization, well organized management of WC components should contribute to the achievement of these objectives. This study clarified the factors which affect WCM, which consequently will affect the business health as a whole and this will influence corporate ’performance and its corporate value. The study will examine the relation between firms profitability and its corporate value by applying panel data analysis on16 companies registered in the Egyptian stock market during the period from 2013 to 2017.The performance of companies is measured through profitability using return on assets (ROA) and firms value were measured by Tobin’s Q (TQ) ratio. The working capital management was measured by using current assets ratio (CAR), quick ratio (QR) and cash ratio (CR).


2019 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 623-645
Author(s):  
Omogbai Oleghe

Purpose This study aims to describe in detail, a system dynamics-based study that was used to show how a large vertically integrated aquaculture company should approach its stepwise capacity expansion program, without undermining its financial performance or affecting the performance of the value chain. Design/methodology/approach The company and its aquaculture value chain are used as case study. A system dynamics model is developed on the basis of generic end-to-end agribusiness and aquaculture supply chain models. The model includes the unique dynamics relating to an aquaculture supply chain. Also modelled is the working capital management rules of the company, with the effects of the capacity expansion program on its working capital, market share and its supply chain obligations. The model is used to determine the long-term impact of the company’s working capital management under different modes of financing and rate of expanding the capacity. Findings For a large vertically integrated company that wants to increase its capacity, there is a systematic approach to working capital management that can be used to avoid financial distress or value chain distortion. Research limitations/implications Extended the scope of system dynamics modelling within multiple disciplines, namely, agribusiness supply chain finance, supply chain capacity investment, financial management in large companies, supply chain working capital management and aquaculture value chain. Practical implications The developed model can be used to manage supply chain working capital in large vertically integrated agribusinesses, and also to assess supply chain financial risk. Originality/value To enhance the model build, discrete event simulation was used to model aspects of the system. The eventual system dynamics-discrete event simulation model is a form of hybrid simulation modelling that was used to provide a deeper understanding of how supply chain financial decisions affect an entire value chain system.


2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ahsan Akbar ◽  
Xinfeng Jiang ◽  
Minhas Akbar

PurposeThe present study aims to investigate the impact of working capital management (WCM) practices on the investment and financing patterns of listed nonfinancial companies in Pakistan for a span of 10 years.Design/methodology/approachThe study is based on secondary financial data of 354 listed nonfinancial Pakistani firms during the period of 2005–2014. The two-step generalized method of moment (GMM) regression estimation technique is employed to ensure the robustness of results.FindingsEmpirical testing reveals that: excessive funds tied up in working capital have a negative impact on the investment portfolio of sample firms. Besides, a negative relationship between change in fixed assets and excess net working capital posits that, eventually, firms use idle resources tied up in short-lived assets to boost their investment activities. Furthermore, larger working capital levels were associated with higher leverage ratio which indicates that firms with inefficient WCM policies have to rely heavily on long-term debt to meet their short-term financing requirements. Additional results indicate that firms that take more time to sell inventory and convert receivables to cash, make more use of debt. Results of cash management models illustrate that cash-rich firms have lower leverage levels which signal the strong financial health and internal revenue generation capability of such firms.Originality/valueThere is a dearth of empirical studies that examine the implications of WCM decisions on a firm's capital structure. Besides, these studies are only confined to how a WCM policy influences the long-term investment activities of a firm. The research contributes to the extant literature by empirically revealing a link between the WCM practices and the firm's long-range investment and financing patterns. Hence, financial managers shall account for the impact of their short-term financial management decisions on the capital structure of the firm.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sunday Simon ◽  
Norfaiezah Sawandi ◽  
Satish Kumar ◽  
Magdi El-Bannany

Purpose This study aims to explore changes in working capital management (WCM) practices in response to economic downturns, especially during the coronavirus pandemic. Design/methodology/approach This study adopts an interpretative approach. This paper used semi-structured interviews with 2 finance directors and 13 top managers for data collection. This paper used thematic analysis for analysing the interview data. Findings The study findings suggest that the traditional ways of managing working capital may no longer be sufficient during a crisis. Instead, dynamic financing, trade credit policy and continuous staff training to develop new skills are alternative WCM practices to navigate the challenges of a crisis. Further, this paper finds that economic conditions, such as inflation rates, interest rates, exchange rates and government policy, negatively affect WCM. Practical implications The study findings highlight practical issues that may help firms meet their present and future financing needs, manage their day-to-day operational activities and enhance performance, both operational and financial. The study is beneficial for regulators in understanding a firm’s constraints during crises and respond appropriately. Originality/value This is the first study, to the best of the knowledge that uses a qualitative approach to investigate the impact of economic downturns on WCM practices of firms. Thus, this study offers new insights into the fundamentals of WCM practices during crises.


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