Asia Metroolitan University Taman Kemachaya, Batu 9, 43200 CHERAS Selangor
Asia Metroolitan University Taman Kemachaya, Batu 9, 43200 CHERAS Selangor
Asia Metroolitan University Taman Kemachaya, Batu 9, 43200 CHERAS Selangor
ASSIGNMENT
Ratios are calculated by dividing one number by another, total sales divided by
number of employees, for example. Ratios enable business owners to examine the
relationships between items and measure that relationship. They are simple to
calculate, easy to use, and provide business owners with insight into what is
happening within their business, insights that are not always apparent upon review of
the financial statements alone. Ratios are aids to judgment and cannot take the place
of experience. But experience with reading ratios and tracking them over time will
make any manager a better manager. Ratios can help to pinpoint areas that need
attention before the looming problem within the area is easily visible.
Virtually any financial statistics can be compared using a ratio. In reality, however,
small business owners and managers only need to be concerned with a small set of
ratios in order to identify where improvements are needed.
It is important to keep in mind that financial ratios are time sensitive; they can only
present a picture of the business at the time that the underlying figures were prepared.
For example, a retailer calculating ratios before and after the Christmas season would
get very different results. In addition, ratios can be misleading when taken singly,
though they can be quite valuable when a small business tracks them over time or
uses them as a basis for comparison against company goals or industry standards.
PROFITABILITY RATIOS
LIQUIDITY RATIOS
Quick ratio (or "acid test"): Quick Assets (cash, marketable securities, and
receivables)/Current Liabilities—provides a stricter definition of the company's
ability to make payments on current obligations. Ideally, this ratio should be 1:1. If it
is higher, the company may keep too much cash on hand or have a poor collection
program for accounts receivable. If it is lower, it may indicate that the company relies
too heavily on inventory to meet its obligations.
Debt management ratio
Debt Management Ratios attempt to measure the firm's use of Financial Leverage and
ability to avoid financial distress in the long run. These ratios are also known as Long-
Term Solvency ratios. Debt is also called financial leverage, because the use of debt
can improve returns to stockholders in good years and increase their losses in bad
years. Debt management ratios indicate how risky the firm is and how much of its
operating income must be paid to bondholders rather than stockholders. Ratios tend to
focus on short-term and long-term solvency respectively, i.e. the more financial
management side of an undertaking relating to assets and liabilities, represented by
the balance sheet.
Debt-to-assets Ratio - shows how much of asset base is financed with debt. Total
debt includes all current liabilities and long-term debts. Creditors prefer low debt
ratios because the lower the ratio, the greater the cushion against creditors' losses in
the event of liquidation. Main thing to remember is that if 100% of company's asset
base is financed with debt, company is bankrupt.
Debt to equity ratio - shows how much company has of debt for every dollar of
equity, this ratio is widely used.
Debt to equity ratio=Total debt/Total common equity
Market debt ratio=Total debt/Total debt + Market value of equity
Liabilities-to-assets ratio - shows the extent to which a firm's assets are not
finances by equity
Liabilities to assets ratio=Total liabilities/Total assets
Market value ratios are used to evaluate the current share price of a publicly-held
company's stock. These ratios are employed by current and potential investors to
determine whether a company's shares are over-priced or under-priced. The most
common market value ratios are as follows:
Book value per share: Calculated as the aggregate amount of stockholders'
equity, divided by the number of shares outstanding. This measure is used as a
benchmark to see if the market value per share is higher or lower, which can be
used as the basis for decisions to buy or sell shares.
Dividend yield: Calculated as the total dividends paid per year, divided by the
market price of the stock. This is the return on investment to investors if they were
to buy the shares at the current market price.
Earnings per share: Calculated as the reported earnings of the business, divided
by the total number of shares outstanding (there are several variations on this
calculation). This measurement does not reflect the market price of a company's
shares in any way, but can be used by investors to derive the price they think the
shares are worth.
Market value per share: Calculated as the total market value of the business,
divided by the total number of shares outstanding. This reveals the value that the
market currently assigns to each share of a company's stock.
Price/earnings ratio: Calculated as the current market price of a share, divided by
the reported earnings per share. The resulting multiple is used to evaluate whether
the shares are over-priced or under-priced in comparison to the same ratio results
for competing companies.
These ratios are not closely watched by the managers of a business, since these
individuals are more concerned with operational issues. The main exception is the
investor relations officer, who must be able to see the company's performance
from the perspective of investors, and so is much more likely to track these
measurements closely.
Raferences
Taulli, Tom. The Edgar Online Guide to Decoding Financial Statements. J. Ross
Publishing, 2004.