Conclusion
The purpose of the cash flow statement is to improve the informative value of published financial reports. The lack of prominence given to cash flow-based accounting ratios as a means of improving the interpretative value of this data is particularly surprising given the enormous amount of space usually devoted to traditional accounting ratios in text books on financial accounting， management accounting and corporate finance. This article has demonstrated the contribution of three types of percentages and ratios： ratios to link the cash flow statement with key related items appearing in the balance sheet; the expression of each item in the cash flow statement as a percentage of net cash flow from operating activities; and the calculation of ratios to explore the inter-relationship between items within the cash flow statement.
As usual， it should be noted that different ratios are expressed in different ways， as percentages， as multiples， or in pence， as well as in the classic form.
The interpretative value of individual ratios will depend upon the nature of the financial developments at a particular business. Given the content of Figure 1， for example， the cash flow per share (version I) ratio was not seen to possess any interpretative value and was not calculated. It is also the case that the messages conveyed by certain ratios may be similar for a particular company covering a particular year， but in a different time and place the same ratios may yield different insights.
Finally， one must remember the importance of not attaching too much weight to any single ratio but to use a representative range of ratios (including cash flow ratios!) to build up a meaningful business profile.
Debtor management
by Malcolm Anderson
01 May 2000
One year after The Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998 was passed， market information specialists， Experian， recently reported that British companies are now taking two days longer to settle their bills with suppliers than before the legislation was introduced. The average time taken to pay for credit purchases by British companies is now 74 days. Although the 1998 legislation enables companies employing fewer than 50 staff to levy an 8% interest charge above the base rate on late-paying larger clients， few have done so in fear of alienating the enterprises on whom they frequently so heavily rely. The study also found that most large businesses now insist on a 60-day payment period. Reliant upon cash from trade debtors to pay suppliers， wages and other costs， the failure to receive the amounts owing from credit customers on the due dates creates enormous problems for businesses in paying their own way. This article reviews the major considerations at each stage of the credit management process and concludes with an illustration of how factoring can benefit companies suffering from late-paying customers
Assessing the credit worthiness of customers
Before extending credit to a customer， a supplier should analyse the five Cs of credit worthiness， which will provoke a series of questions. These are：
· Capacity will the customer be able to pay the amount agreed within the allowable credit period? What is their past payment record? How large is the customer's busiCapital ? what is the financial health of the customer? Is it a liquid and profitable concern， able to make payments on time?
· Character do the customers? management appear to be committed to prompt payment? Are they of high integrity? What are their personalities like?
· Collateral what is the scope for including appropriate security in return for extending credit to the customer?
· Conditions what are the prevailing economic conditions? How are these likely to impact on the customer?s ability to pay promptly?
Whilst the materiality of the amount will dictate the degree of analysis involved， the major sources of information available to companies in assessing customers? credit worthiness are：
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