FOUNDATIONS IN ACCOUNTANCY

PAPER FFM
[Financial Management]
Text Book Summary
Please read through the text book. Do depend on this summary as errors & omissions
may occur.

Done By
Tariq Suhail Al Shaibani

http://hct-cat.webs.com/

Part A: Chapter 1
Working Capital is the capital available for conducting the day-to-day operations of an
organization.
Current Assets Current Liabilities A business may be
i.

Overtrading is excessive trading with insufficient long-term capital at its

disposal, raising the risk of liquidity problems

ii.

Over-capitalization excessive inventories, receivables and cash, and very few

payables (Ratio signs of over-capitalization = sales/working capital, liquidity
ratios, turnover periods)

A company is said to be overtrading when its sales are expanding to o quickly for it to finance
them.
Costs associated with running out of raw material:

Sales will be lost, therefore you will lose any contribution made from each lost sale
If emergency deliveries are required, there will be an additional cost for these
If production ceases altogether and staff and machines sit idle, there will be costs of lost
production
Loss of customer goodwill will arise if orders cannot be met. This may lead to loss of sales
to this customer in the future

Working capital Cycle (cash operating cycle) is the period between the suppliers
being paid and the cash being received from the customers.
The Cash Capital Cycle in a manufacturing business equals:
The working capital cycle in a manufacturing business equals:
The average time that raw material remain in inventory
Less the period of credit taken from suppliers
Plus the time taken to produce the goods
Plus the time finished goods remain in inventory after production is completed
Plus the time taken by customers to pay for the goods
You can use the ratios below to calculate the cash operating cycle.

Liquidity Ratio:
Current ratio =
Quick ratio or acid test ratio =

x 365days

Accounts recievable days or accounts recievable payment period =

Inventory turnover period =

x 365days Average period between buying and selling

x 365days

Raw materials inventory holding period =

x 365days

Raw materials inventory holding period =

Inventory Turnover =

x 365days

*Its another measure of how vigorusly a bussiness is trading. A lenthing turnover period indicates: a slow
down in trading or a build-up in inventory levels
Accounts payable payment period =

x 365days Average period for

paying

Symptoms of overtrading:
iii.
Revenue
iv.
Current/ non-current assets
v.
Inventory/receivables > sales
vi.
Current and quick ratios
vii.
Current liabilities > current assets
viii.
Assets financed by credit and not proprietors capital
Other causes of over-trading: when a business repays a long without replacing it ;
and in the period of inflation the profits may be insufficient to replace non-current
assets and inventories

Chapter 2:

Inventory control levels:

Reorder level = maximum usage x maximum lead time
Minimum level (Safety/Buffer) = reorder level (average usage x average led time)
Maximum level = reorder level + reorder quantity (minimum usage x minimum lead time)
Average inventory = safety inventory + reorder quantity
Annual cost of holding inventory = [buffer inventory + (EOQ/2)] x Annual holding cost per
component
*Remember ADD buffer + EOQ/2 then multiply!!
Reorder quantity is the quantity which to be ordered when inventory reaches the reorder level
Economic order quantity (EOQ) model can assist in reducing inventory costs by determining
the optimum order size for inventories which minimizes ordering and holding costs.
Economic order quantity (EOQ) is the order quantity which minimizes the inventory costs.

EOQ =

CH = Cost of holding one unit of inventory of one time period

CO = Cost of ordering a consignment from a supplier
D = Demand during the time period check if per month or year

***FOCUS ON MONTH AND ANNUAL WHEN CALCULATING

*READ discounts pg28
*Read Page 30 for JIT
Revision Kit Question 6
EOQ assumptions:
1) It assumes that annual demand is constant
2) Does not take into account the credit terms and discount policies
3) It assumed that the lead time is constant therefore suppliers are completely dependable
Chapter 3:
Payables as a source of short-term finance:
ix.

Bank overdraft

x.

By raising finance from a bank or other organization against the security of

recivables, for example through factoring or invoice discounting
For larger companies, by issuing short-term debt, such as commercial paper

xi.

*Trade credit will have a cost, whenever a company is offered discount for early payments,
but opts instead to take longer credit.
4

The cost of lost cash discounts:

(

Where d is the size of the discount. For a 5% discount, d = 5

t

is the reduction in the payment period in days which would be necessary to obtain
the early payment discount\

Benefits of offering Settlement discounts

- Reduced bad debt
- Increased cash flow
- Reduced cost
*If a credit note is due or received against an invoice. It should be deducted before the
cash discount is calculated
Direct debits and standing orders are becoming more popular than cheques
Bank mandate form/ letter is a letter sent by the business to inform the bank
who is authorized to sign the checks. (two are often required)
Standing Order
Its a fixed amount
-uses standing order mandates

Direct Debit
Receiver initiates each payment
The amount varies

All changes in Direct Debit amounts must be notified to the payers 14 days in advance
Indemnity: the originator (payee) must provide an indemnity to guarantee a refund of
incorrect debts.
Type of payment
Telegraphic Transfer (TT) or cable payment
order

Details
Instructions for the payment are sent from the
payers bank to the payees bank by cable
(over the telecommunications system).
Mail Transfer (MT) or mail payment order
Instructions are sent by mail
*For payments within the UK, TTs are more common
Bankers Automated Clearing Services (BACS) is a company owned by the major retail banks
which operates the electronic transfer of funds between accounts within the banking system.
*It reduces paperwork
*Is widely used to pay salaries
5

Clearing House Automated Payments System (CHAPS) is a computerized system to enable

same-day clearing, guaranteed if instruction are received before 2pm.
*It usually incur higher bank charges
*BACS is slower than CHAPS
Part B: Chapter 4:
The operating cycle (cash cycle) measures the period of time between the cash is paid out
of for raw materials and the time cash is received from customers. (measured in
days/months)
A cash cycle may be analyzed into two elements
a) A trading cycle, identifying when a firm acquired goods and when it sold them
b) A cash cycle identifying the movements of cash: when was the inventory actually
paid for? When was cash received from customers?
Types of cash transactions:
1.
2.

Capital - increase capital, non-current assets

Revenue day-day operations, overdraft interest

3.
4.

Exceptional unusual such as closing down part of a business

Unexceptional everything else

5.
6.

Regular at predictable intervals, salary, rent, etc

Irregular not at predictable intervals, such as buying new machine, disaster recover expense

Accounts and treasury staff monitor these cash flows:

xii.
xiii.

Exceptional items
Unexpected payments

Revision Kit Pg131 Question 24

Factors a venture capitalist will take into account:
(i)
Level of expertise of the management
(ii)
Level of expertise in the area of service
(iii)
The nature of the product
(iv)
The market and competition
(v)
Future prospects
(vi)
Exit Routes

Cash flow can be defined in many ways:

Net cash flow is the total change in a companys cash balances over a period of time

Operational cash flow is the net cash flow arising over a period from trading operations

Priority cash flows do not relate to trade, but are vital to keep the company
afloat (interest and tax payments)

Discretionary cash flows are cash payments/receipt that do not have to be made
(investments, capital expenditures, ordinary and preference dividend)

Financial cash flows arise from variations in long-term capital (issue of shares,
loans, payment of a long-term loan)

*A negative operational cash flow may arise if a business is overtrading

Profit
Sales

Operational cash flow

Cash in

-Cost of Sales

- Cash out

Notes
Cash in = Sales + Opening receivables closing
receivables
Cash out = Purchases + Opening payable closing
payable
Purchases = COGS + Closing inventory opening
inventory

Profit

Operational Cash flow

Operational cash flows could be improved by squeezing working capital, and:

i)
ii)

Reducing receivables
Reducing Inventories, or

(iii) Taking more credit from suppliers

*If a company is making loses, it could try to maintain a positive operational cash flow by
taking more credit (Increase payables; will reduce working capital)
The three main focuses of cash and credit management:
1) Profitability
2) Liquidity
3) Security/Safety
Cash budgets are prepared on the cash basis; not accruals concept.
Revision Kit Pg137 Question 29
the purpose of a cash budget
1) To have sufficient cash to meet its payment obligations
2) Whether the business will have a cash surplus or deficit
3) For control purposes
7

Effect of inflation on cash flow:

It will indicate increases in costs. This will allows the business to raise prices before costs rise. If
costs rises before rising prices it will have an adverse effect.
This means that prices rises will be proactive rather than reactive.

Accruals and going concern are linked pg59

Pg: 60 read key term Accruals
Chapter 5:
*Preparing cash budgets is vital for the exam
Cash flows forecasts provide an early warning of liquidity problems and funding needs.
Leading and lagging is used to shorten the working capital.

They are two main ways of preparing a cash forecast:

From receipts, payments and net cash flows (cash flow based forecast)
From the SOFP or other financial statements (to establish a cash surplus or funding
requirement)

SOFP forecasts are used for long-term strategic analysis.

A cash budget (cash flow budget) is a detailed forecast of expected cash receipts, payments
and balances over a budget period.

A rolling forecast is a forecast that is continually updated.

*Any forecasts should include a clear statement of assumptions on which the figures are
based. You must include them in the EXAM!
Adjustments made in the cash budgets are
Cash flow items not appearing in the income statement, or
Items in the income statement which do not have a cash effect
*EXAM FOCUS POINT: Budget profiting refers to the process of preparing a budget.
8

Cash budget:
Receipts
Less payments
Net cash flow in month

X
(X)
X

Closing cash balance

X or (X)

Unused borrowing facilities

X or (X)
X

*Discount allowed should be provided in the forecasts of recepits pg70

Read Questions pg 71 onwards
Cleared funds are used for short-term planning. They take clearance delays into accounts (until
the checks or payments gets cleared)
Float refers to the amount of money tied up between the time a payment is initiated and
cleared funds become available in the bank for immediate spending.
Uncertainty might happen due to:

The receipt might delay the banking of cheques

Cheques do sometimes get help up by bureaucracy (laws and regulations)

Check page 80 Example

The forecast for the SOFP is produced for management accounting purposes and so not for
external publications or statutory financial reporting. It is not an estimate of cash inflows and
outflows!
The SOFP should be checked for realism (e.g. by ratio analysis) to ensure that the proportion
of the SOPF made by N.A. and working capital, etc. is sensible.
Check page 84 Example
Note:
An increase in current assets (inventories or receivables) will cause a cash outflow.
Increase in current liabilities (such as payables) will cause cash inflow.
PER: Pg85 article reference
9

Control reports could be prepared for operational cash flows. The purpose of the report should
be either:

Actual cash flows against a budget or target, or

A current forecast of cash flows against an original budget or target

Cash flow problems may arise from:

xiv.
xv.
xvi.

Making Losses
Inflation
Growth

xvii.
xviii.

Seasonal business
One-off items of expenditure

*A typical question on cash forecasts might ask you to prepare a budget, and then require you to
explain how the organization might deal with the shortfall predicted.
A constant monthly amount (unchanged figures) of receipts and payments will often
indicate a sloppy cash forecasting practice (weak forecasting system)
Inflation usually effects costs before revenues.
When prices are increased trade receivables will become higher, and the working capital of the
business will increase.
Chapter 6:
A growth rate can be estimated from an analysis of the growth in (ex. Over the past years)
n

(1 + g) = Final year/first year

Linear regression analysis (the least squares method) is one technique for estimating a line
of best fit. Once an equation for a line of best fit has been determined, forecasts can be made.
Y = a + bX

b=
a=

The line of best fit that is derived represents the regression of Y upon X (X = a + bY)
*Regression can be used to find a trend line
***Pg 102: Remember when you are using years a X, the first year will be 0!

10

A time series is a series of figures or values recorded

ovetime There are four components of a time series

Trend they are three types: upwards, downward and no clear movement
seasonal variations are short-term fluctuations in recording values
cyclical variations are medium-term changes
random variations
The Actual Time Series, Y = T + S + C + R
Where

Y = the actual time series

T = the trend series
S = seasonal component

C = cyclical component
R = random component

The additive model is Y = T + S + R S = Y-T

The proportional (multiplicative model is Y = T x S x R S = Y/T
A moving average is an average of the results of a fixed number of periods. It is related to the
mid-point of the overall period. It is another way to find the trend.
If a moving average of an even number, youll have to take the middle value. Ex. Quarters of
years will be taken middle of 4 (Starting from 3rd number) Pg106
Forecasts can be made by calculating a trend line (using moving averages or linear regression),
using the trend line to forecast future trend line values and adjusting the values by the average
seasonal variations.
Sensitivity analysis tests the results of a forecast to see how sensitive they are to changes in
inputs (eg interest rates). Spreadsheet modeling is used for this purpose.
Alternative methods of uncertainty analysis may include:
xix.
xx.
xxi.

Preparing different forecasts (for different scenarios)

Preparing cash forecasts as a range of possible outcomes
Using probability analysis by assigning probabilities to a range of value

Part C: Chapter 7:
Key Principles on which a business cash management policy should be based on:

Profitability
Liquidity
Safety
11

They are centralized and decentralized cash management systems.

In optimizing cash balances, the financial manager must try to balance liquidity with
profitability.
Float refers to the amount of money tied up between the time a payment is initiated and
cleared funds become available in the bank for immediate spending.
Three main reasons for a lengthy float:
a) Transmission delay the time the check takes to reach the payee
b) Lodgment Delay delay in banking the payments received
c) Clearance Delay time needed for a bank to clear a cheques
You can reduce float by using BACS, CHAPS, standing orders, direct debit, etc.
A lengthy float suggests inefficient cash management.
Baumols cash management model:
Two costs are involved in having cash:
a) The fixed cost (cost of raising equity or the cost of negotiating an overdraft)
obtaining cash
b) The variable cost (opportunity cost) of keeping the money in form of cash holding
(interest)
Optimal Sale =
Where

ie Q =
S = the amount of cash to be used each time
F = the fixed cost of obtaining new funds (cost per sale/purchase of securities)
i = the interest cost of holding cash or near cash equivalents
Q = the total amount to be raised to provide for S

Treasury managements is the corporate handling of all financial matters, the generation of
external and internal funds for business, the management of currencies and cash flows, and
the complex strategies, policies and procedures of corporate finance.

12

The role of the treasurer (treasury department)

Corporate financial objectives

Liquidity management (Working capital)
Funding management
Currency management
Corporate finance (raising share capital)
Related subjects (corporate taxation, risk management, pension fund)

*Read advg and disadvg of centralized and decentralized cash management systems.
*Read Anser of Question 36
Advantages of a centralized treasury department:
- Foreign currency management becomes easier
- Higher interest rates may be attainable on investment because the department has larger
amount of cash available for investment
- The treasury department may be a profit center in its own right
- Lower interest rates may be sought for borrowing
- The level of cash held for precautionary purposes can be minimized
- Experts can be employed
Chapter 8:
A financial intermediary brings together providers and users of finance, either as broker (an
agent handling a transaction on behalf of others) as a principal (eg holding money balances
of lenders for lending to borrowers)
Banks are intermediaries; they borrow money at an interest in order to lend it at a
higher interest.
Other financial intermediaries:
xxii.
xxiii.
xxiv.

Building societies
Finance houses
Insurance companies

xxv.
xxvi.
xxvii.

Pensions funds
Unit trusts
Investment trust companies

The importance of financial intimidation

a) Aggregating individual savings (rather than one lender lends a large sum of money
to one borrower > many lenders lend a small amount of money to one borrower)
b) Reduction and pooling of risks plus better credit assessment
c) Maturity transformation by dealing with long-term customers an intermediary can
fun long-term and short-term (liquidity) needs
13

*EXAM FOCUS POINT: In the exam you may be asked to give examples financial
intermediaries and explain how financial intermediation benefits the economy
Two categories of banks in the UK:

Primary banks (commercial, retail or clearing banks) are the banks which operate the
payments mechanism.
Retail banking is the activity of the traditional high street bank, dealing with
relatively small deposits and small loans to customers.

Secondary banks consist of investment banks, and foreign banks un the UK. They
do not themselves carry out cheques clearing, although retail banks may do the
clearing for them.
Wholesale banking involves small numbers of customers with larger deposits or
requiring larger loans. (Due to the large sums involved, customers expect banks to
trip their profit margins by reducing loan rates or increasing deposit rates)

In banks the gross profit is the difference between the interest paid to depositors and
interest received by the lenders. Net profit is the gross profit less operating expenses.
A central bank is an institution which typically has the role of controlling the monetary
systems of a country, acting as a banker to the banks, and acting as a lender of last resort.
*the degree of independences varies between countries.
Building societies are regulated by the Financial Services Authority.
The money makers are markets just like any other with buyers, sellers and traders. The
commodity that is traded is money that lent and borrowed in wholesale amounts. The term
money refers to the short duration of the loans or deposit
The traders or participations in the money markets are:

Financial intermediaries
Government
Local authorities
Brokers, marker makers
Firms and individuals

14

The main financial instruments in the market are:

Deposits they are simple deposits of money in bank accounts (both current & deposit
accounts)

Bills means that you will pay the specified amount in at a future date. You may get
a bank bill assuring your supplier that you will pay an amount at a specific date.

Commercial paper this represents short-term IOUs issued by large companies which
can be held until maturity or sold to others

Certificate of deposits (CDs) is available for customer who deposit 50,000 or more
with a bank for a fixed term. If a customer wishes to withdraw the amount before the
term ends, a CD is created, which can be sold to others so they can redeem the
amount + interest.

The UK short-term money markets

Repo is short for sale and repurchase agreement of securities (bonds and bills).
The seller promises to buy it at a future date at a higher price.

Interbank market this is a wholesale money market for unsecured loans

between banks.
The inter-bank is used by banks for three purposes:
a) To smooth out fluctuations in receipts and payments

b) To use the market to borrow funds in its own name and lend funds to a
less well established bank at a higher rate of interest
c) To sound out the market for the likely future trends in rates
Certificates of deposit Market
Disintermediation refers to the bypassing of financial intermediaries in order to
arrange lending and borrowing directly from the ultimate parties to the transaction.
Ex. Commercial paper but a bank acts a go-between, arranging transaction for the
corporate borrower and investors.

A Eurocurrency is a deposit of funds with a bank outside the currencys country of origin.
*Read Answer 37, Nature of instruments!
A bond (In UK called gilts) is a long-term debt security. A bon usually offers a fixed rate
interest known as a coupon rate.
Treasury bills are issued at a discount to face value, and the interest rate is implicit in
the difference between the issue price at a discount and the redemption price at par.
Gilts and Treasury bills together are called government stocks

15

The foreign exchange market is the market for buying and selling a currency in exchange of
another currency
Stock exchange is the main market. Alternative Investment Market (AIM) is more
loosely regulated (not at full listing) market for small and emerging businesses.
Stock market serves two main purposes:
xxviii.
xxix.

They enable organization to raise finance

They enhance the marketability of securities; the ease to buy and sell

*In UK FT-SE 100 or Footise 100 index covers the 100 largest companies
*EXAM FOCUS POINT: you may be asked in the exam to decide whether or not a stock
exchange listing is suitable for a particular company
Disadvantages of a stock market listing:
xxx.
xxxi.
xxxii.

Greater public regulation, accountability and scrutiny

More investors = more owners
More costs in making share issues (brokerage commissions and underwriting fees)

Method of obtaining a listing

Offer for sale

a) Initial public offering
b) Offer for sale by tender (tendering to find out a minimum price; striking price
is the highest price)
Prospectus issue although very rare and risky, it offers directly to the public
Introduction the stock market grants a quotation. These only happen when a
large company is already widely held, so that a market can be seen to exist.
*There is a condition that the a minimum proportion of the companys shares must
be in the hand of general investing public

Introduction offers greater marketability for the shares

Chapter 9:
Compound Annual Rate of interest (CAR) = *(

+ x 100

Finance companies are involved in lending of above average risk

16

The yield (profitability) of a money market instrument depends on:

Its face value

The interest rate offered
The period of time before it is redeemed (i.e. converted into cash) by the issuer

The interest yield (also known as the flat yield or running yield) is the interest or coupon
rate expressed as a percentage of the market price
Interest yield =

The interest yield is influenced by other two factors:

xxxiii.

Accrued interest : the time when it is resold and the time remaining for the interest
to be given

xxxiv.

Cum div (int) and Ex div (int): due to administration purposes the issuer of
securities must close their books some time before the due date for the payment
of interest/dividend (if you buy it after that, you will not receive the interest, the
last holder will)

If yield is relatively low it can be concluded that the price is relatively high and that the
demand is also high
The redemption yield is the interest yield plus/minus the yield on the gain or loss if
held redemption

The security of a local authority stock is not considered as good as the enteral government
The market in the local authority stock is thinner (not many transactions) than glits, ince
the amounts involved is smaller and held by few investors
Certificate of deposit (CDs) are issued by an institution (bank or building society). A CD
offers an attractive rate of interest and can be easily sold.
A bill of exchange is a unconditional order in writing from one person or company to
another requiring the person or company to whom it is addressed to pay a specified sum of
money on demand (sigh bill) or at a future date (term bill).
17

As an IOU, an accepted bill of exchange is a form of debt. It is a negotiable instrument

a) The holder can hold on the bill until maturity
b) Or, the bill holder can sell the bill before maturity for an amount below its
payment value (i.e. at a discount)
Marketability of a specified bill depends on:
a) The credit quality of the drawee
b) The existence of liquid secondary market in bills
Trade bills are bills drawn by Non-bank Company on another company
Banks bills are bills of exchange drawn and payable by a bank
*The most common form of a bank bill is a bankers acceptance, whereby a bank accepts a
bill on behalf of a customer and promises to pay the bill at maturity
Bond is term given to any fixed interest (mostly) security whether it is issued by the govt.
or company.
A yearling is a local authority bond redeemable after one or two years
Loan stock is issued in return for loans secured on a particular asset of the business.
A right issue is an offer to existing shareholders for them to buy more shares, usually at a
lower than the current share price. It does not affect the voting rights and reduce gearing.
****Retained Profits offers a simple low-cost source of finance, although it is may not
be provide enough funds specially if the firm wants to grow.
New equity shares will be more common when share prices are high than when low.
A scrip dividend sis a dividend payment which takes the form of new shares instead of cash. It
converts reserves (share premium) into issued share capital.
Enhanced scrip dividends: the value of shares offered is much greater than the cash alternative
A stock split is when the shares are divided (from 1 share for $1 to 2 shares for $1). It
enhances the marketability of the shares.
Preference shares are shares which have a fixed percentage dividend, payable in priority to any
dividend paid to the ordinary shareholders.

18

The main types of preference shares are:

Non-cumulative fixed rate of dividends and in priority to ordinary shareholders

Cumulative the unpaid fixed rate dividend is cumulated (carried forward) until the
company is profitable and the directors recommend dividend to be paid

Participation the owner has the right to choose the fixed preference shares dividend
or the ordinary dividend share being paid, whichever is higher
Redeemable the company will buy it back at some time in the future

Convertible the owner will have the right in the future to convert his shares into
ordinary shares

Loan notes (or loan stock) are long-term debt capital raised by a company for which is interest
is paid.
Debenture is a form of loan notes. It is usually secured with the interest plus capital.
A debenture trust deed would empower a trustee (such a bank) to intervene on behalf of
debenture holders if the condition of the borrowing is unfulfilled.
Deep discount bonds are loan notes issued at a price which at a large discount to their nominal
value.
Zero coupon bonds are bonds that are issued at a discount to their redemption value, but no
interest is paid on them.
*Check the redemption date of current loans in the SOFP to establish the new finance the
company would likely need.
Interest charges on Debt capital reduce the profits chargeable to corporation tax.
Implications of a fall in interest rates for a typical company
(i)
The cost of floating rate borrowing will fall
(ii)
The value of the companys shares will rise
(iii)
The higher share value results in a lower cost of share capital
(iv)
Consumer will have more disposal income
Convertible securities are fixed return securities that may be converted, on predetermined dates and at the option of the holder, into ordinary shares.
A warrant is a right given by a company to an investor, allowing him to subscribe for new
shares at a future date at a fixed, pre-determined price (the exercise price)
Warrants usually are issued as part of a package with unsecured loan notes; and are detachable.

19

The theoretical value of a price of warrant =

(current share price Exercise price) x Number of shares obtainable from each warrant
*Warrants do not have an immediate effect on earnings per share (important indicator of
a companys performance)
A capital gain is the increase in value of an investment. Ex. If you buy shares for $100 and sell
them for $300; you make a capital gain of $200
Chapter 10:
The choice of obtaining a return is determined by considerations of:

Profitability
Liquidity
Safety

Seasonal factors may lead to a cash surplus but this will be used to cover the shortfalls later.
Reasons of why a business needs cash: economist JM eynes
Transactions motive: for regular commitments, day to day transactions

Precautionary motive: to cover unforeseen contingencies (overdraft now is used

instead)

Speculative motive: in hope that interest may rise; though most business do not
hold cash for a speculative motive
*Remember Profit/net assets will tell you if the buss. Is running effectively.
**The higher the return, the higher the risk
An investment that is highly liquid will generally attract a lower return.
Authorities are restricted to invest in government securities, high-street bank and building
societies.

Diversification is the process of reducing risk by increasing the number of separate investment
in a portfolio.
Market or systematic risk is risk that cannot be diversified away.
Non-systematic or unsystematic risk applies to a single investment or class of investment, and
can be reduced by diversification
An investment portfolio will either be systematic or unsystematic.
20

Part D: Chapter 11:

Interest rates, inflation, and monetary policy are all interrelated.
Liquidity means assets in the form of cash or near-cash.
Liquidity preference (used by Keyes) is the desire to hold money rather than other forms
of wealth, arising from the transactions, speculative and precautionary motive.
The structure of interest rates refers to the many different interest rates there are.
There is a greater risk in lending longer term than shorter term because of inflation and
uncertain economic prospects.
The general level of interest rates is affected by several factors

The need for a real return: after inflation have been taken out
Inflation
Uncertainty about future rates of inflation
Changes in the level of government borrowing
Higher demand for borrowing from individuals
The balance of payments
Monetary policy
Interest rates abroad

*The type of asset purchased in a loan is important

The UK government has objectives for price stability, economic growth and
employment which a government can influence in two ways:

Fiscal policy is concerned with government spending and taxation

Monetary policy are implemented by the Treasury and Bank of England

(monetary authorities) and are aimed in influencing:
xxxv.
Quantity of money
xxxvi.
Price of money (interest rates)
xxxvii.
Availability of credit

*The interest rate is the price of money and so increasing the price should reduce the
demand for money
A Public Sector Borrowing Requirement (PSBR) is an excess of public sector spending over
revenue. The bigger the PSBR, the bigger increase in the money supply
A Public Sector Repayment (PSDR) is when public sector revenue is greater than public
sector expenditure.
21

Inflation refers to a sustained increase in the general level of prices over time.
A Retail Prices Index (RPI) measures the percentage changes month by month in the average
level of prices of the commodities and services including housing costs purchased by the great
house holds in the UK.
*Inflation leads to a restitution of income and wealth.
In time of inflation those with economic power tend to gain at the expense of others,
particularly those on on fixed incomes
Nominal rates of interest are rates of interest expressed in money terms
Real r
Real rates of interest are the rates of return that investors get from their investment,
adjusted for the rate of inflation
Fisher Equation:
(1 + i) = ( 1 + r ) (1 + h)
Where h
r
i

= Rate of inflation
= Real rate of interest
= Nominal (money) rate of interest

The pricing policy of an organization should take in consideration the effects of inflation.
However, the competitive position in which a firm finds itself in will be more important.
EXAM FOCUS POINT: in the exam you may be given the details of a specific bussiness, and be
asked how inflation might affect that bussiness.
Chapter 12:
A Comparing of an overdraft and loan financing will be very important for exam purposes.
Term loan: the customer borrows a fixed amount and pays it back with interest over a period or
at the end of it

Committed facility: the bank undertakes to make a stipulated amount available to a

borrower on demand
A revolving facility is a facility that is renewed after a set period. Once the customer has
repaid the amount, the customer can borrow again
22

Uncommitted facility: when the bank feels like it.

Bankers acceptance facilities: this relates to bills of exchange, discussed in chapter 5
The banker/customer relationship

Debtor/creditor
Bailor/Bailee safe deposit
Principal/agent when a bank arranges insurance; cheques
Mortgagor /mortgagee customer is mortgagor, bank is mortgagee

Fiduciary relationship means that the bank the superior party and is expected to act in
good faith.

xxviii.
xxxix.
xl.
xli.
xlii.
xliii.

The banks rights

Charges and commissions
Use of customers money
Overdrawn balances
Customers drawing cheques
Lien over securities (sell a customer
asset)
Indemnification (to secure against
possible loss or damage)

xliv.
xlv.
xlvi.
xlvii.
xlviii.
xlix.
l.
li.
lii.

The banks duties

Honor customers cheques
Receipt of customers funds
Repayment on demand
Comply with customers instructions
Provide a statement
Confidentiality
Advice of forgery
Care and skill
Closure of accounts

Customers duties:
liii.
liv.

Duty of care
Advice of forgery

*A customer has no duty to check his or her bank statement for any incorrect entries.
*With credit scoring, the CAMPARI approach to
credit assessment is not relevant and not used.
*EXAM FOCUS POINT:
You may be required to apply your knowledge of
lending criteria to a particular scenario.

CAMPARI Lending Criteria

Character of the customer
Ability to borrow and repay
Margin of profit
Purpose of the borrowing
Amount of borrowing
Repayment terms
Insurance against the possibility of non-payment

Discretionary rates is when the bank decide on the return which it requires from
lending depending on the nature of the risky venture (ex. New business)
23

Features of a credit control system to encourage on time payments

- Timely and accurate dispatch of invoices
- Supplier terms
- Management procedures
- Customer awareness
Chrematistics of a security for a loan:
a) Easy to take
b) Easy to value
c) Easy to realize
*Security over a loan is only a safety net.
The banks will generally charge a commitment fee when a customer is granted an overdraft
facility or ran increase in his overdraft facility.
An overdraft for day-to-day trading should be for:

to increase total current assets (receivables, inventory level or overall sales turnover)
Or to reduce other current liabilities

The danger with business expansion is overtrading.

The term of the loan

lv.
lvi.
lvii.
lviii.

Length of the loan and the useful life of the asset

Internal guidelines
Government regulations
Negotiations between customer and banker

Loan repayment methods:

Bullet the borrower does not repay any of the loan principal until the end of the loan
period
Balloon principal is repaid during the term of the loan
Amortising or straight repayment loan at regular intervals (principal + interest)

Loan covenants:

Positive covenants requires a borrower to do something

Negative or restrictive covenants promises by a borrower not to do something
Qualitative covenants set limitations on the borrowers SOFP

*Overdrafts are normally repayable on demand

24

Types of leasing

Operating leases are rental agreements between a lessor and a

lessee where the lessor is responsible for servicing and maintaining

Finance leases are lease agreement between the user of the leased asset (the lessee)
and a provider of finance (the lessor) for most or all of the expected useful life.

The equipment is usually provided by a third party. The lessee is responsible for
the servicing and maintaining

Sales and leaseback when a business already owns an asset agrees to sell it to a
financial institution and to lease it back.

*A major advantage of the operating lease is that the leased equipment does not have to be
shown in the lessees published SOFP!! Therefore; no increase in gearing ratio.
Hire purchase is a form of installment credit
a) Lender credit occurs when the buyer borrows money and uses the money to
purchase goods outright.
b) Vendor credit occurs when the buyers obtains goods on credit and agrees to pay
the vendor by installments. Hire purchase is an example of vendor credit.

Chapter 13:
Equity share capital is a key method of financing for companies of all sizes.
The optimal mix of finance will determine how much a company should be geared.
Source of funds:

Retained Earnings is the cheapest form of finance.

Capital markets
i) New shares issue
ii) Rights issues
iii) Issue of loan capital a means of borrowing from investors
Bank borrowings
Government sources for example grants
Venture capital for new ventures which can carry a high level of risk
International money and capital markets (euro commercial paper, Eurobonds and
Eurocurrency borrowing) only larger companies will make use of in practice

25

Primary markets enable organizations to raise new finance, by issuing new shares or
new debentures.
Secondary markets enable existing investors to sell their investment.
*check out page 220 point b for a takeover!
Individuals invest in the stock market, but the most important participations are the
institutions such as pension funds, insurance companies and unit trusts.
Providers of capital are investors:
a) Pension funds are separate legal entities which consist of a pool of assets
b) Insurance companies invest premium paid on insurance policies
c) Investment trusts they trade in investment
d) Unit trusts offers the holder an opportunity to diversify their investment. The
trust creates a large number of small units of low nominal value.
e) Venture capital specialize in raising funds for new business ventures
Equity means simply the ordinary shares of a company
Securities is commonly used to mean any sort of investment that can be bought and sold in
the financial markets. (will be used as term in the exam, pg 221)
Loan stock or debentures are amounts loan to a company.
Bonds are very large loans which normally (but not necessarily) have a fixed rate of interest
Eurobonds are bonds that bought and sold on an international basis.
A large public company is usually in a better position to raise capital than smaller companies.
A public company is one that can invite the general public to subscribe shares
A private company is prohibited from offering its shares to the general public.
**The main source of new lending to companies both long term and short-term is the banks.
Factors in the choice of financing method
-

Purpose
Amount
Repayment
Term
Cost

- Security
- Restrictive covenants
- Control of the business
- Effects on gearing

Gearings: Irredeemable preferences share are not classed as debt and do not increase a
companys gearing ratio
26

When using retained earning you must put in mind the opportunity cost involved.
Capital structure refers to the way in which an organization is financed, by a combination of
equity and non-current liabilities and current liabilities.
A company would finance current assets partly with current liabilities and partly with longterm funding.
Equity finance is generally more expensive than debt because equity investors take a greater
risk. Additionally, interest payment on debt are tax deductible unlike dividend payment which
payable after tax.
A highly geared company indicates that the company will less likely to be able to pay dividend.
Therefore, gearing affects the market value of shares.
The level of gearing which the market will allow will therefore depend on the nature of the
company and the industry in which it is engaged:
a) A company which in a cyclical business, where profits are subject to period up
and downs, should have relatively low gearing
b) A company which profits are stable should be able to raise a larger amount of debt
Gearing is a measure for comparing how much of the long-term capital of a business
is provided by capita Equity and creditors.
Debt/equity ratio =

(i)
(ii)

Low geared less than 100%

High-geared if more than 100%

Basic Earning per share is calculated by dividing the net profit or loss for the period attributable
to ordinary shareholder by the weight average number of ordinary shares outstanding during
the period.
*chck calculation page 227

27

Chapter 14:
Small and medium-zed enterprises (SMEs) often have difficulty raising finance.
Characteristics of SMEs:
a) Firms are likely to be unquoted
b) Ownership is restricted to a few individuals, typically a family group
c) They are not micro business that are normally regarded as those very small businesses
that act as a medium for self-employment to the owners
*If market conditions do change, small business may be more adaptable. However, a significant
portion will not survive the first few years.
Finance may be difficult to obtain because of the risks faced by SMEs.
Government policy will have a major influence on the level of funds available:
a) Tax policy
b) Interest rate policy
The main issue that face in accessing funds for SMEs is the problem of uncertainty.
A common problem is often that banks will be unwilling to increase loan funding without an
increase in security given or an increase in equity funding.
Possible sources of finance for SMEs include:

Owner financing
Overdraft financing
Banks loans
Trade credit
Equity finance

Business angel financing

Venture capital
Leasing (see chapter 13)
Factoring (see chapter 10)

Equity gap is a when a business has few tangible asset will probably have difficulty obtaining
equity finance when they are formed.
A funding gap is the difference between the amount of funds that is available or obtainable for
a business and the amount of funds that it needs for developments and growth
A maturity gap for a small company is the difference between the maturity of its assets and the
maturity of its liabilities
A major problem with obtaining equity finance can be the inability of the small firm to offer
an easy exit route for investors.
28

Business angel are wealthy individuals or groups of individuals who invest direct in
small business. It is informal in terms of a market and can be difficult to set up.
Venture capital is risk capital, normally provided in return for an equity stake.
The type of venture that might attract investment are:
a) Businesses start-ups
b) Businesses development
c) Management buyouts the purchase of the all or part of a business from its owner by
its managers
d) When one of the owners wants to realize all or part of his investment
Venture capital trusts are a special type of funding giving investors tax reliefs.
Venture Capital Funding: is the provision of risk bearing capital, to companies with a high
growth potential. Providers of finance will usually require a seat on the board and will be
looking an ex exit route from the company via for example flotation.
Significant influences on the capital structure of small firms are:

The lack of separation between ownership and management

The lack of equity finance

Government aid for SMEs which is usually in the form of grants include Enterprise Finance
Guarantee, Enterprise Initiates, Development agencies and Enterprise Investment Scheme.
*EXAM FOCUS POINT: you may use relevant examples from you country should you wish to do
so.
***Equity finance is not offered by the bank!!

29

Part E: Chapter 15:

Relevant costs is a future cash flow arising as a direct consequence of a decision

Avoidable costs
Differential Costs is the difference in relevant cost between to alternatives
Opportunity costs (take the most profitable)

Directly attributable costs they are fixed cost that are affected like more supervisors
if activity increases

Non-relevant costs

Sunk Cost which already have been incurred

Committed Cost it is incurred anyway, cannot avoid it
Notional Cost no actual expense such as depreciation!
General fixed overheads unaffected by decision

A notional cost or imputed cost is a hypothetical accounting cost to reflect the use of a benefit
for which no actual cash expense is incurred.
The total relevant cost of a scarce resource consists of the following:

The contribution/incremental profit forgone from the next-best opportunity for

using the scarce resource
The variable cost of the scarce resource

Chapter 16:
A capital expenditure results in the acquisition of non-current assets or an improvement in
their earning capacity.
Revenue expenditure is expenditure which is incurred for the purpose of the trade of the
business or to maintain the existing earning capacity of non-current assets.
Capital income is the proceeds from the sale of non-trading assets
Revenue income is derived from the sale of trading assets or interest and dividends
received from investments held by the business
Purchase of inventories is a revenue expenditure.
Revenue expenditure from purchasing inventories may either be charged as an expense or shown
as a current asset (closing inventory) and not yet charged in the I/S
An asset register is a listing of all non-current assets owned by the organization.

30

Addition and disposals over a certain amount must be authorized on a capital expenditure
authorization form and a disposal authorization form respectively.
Discrepancies between the asset register and the actual non-current assets present and
between the assets register and the nominal ledger must be investigated.
Recurring and minor non-current asset purchases may be covered by an annual allowance
provided for in the capital expenditure budget.
A capital expenditure budget is essentially a non-current assets purchase budget.
Chapter 17:
Check Question 82
The steps involved in project appraisal are:

Initial investigation
Detailed evaluation
Authorization

Implementation
Project monitoring
Post-completion audit

Benefits of a post completion audit:

- Better future investment decision
- Better current investment decision
- Contribution to performance evaluation
The key method of project appraisal:

Accounting rate of return (ARR)

The payback period
Net present value
Discounted payback period
Internal rate of return (IRR)

APR =

***there are numerous ways in which ARR can be calculated)

The payback period is the time taken for the initial investment to be recorded in the cash
inflows from the project.
We must recognize if a capital investment is to be worthwhile, it must at least a minimum
profit or return so the size of the return will compensate the cost of capital (opportunity cost)

31

Reasons could be suggested as why a present $1 is worth more than a future $1

a) Uncertainty
b) Inflation
c) A person would like to spend it now rather than the future
Time value of money:
-

Compound interest is when the interest earned also earns interested itself in later
periods
S=P(1+r)n
Note: S is the future value of investment and P is the amount invested now
Discounting

PV = S (x (1 + r)-n
Remember: (1 + r)-n and

mean the same exactly thing!

***The discounting is taken from the Presenet Value Table

Discounted cash flow is technique of evaluating capital investment projects using
arithmetic to determine whether or not they will provide a satisfactory return.
*The main idea is: 1$ today is worth less in the future (due to cost of capital)
DCF can be used in two ways: the net present value method or the internal rate of return
(DCF yield/ DCF rate of return)
If NPV is positive then benefits exceeds costs
If NPV is negative then costs exceeds benefits
**The NPV method uses the Present Value Method!
The discounted payback method applies discounting to arrive at payback period which
the NPV becomes positive.
Remember: Cost of capital is associated with the opportunity cost of finance
Annuities are annual cash payments or receipt which is the same amount every year for a
number of years.
It uses the present value factors
*HINT: you can add all of the present value and multiply to by the annuity. And also
deducted the undesired years
A breakeven NPV is when how much income would need to be generated for the NPV of a
project to be zero. Check pg 285
The internal rate of return technique uses a trial and error method to discover when the
32

NPV will be zero.

Step 1
Step 2

Calculate the rate of return expected

Compare the rate of return with the cost of capital

IRR = A % + *

+%

*The negative sign NPVa NPVb become (+) . The answer should be
somewhere between the two rates.
A
a
B
b

is the discount rate which provides the positive NPV

is the amount of the positive NPV
is the discount rate which provides the negative NPV
is the amount of the negative NPV

*Remember you can use the IRR to determine the upper the higher % and take two thirds of it for
the lower % Pg288
EXAM FOCUS POINT:

Accounting rate of return is a ratio based on profits. It ignores timing of returns.

Internal rate of return is an extrapolation based on cash flow analysis. It takes account of
the time value of money.

Advantages of DCF method of appraisal

a) Uses all cash flows relating to the project (unlike payback)
b) Allows for the timing of cash flows (unlike both payback and ARR)
c) There are universally accepted method of calculating the NPV and IRR (there are
numerous ways in which ARR can be calculated)
Capital budgeting decisions in the public sector will often social and the social benefits.
The cost of capital is the weighted average cost of all sources of capital for an enterprise, used
as the discount rate in investment appraisal.
(1 + money rate) = (1 + real rate) x (1 x inflation rate)

33

Part F: Chapter 18:

Credit control deals with a firms management of its working capital.
Trade credit is offered to business customers.
Consumer credit is offered to household customers.
*Credit cards are largely responsible for the explosive growth in consumer credit.
a sale is not complete until the money is in the bank
Total credit can be measured in a variety of ways. Financial analysts use days ales in
receivables, but as this is annualized figure it gives no idea as to the make-up of total
receivables.
Receivables often accounts for 30% of the total assets of a business.
Receivables turn over =

The main cost of offering credit is the interest expense.

To determine whether it would be profitable to extend the level of a total credit, it is necessary
to assess the following:

The additional sales volume which might result

The profitability of the extra sales
The extra length of the average debt collection period
The required rate of return on the investment in additional receivables

*Some markets are risker than other, which is why export credit insurance premiums are
higher for some countries than others.
A credit utilization report (pg 303) can indicate the extent to which total limits are being
utilized.
Reviewed in aggregate (total), it can reveal the following:

The number of customer who might want more credit

The extent to which the company is exposed to receivables
The tightness of the policy
Credit utilization to total sales

*EXAM FOCUS POINT: Know the distinction between overdue receivables and
34

receivables. Continued: pg304

Certain payments terms that means it will be paid on delivery

CWO cash with order

CIA Cash in advance
COD cash on delivery
CND cash on next delivery

**Liquidity is often more important than profitability.

Percentage cost of an early settlement discount can be estimated by:
Percentage cost of an early settlement discount can be estimated by:
[

Where

d
t

=
=

The discount offered (5% = 5, etc)

The reduction in the payment period in days that is necessary to obtain
the early payment discount

*A customer may assume a charge for late payment might give the customer the authority to
pay late
The credit control department is responsible for those stages in the collection cycle
dealing with the offer of credit, and the collection of debts (pursuing overdue debts as well)
The credit cycle consist of the order cycle (From customer order to invoice dispatch) and
the collection cycle (from invoice dispatch to the receipt of cash)
Roles of the credit controller:
Keeping the receivables ledger up-to-date
Pursuing overdue debts
Dealing with customer queries
Reporting to sales staff about new enquiries
Giving reference to third parties (Eg credit reference agencies)
Checking out customers creditworthiness
Advising on payment terms

35

EXAM FOCUS POINT:

You may be asked to spot weakness in a credit control system and to suggest improvement.
Key issues to look out for are:
a)
b)
c)
d)

The type of system used

Invoicing intervals
Payment method (direct debits are better)
Staffing levels

e) Penalties for late payer (interest charge should accrue when debts become overdue
to discourage late payment)
A contract is an agreement which legally binds the parties.
a) The parties intend to create legal relations
b) There is an offer and acceptance
c) It is a bargain for which something is offered for consideration
Essential elements of contract

Form
For a sale or purchases of land and consumer credit agreements must be in writting
Legal intention
Offer
is a firm proposal to give or do something or to be bound on specific terms
Acceptance
is the unconditional and unqualified agreement to all the terms of the offer
Consideration
is what a person (the promise) must give in exchange for what has been promised to
him.

*Read mistake and mispresentaiton page 314

Any such mistakes must be a mistake of fact; a mistake of law can never have this affect.
A breach of contract
-

Damages
Termination
Quantum meruit : is when a contract is terminated half way, and one part has already
performed part of his obligations (ex. Part of construction work), he is entitled to claim
reasonable amount for the work done
Specific performance
36

Action for the price

Lien. Any goods which have not been paid for can be retained by the seller at the sellers
premises providing the buyers has not lawfully obtained possession.
Chapter 19:
*Read the article written by the examiner on Credit Policy in the October 2010 edition of
Student accountant
Credit risk means that there is a possibility that debt will go bad.
***DRAW LEVEL OF RISK***
Many firms make profits from high risk customer, by demanding slightly higher returns and by
managing them carefully. Higher risk customers need not to be shunned simply because they
are higher risk.
A credit assessment is a judgment about the creditworthiness of a customer
Credit reference: Sources of information
a) Externally generated information
This is information produced by third parties such as banks about their customers which
they make available to third parties on request

Banks owe a duty of care to their customers, so their credit status will be
precisely worded.

*When writing to the banks, you should be precise p 325

Trade reference are useful, but should be used uncritically.

Credit ratings are formal opinion of the creditworthiness of an entity.

*Enquiry to suppliers is preferred to be written as a questioner

Credit reference agencies supply a variety of legal and business information

thereby saving time for the enquirer. An agency may have its own
suggested rating

A typical agency report will contain the following:

- Legal Data
- Commercial Data
- Credit Data
37

Sources that may be converted into useful credit control information:

-The press
- Historical financial data
- Companies registry search
-Country Court Records
b) Internally generated information
This is information generated by the company about the potential customer.
For example, financial ratios.

The quick ratio measures liquidity more precisely than current ratio
The payables payment period indicates the average length of time a company takes to
pay its debts. Together with receivables turnover and inventory turnover it gives some idea
as to the operations cycle
Gearing ratios put payables in the context of the firms overall borrowing: they
are frequently unsecured

Comparison between ratios can be done by either:

a) Between one year and another: to identify trends or significantly better or
worse results than before
b) Between one business and another: to establish which business has performed
better, and in what ways
*the credit controller is mainly concerned with (a)
Profit Margin:
A higher profit margins indicates:
a) Either costs are kept well under control
b) And/or sales prices are high

Net Assets turnover:

Return on capital employed (ROCE) or Return on Investment (ROI)

ROCE =
38

Profit Margin x Asset Turnover = ROCE

*Increased Prices will result in less asset turnover

Strong revenue growth may mean volume growth or increase due to higher prices
and volume growth is one sign of a prosperous company.
In profit margin and asset turnover, you cannot look at one without allowing for the other!
Pg331!
Basic earnings per share (EPS) is calculated by dividing the net profit or loss for the
period attributable to ordinary shareholders by the weighted average number of ordinary
shares outstanding during the period.
(a) EPS is a figure based on past data
(b) It is an easily manipulated by changes in accounting policies and by mergers or
acquisition
The price earning (P/E) ratio is the most important yardstick for assessing the relative worth
of a share

This is the same as:

The value of P/E ratio refelects the markets appraisal of the shares future prospects. The
market price of a share and its earning capacity.
Changes in EPS: the P/E ratio and the share price
a) The relationship between the EPS and the share price is measured by the P/E ratio
b) The P/E ratio does not vary much over time normally
c) So if the EPS goes up or down, the share price should be expected to move up or down
too, and the new share price will be the new EPS multiplied by the constant P/E ratio
*CHECK Answer 69: Effect of grearing EPS
If the inventory turnover period gets longer or if the debt collection period gets longer,
39

the total amount of inventories or of receivables will increase. These suggest rowing
liquidity problems in the potential customer.
*Remember if the customer is able to borrow substantial funds at short notice: these can
be used to repay suppliers
If a company has a working capital less than 1. This means that to some extent,
current liabilities (ex. creditors, you the supplier) are helping to finance the non-current
assets.
A prudent current ratio said to be 2:1. In other words, current assets should be twice the size
of current liabilities.
*Read pg 335

Debt/equity ratio =

Interest cover is a measure of financial risk which is designed to show the risk in terms
of profit rather in terms of capital values

=
*The answer will be times. It means how many times the company can pay its interest

*read limitations of ratios page 338

Cash flow and credit risk

=
=

Item
Net operational cash flow
Priority payments
Cash for discretionary spending
Investment spending
Cash after investment spending

Comments
should be positive
Should be normally positive
If negative, the company must obtain
money from non-trading sources, perhaps
by borrowing

Visits to the customers premises can provide useful information. The credit controller can
get a feel for the business and those running it. He can also discuss any queries.
In-house credit rating is when the company have its own credit rating for its customers, etc.
The UK Data Protection Act 1998 cover data about individuals not data about
corporate bodies
40

Question 8. Check page 325 table! Bank replies.

Chapter 20:
For control purposes, receivables are generally analyzed by age of debt.
*Check other ratios page 357
If a company receivables is increase in the ageing, this will be unfavorable. Think on the
cash forecasting!
Grapevine
Issuing invoices and receiving payments is the task of the receivables ledger staff.
Chasing late payer might be a responsibility of the credit control staff or a specialist
debt collection staff.
*A business can increase its chances of getting paid by ensuring, at various stages, that the
customer has no right to plead ignorance of the due date.
Special cases:

Major Key accounts customer will receive a special treatment in the sales effort. The
more valued the customer, the higher rank of the staff member will deal with them.

Reconciliation and on account payment: the customer might not state

which invoices the payment refers to

Receipts on long-term contracts is very vital to be on time due to the possible

cash flow implications.

Credit insurance can be obtained against some bad debts. They usually are available for up to
75% of a companys potential bad debt loss. The company will bare the 25% so it will not
become slack with credit control and involve in overtrading.
Premium on a whole turnover policy are usually 1% of the insured sales.
Under an annual aggregate excess of loss policy, the insurer pays 100% of debts above an
agreed limit. (Like car insurance, you have to pay the first $150 musahama)
Export credit insurance:
(a) Buyer risks also known as commercial risks. In international sales, credit period
is longer and suing someone overseas is harder and longer, and more expensive.
(b) Country risks also known as market risks or political risks. (cancelation or non-renewal
of an export license; or a third country through which payment must be made)
41

Factoring is an arrangement to have debts collected by a factor company which advances a

proportion of the money it is due to collect.
They are two main reasons for factoring:
(a) If a businesss sales are rising rapidly, its total receivables will rise quickly too.
(b) If a business grants long credit to its customer, it might runs into cash flow difficulties
The main aspects of factoring are:
-

Administration
Credit protection
Advance of collection the debts

*Read how factoring works page 364

Too many small invoices would be uneconomical for factoring.
There are two methods of invoicing:
1) The factor to send out all the invoices
2) The company to send out the invoices and send a copy of every invoice to the factor
In both cases payment is to the factor, and the factor is responsible for accounting for
receivables.
EXAM FOCUS POINT: Explaining factoring and invoice discounting are common in exam
questions. However, you must also be prepared to do the number and decide whether or not it is
financially viable for a company to use them.
*Read advantages of factoring pg365.
Growth can be financed through sales rather than by injecting fresh external capital
The business gets finance linked to its volume of sales. Unlike overdraft.
The main disadvantage of factoring is the cost. Another possible disadvg. is that customer will
be making payments direct to the factor ,which some may give some a negative impression of
the organization.
Invoice discounting is the purchase (by the provider of the discounting service) of trade
debts at a discount. It allows the company to raise working capital.
The invoice discounter does not take over the administration of the clients receivables ledger.
Confidential invoice discounting is an arrangement whereby a debt is confidentially
42

assigned to the factor, and the clients customer will only become aware of the arrangement
if he does not pay his debt to the client.
More personal intervention should be:
Lower value -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Higher Value
Letter E-mail Fax Telephone (expensive) Personal Visit (time consuming)
*A valued supplier may threat to refuse to sell any goods until the debt is cleared.
Credit control necessarily involves as an expense to the business.
A doubtful debt is a debt which there is some uncertainty as to whether it will be paid
(provision).
A bad (irrecoverable) debt is a debt which will not be paid
Even if a doubtful debt is eventually paid, additional expenses will occur:
(i)
(ii)

The effect on cash flow, especially if the debt is large

The administration expenses of debt recovery procedures

Some of the accounting ratio calculated may be contradictory. For example, the company may
post an increase in sales whereas in fact is overtrading and running out cash.
Z-scoring is a technique where a solvency model is developed and chosen ratios are input to
it to give the company a Z-score: the higher the score, the safer the company.
A-scoring is more subjective, but is based on three main pillars:
1) Defects: before a collapse a company will have many defects such as the company
is dominated by a single individual, poor accounting systems, etc.
2) Mistakes borrows too much, overtrading, depends on the success of big projects
3) Symptoms Financial ratios, z-scoring are in decline, sudden changes of accounting
policies, non-financial signs (eg fall in market share)
*The sale department needs to know if a customer is failing to pay his debt, so no further
sales (loses) are made to him.
Monitoring irrecoverable debts: bad debts/ revenue ratios pg376
a) Bad debts recognized refers to the time when the debt went bad
b) Bad debts originated refers to the date when the sale was initially made

Bad debts ratio =

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Debt collection agencies (credit collection agencies) are the most effective way of pursuing
debts.
Most debt collection offers a no collection, no fee basis. Some agencies require an advance
subscription fee.
*Abritration page 379
Bankruptcy is where an individuals property is sold for the creditors benefit.
Insolvency is when the assets of a company are taken over by a third party appointed
by creditors.. The company is run until the debts are paid, or maybe be wound up.
A company is insolvent when it is unable to pay its debts. Pg 380 compelte
Questions ANSWER inCLUDE

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