CHAPTER TWO

FINANCIAL STATEMENT ANALYSIS AND FINANCIAL PLANNING

2.1 Financial analysis: An Introduction
Financial analysis is the process of identifying the financial strength and weakness of a
firm by properly establishing relationships between the items of financial statements for
certain period(s).
Financial analysis refers to analysis of financial statements and it is a process of
evaluating the relationships among component parts of financial statements. The focus
of financial analysis is on key figure in the financial statements and the significant
relationships that exist between them. Financial analysis is used by several groups of
users like managers, credit analysts, and investors.

The analysis of financial statements is designed to reveal the relative strengths and
weakness of a firm. This could be achieved by comparing the analysis with other
companies in the same industry, and by showing whether the firm’s position has been
improving or deteriorating over time. Financial analysis helps users obtain a better
understanding of the firm’s financial conditions and performance. It also helps users
understand the numbers presented in the financial statements and serve as a basis for
financial decisions.

2.1 Financial Statements Analysis

Financial analysis can be undertaken by management of the firm, or by parties outside the
firm such as owners, creditors, investors and so forth. The nature of analysis will differ
depending on the purpose of the analyst. The target of financial analysis is to produce
relationships among financial data and interpret the results. The sources of data for
financial analysis are accounting records, particularly balance sheet and income
statement. The methods of analyzing financial statements include ratio analysis, common
size statement analysis, index analysis, and trend analysis.

Financial statements include: balance sheet, income statements, cash flow statements and
the shareholders’ or the owners’ equity statements. The information obtained in these
statements is used by the management groups, creditors, investors and others to form a
kind of judgment about the operating performance and financial position of a firm. Users
of financial statements can get further insight about financial strengths and weaknesses of
the firm if they properly analyze information reported in these statements. The
management should be particularly interested in knowing financial strengths of a firm to
make their best use, to be able to spot out financial weaknesses of the firm and to take
suitable corrective actions as needed.

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The future plans of the firm should be laid down in view of the firm’s financial
strengths and weaknesses. Thus, financial analysis is the starting point for making plans;
that is before using any sophisticated forecasting and planning procedures. Moreover,
understanding the past with critical and suitable analysis is a perquisite for anticipating
the future. Hence, the discussions here followed are all about the analysis of financial
statements particularly of the balance sheet and the income statement. Use the following
financial statements as part of illustrations for the sections.
GLOBAL Company
Income Statement (in’000 Birr)
For the year ended December 31, 2008
Sales Br.830
Cost of Goods Sold (539)
Gross Profit on Sales Br.291
Operating Expenses:
Marketing Expense Br. 91
General and Administrative Expense 71
Depreciation 28
Total Operating Expenses (Br.190)
Operating Income (EBIT) Br.101
Interest Expense (20)
Earnings Before tax Br. 81
Income Tax (17)
Earnings after Tax Br.64
Dividends Paid (15)
Change in Retained Earnings Br.49

GLOBAL Company
Balance Sheets (in’000 Birr)
December 31, 2007 and 2008
Assets 2007 2008
Current Assets:
Cash Br.39 Br.44
Accounts receivable 70 78
Inventories 177 210
Prepaid expenses 14 15
Total current assets 300 347
Fixed assets:
Gross plant and equipment Br.759 Br.838
Accumulated depreciation (355) (383)
Net plant and equipment 404 455

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Land 70 70
Total fixed assets Br.474 Br.525
Patents 30 55
Total assets 804 927
Liabilities and Equity
Current Liabilities:
Accounts Payable Br.61 Br.76
Income tax payable 12 17
Accrued wages and salaries 4 4
Interest payable 2 2
Total Current liabilities Br.79 Br.99
Long-term notes payable 146 200
Total liabilities: Br.225 Br.299
Common stock 300 300
Retained Earnings 279 328
Total Stockholders' equity 579 628
Total liabilities and equity Br.804 Br.927

Stages in Financial Analysis

Financial analysis consists of the following three major stages.
i) Preparation: The preparatory steps include establishing the objectives of the analysis
and assembling the financial statements and other pertinent financial data. Financial
statement analysis focuses primarily on the balance sheet and the income statement.
However, data from statements of retained earnings and cash flows may also be used.
So, preparation is simply objective setting and data collection.
ii) Computation: This involves the application of various tools and techniques to gain a
better understanding of the firm’s financial condition and performance.
Computerized financial statement analysis programs can be applied as part of this
stage of financial analysis.
iii) Evaluation and Interpretation: Involves the determination for the meaningfulness of
the analysis and to develop conclusions, inferences, and recommendations about the
firm’s performance and financial condition. This is the most important of all the three
stages of financial analysis.

Tools and Techniques of Financial Analysis

A number of methods can be used in order to get a better understanding about a firm’s
financial status and operating results. The most frequently used techniques in analyzing
financial statements are:
i) Ratio Analysis
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 ii) Common size Analysis
iii) Index Analysis

2.1.1 Ratio Analysis

Ratio Analysis – is a mathematical relationship among money amounts in the financial
statements. They standardize financial data by converting money figures in the financial
statements. Ratios are usually stated in terms of times or percentages. Like any other
financial analysis, a ratio analysis helps us draw meaningful conclusions and
interpretations about a firm’s financial condition and performance.

Ratio analysis is a widely used tool of financial analysis. It is the systematic use of ratio
to interpret financial statements so that the strength and weakness of a firm as well as its
historical performance and current condition can be determined. The term ratio is
defined as the numerical or quantitative relationship of two items or variables.

According to Pandey (1999) ratio is defined as the indicated quotient of two

mathematical expressions and the relationship between two or more things.

In financial analysis, a ratio is used as a benchmark for evaluating the financial

position and performance of a firm. The absolute accounting figures reported in the
financial statements do not provide a meaningful understanding of the performance
and financial position of a firm. An accounting figure conveys meaning when it is
related to some other relevant information (Pandey, 1999).

Moreover, for Mayes and Shank (2004) ratios are an analyst’s microscope which allows
users of information a better view of a firm’s financial health than just looking at the raw
financial data presented in financial statements. For example, it might be an impressive
figure for a firm which report Br. 5,000,000 net profit at a period of time, but it is
difficult to say the firm’s performance is good or bad unless the net profit figure is related
to the firm’s investment and the total sales made among other factors.

Similarly, ratios help to summarize large quantities of financial data and to make
qualitative judgment about the firm’s, financial performance. For example, consider
current ratio which is calculated by dividing current assets by current liabilities; the ratio
indicates a relationship in terms of a quantified relationship between current assets and
current liabilities. This relationship is an index or yardstick which permits a qualitative
judgment to be formed about the firm’s ability to meet its current obligations. It measures
the firm’s liquidity. The greater the ratio, the greater is the firm’s liquidity and vice versa.
The point that must be noted is a ratio reflecting a quantitative relationship helps to form
a qualitative judgment which is the nature of all financial ratios.

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2.1.1.1 Standards for Ratio Comparisons
Ratio analysis is not for the sake of the application of formula to financial data while
calculating a given ratio. More important is the interpretation of the value calculated. To
arrive at a proper interpretation and to make valuable judgments, a meaningful standard
or basis is required and shall be established.

Standards of comparison may consist of;

 Past Ratios: Ratios calculated from the past financial statements of the same
firm i.e., Longtudinal or Trend based standards
 Competitors’ Ratios: Ratios of some selected firms, especially the most
progressive and successful competitor, at the same point in time i.e., Single
period or Cross-section based standards
 Industry Ratios: Ratios of the industry to which the firm belongs i.e., Industry
based standards
 Projected Ratios: Ratios developed using the projected, or pro forma, financial
statements of the same firm i.e., Projected (pro forma) statements-based
standards
A) Trend Based Standards: The easiest way to evaluate the performance of a firm is
to compare its present ratios with the past ratios. When financial ratios over a period of
time are compared, it is known as the time series (trend) analysis. It gives an indication of
the direction of change and reflects whether the firm’s financial performance has
improved, deteriorated or remained consistent over time. The analyst should not simply
determine the change, but, more importantly, should understand why ratios changed.

B) Cross-Sectional Based Standards: Another way of comparison is to compare ratios

of one firm with some selected firms in the same nature at the same point in time. This
kind of comparison is known as the cross-sectional comparison. In most cases, it is more
useful to compare the firm’s ratios with ratios of a few carefully selected competitors.

This kind of a comparison indicates the relative financial position and performance of the
firm. A firm can easily resort to such a comparison, as it is not difficult to get the
published financial statements of similar firms.

C) Industry Based Standards: To determine the financial condition and performance

of a firm, its ratios may be compared with average ratios of the industry of which the firm
is a member. Industry ratios are important standards in view of the fact that each industry
has its characteristics which influence the financial and operating relationships. But there
are certain practical difficulties in using the industry ratios.
 First, it is difficult to get average ratios for the industry.

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  Second, even if industry ratios are available, they are averages of the ratios of
strong and weak firms. Some times differences may be so wide that the average
may be of little utility.
 Third, averages will be meaningless and the comparison futile if firms within the
same industry widely differ in their accounting policies and practices.
If it is possible to
 Standardize the accounting data for companies in the industry and
 Eliminate extremely strong and extremely weak firms,
The industry ratios will prove to be very useful in evaluating the relative financial
condition and performance of a firm.

D) Pro forma Statements based standards Sometimes future ratios are used as the
standard of comparison. Future ratios can be developed from projected or pro forma
financial statements. The comparison of current or past ratios with future ratios shows
the firm’s relative strengths and weaknesses in the past and the future. If the future ratios
indicate weak financial position, corrective actions should be initiated.

2.1.1.2 Types of Ratio Analysis

Financial ratios can be grouped into different categories based on the need of analysis to
be performed and the tasks to be evaluated. The interest of the users for analyzed
information also matter while classifying the types of ratio analysis. User of the
information may concentrate on the liquidity position of a firm so that liquidity ratios are
in demand; long-term solvency and sustenance of profitability may be in need of long-
term creditors so that profitability and leverage ratios are required; similarly, owners may
want to know the firm’s profitability, stability of the earnings over periods and efficient
and effective utilization of assets so that market value, activity and profitability ratios are
quested. For the sake of convenience, however, ratios can be grouped into five basic
types.
1) Liquidity ratios
2) Activity ratios
3) Debt/leverage ratios
4) Profitability ratios
5) Market value ratios

1. Liquidity Analysis
Liquidity refers to the firm’s ability to meet its obligation in the short-run, usually one
year. Liquidity ratios are generally based on the relationship between current assets and
current liabilities. The most important liquidity ratios are: current ratio, acid-test ratio and
cash ratio.

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A) Current Ratio One of the very popular ratio, defined as:

Current assets
Current ratio = Current liabilities

Components of current assets are cash, short term investment, receivables, inventories
and pre-paid expenses. Current liabilities are those liabilities that are expected to mature
usually in the next twelve months. These comprise account payables, accrued payables,
loans - secured or unsecured, that are due in the next twelve months, and current other
provisions.

The current ratio of GLOBAL Company for 2008 is:

Br. 347
Current ratio = Br. 99 = 3.5times or = 3.5:1

The general minimum norm for current ratio at international level is 2.0, but the
acceptability of a value of current ratio depends on the nature of the industry in which the
firm is categorized and standards established for comparisons. Assume, for example, that
the industry average for GLOBAL Company is 4.1 times. GLOBAL’s current ratio is
below the average of its industry, so its liquidity position is relatively weak.

As a general norm the higher the current ratio, the greater is the short-term solvency.
However, in interpreting current ratio the composition of current assets must not be
overlooked. A firm with a high proportion of current assets in the form of cash and
receivables is more liquid than a firm with a high proportion of current assets in the form
of inventories even though both firms may have the same current ratio.
A very high current ratio may imply that:
 There is excessive cash due to poor cash management
 Receivables are excess due to poor credit management
 The prevalence of excessive inventory due to lack of proper inventory
management.
The result of very high current ratio is to have very high liquidity which is safety of funds
for short term creditors thereby reduced risk to creditors. However, the result shows a
scarification of profitability because current assets are less profitable than long term
assets. On the contrary, a very low current ratio may be caused by conservative
management of current assets which may be the opposite for very high current ratio.
Very low current ratio can be improved with:
 Long term borrowing and sell of stocks to increase current assets
 Liquidate current liabilities using long-term assets.

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B) Quick (Acid test) Ratio: This is a fairly stringent measure of liquidity. It is based
on current assets which are highly liquid- excluding inventories and prepaid expenses.
Inventories are deemed to be the least liquid components of current assets and prepaid
expenses which are not available to pay off current liabilities. Quick assets include:
cash, marketable securities, and receivables (such as notes receivable and account
receivable).
The low liquid nature of inventories is resulted from:
 Many types of inventories could not be sold easily because they are partially
completed items, obsolete items, special purpose items, among others, and
 The items may be sold on credit which means they become an account receivable
before being converted into cash.

Quick Ratio = Current assets – Inventory- Prepaid expenses

 Current liabilities

A quick ratio of one or greater is recommended, but as with the current ratio, an
acceptable value depend on the industry group and the established standards.
The quick ratio of GLOBAL Company is:
347,000-210,000-15,000 122,000
Quick Ratio2008 = 99,000 = 99,000 = 1.23times

C) Cash Ratio A very short term one for which creditor may be interested in Cash ratio
is defined as:

Cash Ratio = Cash

Current liabilities

Since cash is the most liquid asset, a financial analyst may examine cash ratio and its
equivalents to current liabilities. Marketable securities are equivalent to cash; therefore,
they may be included in the computation of cash ratio.

The cash ratio of GLOBAL Company is 0.44 times which is computed as follows:
Cash ratio2008 = 44,000
99,000 0.44 times

The company can be considered as the one with small amount of cash relative to its
current obligations. It can only cover 44 percent of its short-term liabilities without

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liquidating other current assets. The position of comparison as to the strength and
weakness of the company depends upon the standards to be employed.

2. Activity Ratios
These ratios are also called efficiency ratio, or asset management ratio, or asset utilization
ratios. Utilization ratios compare the level of sales or cost of goods sold with the level of
investment in various assets. These ratios are used to measure the speed with which
various assets are converted into sales revenue and assets are effectively managed. What
these ratios are intended to describe is how efficiently, or intensively, a firm uses its assets
to generate sales. The most commonly used activity ratios inventory turnover, account
receivable turnover, fixed asset turnover, and total asset turnover ratios.

A) Inventory Turnover Ratio: It measures how quickly inventory of a firm is sold. It

indicates the efficiency of the firm in managing and selling inventories. It is calculated by
dividing the cost of the goods sold by the inventory amounts. There are arguments as to
which is to be uses, either sales or cost of goods sold in the numerator. The fact that sales
are stated at market prices, while inventories are at cost, the calculated inventory turnover
overstates the true turnover in cases when sales are used. Hence, the best argument is cost
of goods sold is to be used unless the situation is not conducive to get the cost of goods
sold in which case sale is to be implemented. The logic of comparison is ‘apple to apple’
so cost is to be compared with costs not market prices.
There is also debate on the use of inventory. For some average inventory is employed that
is the average of ending and beginning inventories, while for the others ending inventory
is to be taken in the denominator. For the sake simplicity, inventory at the end of a certain
period is assumed.

Inventory Turnover Ratio = Cost of goods sold

Inventory

The inventory turnover ratio of GLOBAL Company is

Br. 539,000
Inventory turnover 2008= Br. 210,000 = 2.55 times

This implies that GLOBAL Company replaces its inventories about 2.55 times in a year.
The evaluation of performance with regard to inventory turnover of a certain company
depends upon the standards employed. Generally, higher inventory turnover is
considered to be good because it means that storage costs are low, but if it is too high the
firm may be risking inventory outages and the loss of customers.

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B) Average Age of Inventory (AAI): It is the reciprocal of the inventory turnover. It is
also called as days of inventory holdings because it is the length of time inventory is held
by the firm. When the number of days in a year (say, 360) is divided by inventory
turnover, days of inventory holdings derived.

Average Age of Inventory = Inventory X 360days

Cost of goods Sold
Or
Average Age of Inventory = 360 days
Inventory turnover

The average age of inventories in GLOBAL Company’s store is

Average Age of Inventory2008 = 210,000 X 360 = 360 = 141 days
539,000 2.55
GLOBAL Company held its inventory on average for 141 days. Whether GLOBAL is
efficient in inventory management is a matter of comparison which is actually based on
the nature of industry and other standards employed. The general principle, however, is
the lower is the better without leaving the firm out of stock.

C) Account Receivable Turnover (ARTO): Firms grant credit at least to increase their
sales level. It is, therefore, important to know how well the firm manages its receivables.
The account receivable turnover ratio provides information about the management of
account receivables. It indicates how many times account receivable is converted into
cash during the year. The higher the value of account receivable turnover, the more
efficient is the expected credit management. It is calculated by:

Account Receivable Turnover = Credit sales

Account receivable

For GLOBAL Company, the 2008 account receivable turnover ratio is (assuming all sales
are credit sales):

Account Receivable Turnover ratio = 830,000 = 10.64 times

78,000

Whether 10.64 is a good account is receivable account ratio or not is difficult to know at
this point. But it is possible to say, higher is generally better. Still too higher figure of
account receivable turnover ratio might indicate that the firm is delaying credit to

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creditworthy customers thereby losing sales. If the ratio is too low, it would suggest that
the firm is having difficulty of collecting on its sales. This is particularly true if there
finds that account receivables are increasing faster than sales over a prolonged period.

D) Average Collection Period (ACP) The average collection period indicates how
many days it takes for a firm to collect its credit sales. It can also be defined as the
average number of days for which account receivables remain outstanding. It measures
the quality of account receivables since it indicates the speed of collections.

Average Collection Period = Account Receivable

Annual Sales/360
Note that the denominator is simply credit sales per day with the assumption of 360 days
in a year. In 2008, it took GLOBAL Company an average of 33.83 days to collect credit
sales.
Average collection period = 78,0000 = 33.83days
830,000/360

Note that this ratio provides the same information as the account receivable turnover
ratio. When depicted algebraically, the relationship between average collection period
and account receivable turnover ratio is show as follows.

Account Receivable Turnover Ratio = 360 ÷ Average Collection Period

or alternatively;
Average Collection period = 360 ÷ Account Receivable Turnover ratio

Since the average collection period is the inverse of the account receivable turnover ratio,
it should be apparent that the inverse criteria apply to judging this ratio. In other words,
lower is usually better. The shorter the average collection period, the better is the quality
of debtors, since a shorter collection period implies the prompt payment by debtors. It is
advisable to compare average collection period against the firm’s credit terms and policy
to judge its credit and collection efficiency. For example, if the credit period granted by
the firm is 30 days and its average collection period is 45 days, the comparison reveals
that the firm’s receivables are outstanding for a longer period than warranted by the credit
period of 30 days.

An excessively longer collection period implies a very liberal and inefficient credit and
collection performance. This certainly delays the collection of cash and hurts the firm’s

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liquidity. The chances of bad debts are also increased. On the other hand, too low
collection period is not necessarily favorable. Rather it may indicate a very restrictive
credit and collection policy. A very restrictive credit and collection policy may avoid bad
debt losses; but it also severely curtails sales.

The average collection period may help analysts in two respects:

1) In determining the collectability of account receivables and thus the efficiency of
collection efforts, and
2) In ascertaining the firm’s comparative strength and advantage relative to its credit
policy and performance vis’-a- vis’ the competitors’ credit policy and
performance.

E) Fixed Assets Turnover (FATO): FATO is used to measure the efficiency of a firm to
utilize its investment in fixed assets. It is also described as the birr amount of sales that
are generated by each birr invested in fixed assets. It is given by:

Sales
Fixed Asset Turnover = Net Fixed Assets

The fixed assets turnover ratio for GLOBAL Company, in 2008 is

Fixed assets turnover = 830,000 = 1.58 times
525,000
So, GLOBAL Company generated Br.1.58 for each birr invested in fixed assets.
The firm’s ability to produce a large volume of sales for a given net fixed assets is the
most important aspect of its operating performance. Hence, the larger is the better for
fixed assets turnover ratio.
F) Total Assets Turnover (TATO) like other ratios discussed in this section, TATO
describes how efficiently a firm is using its assets to generate sales. It is the ability of a
firm to generate sales from all financial resources committed to total assets. Higher total
asset turnover ratio is better. It is computed as:

Sales
Total Asset Turnover = Total Assets

In 2008, GLOBAL Company generated 89.5 cents in sales for each birr invested in total
assets.

Total Asset Turnover = 830,000 = 0.895 times

927,000

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You can interpret the total assets turnover ratio as higher is better. However, you should
be aware that some industries will naturally have lower turnover ratios than others. For
example, a consulting firm will have a very low investment in fixed assets, and therefore
a high asset turnover ratio with other factors remaining constant. On the other hand, an
electric service enterprise will have a large investment in fixed assets and probably a low
asset turnover ratio. This does not, necessarily, mean that the electric enterprise is more
poorly managed than the consulting firm. Rather, each is simply responding to the
demands of their industry groups.
3. Leverage Ratios
Leverage from finance perspective refers to multiplication of changes in profitability
measures. It used to measure the extent to which non-owner supplied funds have been
used to finance a firm’s assets as compared with the funds provided by owners. It also
describes the degree to which the firm uses debt in its capital structure. The amount of
leverage depends on the amount of debt that a firm uses to finance its operations, so a
firm which uses a lot of debt is said to be highly leveraged. Leverage ratios provide
important information for creditors and investors. Creditors might be concerned that a
firm has too much debt and will therefore have difficulty in repaying loans. Investors
might be concerned because a larger amount of debt can lead to a larger amount of
volatility in the firm’s earnings. The most commonly stated leverage ratio types are: Debt
Ratio, Debt-Equity Ratio, Time Interest Earned Ratio, Fixed Payment Coverage ratio.
The first two ratios are also considered as component ratio while the last two are
coverage ratios. They are component because these ratios measure the proportion of the
financing sources and they are all about the major balance sheet elements. The others are
coverage ratios due to their emphasis on the ability of the firm to cover its inertest and
other fixed charges.

A) Total Debt Ratio (DR): It measures the proportion of total assets financed by the
firm’s creditors. The higher this ratio the greater is the amount of other people’s money
being used in an attempt to generate profit and the higher the financial costs and
restrictions from creditors.

Debt ratio = Total Debt = Total Assets- Total Equity = 1- Total Equity
Total Assets Total Assets Total Assets
The debt ratio of GLOBAL Company in 2008 shows that liabilities make up about 32.25
percent of their capital structure.
Debt Ratio = 299,000 = 32.25 %
927,000

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Creditors have supplied for GLOBAL Company about 32 cents of every birr in assets.
The evaluation of the GLOBAL’s situation with respect to its debt management requires
comparison with industry groups and other developed standards. The generally
perception, however, is too much higher ratio shows that more of the firm’s assets are
provided by creditors relative to owners. Under this situation the firm may face some
difficulties in generating additional finance; further creditors may require higher return;
and/or higher risk for existing creditors as there might not be sufficient margin of safety
among others.

B) Debt Equity Ratio (DER) The Debt-equity ratio indicates the relationship between
the total debt’s funds provided by creditor and those provided by the owners of the firm.
This ratio reflects the relative claim of creditors and shareholders against the assets of the
firm. It is computed as:

Debt Equity Ratio = Total liability = Total assets -Total equity = Total assets -1
Total equity Total equity Total equity

The proportion of debt and equity in financing the assets of GLOBAL Company is
Debt- Equity Ratio2008 = 299,000 = 47.61 %
628,000
Creditors of GLOBAL Company provided about 48 cents in financing total assets for
every birr contributed by the owners.

The same implication as that of debt ratio can be stated for too higher or too lower
reported debt equity ratio.

Coverage Ratios Describe the quantity of funds available to cover certain expenses.
Unlike the component ratios, higher ratios are desirable in coverage ratios. Too high
ratios, however, may indicate that the firm is underutilizing its debt capacity and
therefore not maximizing shareholder wealth. The two most used coverage ratios are
discussed in the following sections.

C) The Time Interest Earned Ratio (TIER) The interest coverage or the time interest
earned ratio measures the ability of the firm to pay its interest obligations by comparing
earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) to interest expense.

Time Interest Earned Ratio = EBIT

Interest expense

The time interest earned ratio for GLOBAL Company for 2008 is computed as:

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Time Interest Earned Ratio = 101,000 = 5.05 times
20,000
GLOBAL Company can cover its interest 5.05 times using funds that are originally
available for the payments of interest expenses.
A high ratio indicates that the firm has sufficient margin of safety to cover its interest
charges and the firm’s earning could decline without jeopardizing the firm’s ability to
make interest payments. A very low time interest earned ratio may suggest that creditors
are more at risk in receiving interests due; failure to meet interest can bring legal action
by creditors possibly resulting in bankruptcy; and the firm may face difficulty in raising
additional funds through debt.

D) Fixed Charge Coverage Ratio (FCCR) This ratio reflects the total amount of
earning available to meet all fixed payment obligations. Interest, principal payments (PP),
lease payments, and preferred stock dividends (PD) are financing related fixed charges. It
is computed as:

Fixed-Charge Coverage Ratio = Earnings Before Interest and Tax + Lease Payment
Interest +Lease payment + PD+ PP
(1-T)

Since principal payments and preference dividends are the after-tax components, they are
adjusted to the before tax amount with 1/ (1-T) as shown in the computational step above;
where ‘T’ represents the tax rate.
4. Profitability Ratios
Profitability ratios are used to measure the operating efficiency of a company. In other
words, they are used to evaluate the overall management effectiveness and efficiency in
generating profit on sales, total assets and owners’ equity. Besides management of a
company, creditors, investors and owners are interested in the profitability of the firm.
Creditors want to get interest and repayment of principals regularly. Owners want to get a
required rate of return on their investment. Profitability ratios are the easiest of all of the
ratios to analyze. Without exception, high ratios are preferred. However, the definition of
high depends on the industry in which the firm operates. For example, a 3 percent of
profit margin may be quite high for a grocery while it would be abysmal in software
businesses. Profitability ratio includes: gross profit margin, operating profit margin, net
profit margin, return on investment, and return on equity. Each of these ratios is
described here under.
A) Gross Profit Margin: Measures the gross profit relative to sales. It indicates the
amount of fund available to pay the firms expenses other than its cost of sales and

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indicates both the efficiency of the firm’s operation and pricing policies of the firm. It is
calculated by;

Gross Profit Margin = Gross profit

Sales

For GLOBAL Company the gross profit margin is

Gross profit margin = 291,000 = 35%
830,000
GLOBAL Company maintained 35 cents remained from each birr sales after deducting
each cost of goods sold from net sale.
The gross profit margin reflects the efficiency with which management produces each
unit of products. It indicates the average spread between the cost of goods sold and the
sales margin. If you subtract the gross profit margin from 100 per cent, you obtain the
ratio of the cost of the goods sold. A high profit margin relative to the industry average
implies that the firm is able to produce or purchase at relatively lower cost.

B) Operating Profit Margin (OPM) Moving down the income statements, you can
calculate the profit that remains after the firm has paid all its non- financial expenses.
This profit is the operating profit. The operating profit ratio indicates how much is left
over after the operating expenses. It serves as an overall measure of operating
effectiveness. It is calculated as:

Operating Profit Margin = Net Operating profit

Sales
GLOBAL Company has an operating profit margin of about 12.2 per cent.
Operating Profit Margin = 101,000 = 12.2 %
830,000
GLOBAL Company generated about 12 cents in operating profit per birr of net sales.

C) Net Profit Margin (NPM) Net profit margin measures the percentage of each sales
birr remaining after deducting all cost and expenses. The net profit margin relates net
income to sales. The net income is profit after all expenses; the net profit margin tells you
the percentage of sales that remains for the shareholders of the firm.

Net Profit Margin = Net Profit (income)

Sales
In 2008, GLOBAL Company has net profit margin of about 8 percent.
Net Profit Margin = 64,000 = 8%

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 830,000
A firm with a high net profit margin ratio would be on the advantageous position to
survive in the face of falling selling prices, rising costs of production and/or decline in
demand for the product.

D) Return on Investment (ROI) The term investment may refer to total assets or net
assets. It represents pool of funds supplied by shareholders and lenders. This ratio is
particularly useful since it reflects the total earning produced with the use of the total
assets of the firm. It measures the overall effectiveness of management in generating
profit with its available assets. It is computed as:
Return on Total Assets = Net Income
Total Assets

For GLOBAL Company the return on total assets is:

Return on Total Assets = 64,000 = 6.9%
927,000
This implies that GLOBAL generates about 7 cents for every birr invested in assets.

E) Return on Equity (ROE) While total asset represents the total investment in the firm,
the owners’ investment, usually common stock and retained earnings, represents only a
portion of the total amount. The other portion is to go for debt. Return on equity is to
measure the return earned on the owners’ investment. It is computed as:

Return on Equity = Net Income

Total Equity
The 2008 return on equity of GLOBAL Company is:
Return on Equity = 64,000 = 10%
628,000
GLOBAL Company generates about 10 cents for every birr in shareholders equity. The
comparison is left for the established standards and the industry averages. A substantially
higher ROE may indicate that a firm is riskier due to high financial leverage. A very low
ROE may also indicate a kind of conservative financing policy.

The Du Pont Identity

Under the profitability ratio section of the previous analysis, the return on assets (ROA)
and return on equity (ROE) were described. The difference between these two
profitability measures is a reflection of the use of debt financing.
5. Valuation Ratios / Market/Book Value Ratios

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These ratios also called Shareholder ratios. The ratios in the previous sections deal with
the performance and financial condition of the firm. Those ratios provide information for
managers and for creditors with little emphasis on the shareholders valuation aspects. The
ratios in this section have a look at on the interest of the owners. These ratios translate the
overall results of operations so that they can be compared in terms of a share of stock.

A) Earning Per Share (EPS) EPS is the amount of income earned during a period per
share of common stock. It is computed as:
Earnings per Share = Net income available for common shareholders
Number of common shares outstanding

Assume that GLOBAL Company has a total number of common shares outstanding of
10,000. The earning per share is therefore computed as:
EPS for 2008 = 64,000 = 6.4
10,000
Earning per share does not show how much is retained and how much is distributed as
dividend.

B) Dividends per Share (DPS) It is the birr amount of cash dividends paid during a
period as per share of common stock. The net profits after taxes and preference dividends
belong to common shareholders. But the income which they really receive is the amount
of earning distributed as cash dividends. Therefore, a large number of present and
potential investors may be interested in divided per share, rather than earning per share. It
is computed as:

DPS = Earnings paid to common shareholders (dividends)

Number of ordinary shares outstanding
DPS for GLOBAL Company is DPS = 15,000 = 1.5
10,000
C) Dividend Payout Ratio The dividend payout ratio (or simply payout ratio) is DPS
divided by the EPS. It calls also be by dividing cash dividend paid to earning for a period.

Dividend Payout Ratio = Dividends paid common shareholders or = DPS

Earnings available for common share EPS

Dividend payout ratio shows the percentage of earnings paid to shareholders.

For GLOBAL Company the dividend payout ratio for the year 2008 is
Dividend Payout Ratio = 1.5 = 23.44 %
6.4

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The interpretation is that GLOBAL Company paid 23.44% of its earnings in dividends.
Whether GLOBAL paid higher or lower percentage is not to be identified at this point
unless standards or industry average is revealed. In general, a very high percentage may
imply that the firm is at lower growth opportunities particularly for firms which pay more
than the industry average.

D) Price-Earning Ratio: The price earning ratio is widely used by the security analysts
to values the firm’s performance as expected by investors. It indicates investors’
judgment or expectations about the firm’s performance. It indicates the degree of
confidence that investors have in the firm’s future performance. The higher the price
earning ratio, the greater is the investors’ confidence in the firm’s future.

Price /Earnings Ratio = Market values per share

Earnings per share

E) Market Values to Book Values Ratio This is the ratio of share price to book values
per share.
Market to Book value ratio = Market value per share
Book value per share

Note that book value per share is book value of shareholders’ equity divided by the
number of shares outstanding.
2.1.1.3 User of Ratio Analysis
Ratios of financial statements are used based on the interest of different parties.
Shareholders, creditors and the management bodies have their own interest on financial
performance of a firm so that these bodies develop different views towards ratio analyses.
A) Shareholders Both present and prospective shareholders are interested in the firm’s
current and future level of risk and return. Future earnings and stability of earnings over a
period; and covariance with earnings of other companies are the interest of the
shareholders. The major emphasis for the shareholders, therefore, is the profitability
aspect of ratio analysis.

B) Creditors The firm’s creditor may be trade creditors and/or bondholders. The trade
creditors are primarily interested in the short-term liquidity of the company so that
liquidity analysis is the basic concern of these parties. The bondholders or long-term
creditors give emphasis on the ability of the firm to make interest and principal payments.

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These parties are interested on the capital structure or leverage ratios, major sources of
finance and profitability over time to be assured for the sustenance of the business.

C) Management The management of a firm is concerned with aspects of the financial

analysis that consider the suppliers of the capital. These bodies also use ratio analysis for
the purpose of internal control with particular emphasis on the profitability of investment
in various assets of the company and the efficiency of asset management.
2.1.1.4 Advantage of Ratio Analysis
 Ratios are easy to compute
 Ratios provide standards of comparison at a point in time and allow comparison
to be made with industry average
 Ratios can be used to analysis corporation financial time series in order to
discover trends, shifts in the trends and data outlays.
 Ratios are useful to indicate problem areas of a firm
 When combined with other tools, ratio analyses make an important contribution to
the tasks of evaluating a financial performance of the firm.
2.1.1.5 Limitations and Cautions for Use of Ratio Analysis
Ratios have the following Limitations:
 A single ratio provides little information
 Ratios generally do not identify the cause of the firm’s difficulties. They seldom
provide answer for questions they raise
 Ratios can easily be misinterpreted. For example, a decrease in the value of ratio does
not necessarily mean the something undesirable has happened.
 Very few standards exist that can be used to judge the adequacy of a ratio or set of
ratios.

The following ‘cautions’ are fundamental while using ratios

 Financial statements being compared should be dated at the same point in time
 It is preferable to use audited financial statements for ratio analysis
 Financial data being compared should have been developed in the same way. The use
of different accounting methods, for example the different inventory valuation
methods and depreciation methods should be considered while calculating ratios for
different firms of probably the same nature. The use of different methods will distort
the result of ratios for comparison.
 When ratios of one firm are compared with those of other’s or with the ratios of the
firm itself over time, distorted interpretation of the analysis may be resulted due to
inflation. Inflation at times no adjustments are made, it tends older firms to appear
more efficient and profitable than the newer ones.
2.1.2 Common Size Statement Analysis
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Common size Analysis – expresses individual financial statement
accounts as a percentage of a base amount. A common size status
expresses each item in the balance sheet as a percentage of total
assets and each item of the income statement as a percentage of total
sales. When items in financial statements are expressed as
percentages of total assets and total sales, these statements are called
common size statements.
In common-size statements analysis, all the balance sheet items are divided by total assets
and all income statements items are divided by the total sales. Common size statements
can also be used to compare firms of different sizes. Example given below is the balance
sheets of AWASH Corporation for the year ended December 31, 2006 and 2007

AWASH Corporation
Balance sheet
December 31, 2006 and 2007 (in millions)

Assets 2006 2007

Current assets:
Cash Br. 84 Br. 98
Account receivable 165 188
Inventories 393 422
Subtotal Br.642 Br. 708
Fixed assets:
Net plant and Equipment Br.2, 731 Br.2, 880
Total assets Br. 3,373 Br.3,588
Liabilities and owner’s Equity
Current liabilities
Account payables Br. 312 Br.344
Note payable 231 196
Subtotal Br.543 Br.540
Long term debts 531 457
Total liabilities Br. 1,074 Br.997
Owner’s equity
Common stock and Paid in Capital Br.500 Br. 550
Retained earning 1,799 2,041
Total Owner’s Equity Br.2,299 Br.2,591
Total liabilities and owner’s equity Br. 3,373 Br.3,588

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 AWASH Corporation
Common Size Balance Sheet
December 31, 2006 and 2007 (in millions)

Assets 2006 2007 Change

Current assets
Cash 2.5% 2.7% +0.2%
Account receivable 4.9 5.2 +0.3
Inventories 11.7 11.8 +0.1
Subtotal 19.1 19.7 +0.6
Fixed assets
Net plant and Equipment 80.9 80.3 -0.6
Total assets 100% 100% 0%
Liabilities and owner’s Equity
Current liabilities
Account payables 9.2 % 9.6 % +0.4%
Note payable 6.8 5.5 - 1.3
Sub Total 16.1 % 5.1% -1.0%
Long term debts 15.7 12.7 - 3.0
Total liabilities 31.8% 27.8% -4.0%
Owner’s equity
Common stock and Paid in Capital 14.8% 15.3% +0.5%
Retained earning 53.4% 56.9 +3.5
Total Owner’s Equity 68.2% 72.2% +5.0
Total liabilities and owner’s equity 100% 100% 0%
+
N.B Shows increase in percentage from 2006 to 2007
-
Shows decrease in percentage from 2006 to 2007

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AWASH has the following income statement from which the common size income
statement is presented.

AWASH Corporation
Income Statement and Common Size Income Statement
For the year ended December 31, 2007 (In millions)
Sale Br.2311 100%
Cost of Good sold 1344 58.2
Gross Margin 967 41.2%
Depreciation Expense 276 11.9
Income before interest and tax 691 29.9%
Interest expense 141 6.1
Taxable income 550 23.8%
Tax (34%) 187 8.1
Net income Br.363 15.7%
2.1.3 Index Analysis
Index Analysis – expresses items in the financial statements as an
index relative to the base year. All items in the base year are assumed
to be 100%. Usually, this analysis is most appropriate for income
statement items. Analysis of percentages for financial statements where all financial
statement figures for the base year are equated to 100 percent and subsequent year
financial statements items are expressed as a percentage of the base year.
Illustration Balance sheet of AWASH Corporation for the years 2003, 2004 and 2005 are
given below.
AWASH Corporation
Balance sheet
December 31, 2003, 2004 and 2005 (‘000 Birr)
Assets 2003 2004 2005
Cash 2,507 11,310 19,648
Account receivable 70,360 85,147 11,815
Inventory 77,380 91,378 118,563
Other current asset 6,316 6,082 5,891
Total current assets 156,563 193,917 262,517
Net fixed assets 79,187 94,652 11,5461
Other long-term assets 4,695 5,899 5,491
Total assets 240,445 294,468 383,469
Liabilities and Shareholders’ Equity
Accounts payable 35,661 37,460 62,725
Notes Payable 20,501 14,680 17,298

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 Other current liabilities 11,054 8,132 15,741
Long term liabilities 888 1,276 4,005
Total Liabilities 68,104 61,548 99,769
Common stock 12,650 20,750 24,150
Additional paid in capital 37,950 70,950 87,730
Retained Earning 121,741 141,820 171,820
Total shareholders Equity 172,341 232,920 233,700
Total liabilities and shareholders equity 240,445 294,468 383,469

Required: Prepare an index analysis taking items in 2003 as a base year

AWASH Corporation
Indexed Balance sheet
December 31, 2003, 2004 and 2005 (‘000
Assets 2003 2004 2005
Cash 1.0 4.511368 7.837256
Account receivable 1.0 1.210162 0.167922
Inventory 1.0 1.180899 1.532218
Other current asset 1.0 0.962951 0.932711
Total current assets 1.0 1.238588 1.67675
Net fixed assets 1.0 1.195297 1.45808
Other long term assets 1.0 1.256443 1.169542
Total assets 1.0 1.224679 1.59483
Liabilities and shareholders Equity
Accounts payable 1.0 1.050447 1.758924
Notes Payable 1.0 0.716063 0.843764
Other current liabilities 1.0 0.735661 1.424009
Long term liabilities 1.0 1.436937 4.510135
Total Liabilities 1.0 0.903735 1.464951
Common stock 1.0 1.640316 1.909091
Additional paid in capital 1.0 1.869565 2.311726
Retained Earning 1.0 1.164932 1.411357
Total shareholders Equity 1.0 1.351507 1.356033
Total liabilities and shareholders equity 1.0 1.224679 1.59483

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2.1.4 Trend Analysis
Trend analysis is used to analyze financial statements for a number of years and enable
firm to project the future. It is analysis for elements of financial statements to know
whether there is a tendency of change (increase or decrease) numerically for the elements
of financial statements over years.

Illustration
Years 2001 2002 2003 2004
Current ratio of a firm 3.2 times 2.1 times 2.0times 1.88times
The current ratio indicates the declining tendency of liquidity position of the firm over
the four years period. You can find the trend in ratios of a certain firm by taking ratios
over number of periods.
2.2 FINANCIAL PLANNING

The management of every firm always tries to maximize efficiency and through the same
process the firm goes for the maximization of wealth of the shareholders. One of the
systematic approaches to bring about the intended efficiency is to have a well-designed
financial planning and budgeting. In the process of financial planning, the management
tries to identify the required financial gap and assess the need for external financing.

Financial planning is the task of determining how a business will afford to achieve its
strategic goals and objectives. Usually, a company creates a Financial Plan immediately
after the vision and objectives have been set. The Financial Plan describes each of the
activities, resources, equipment and materials that are needed to achieve these objectives,
as well as the timeframes involved.

2.2.1 Planning Process

Planning is the design of future state of an entity and effective ways to achieve stated
objectives. The planning process of an enterprise involves many steps and phases. The
major steps can be summarized as follows.

A) Set up Objective Objectives explain the desired state or position of an enterprise in

the future. This represents the purpose for which the firm is organized. The firm must
have clearly stated strategic, operational and financial objectives.

B) Make Assumptions It explains the expected conditions on which the plan is based.
When one makes an objective, there exists some assumptions regarding the economic
condition, political situations, and other circumstances in which the firm is working.

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C) Determine Goals: Goals are operational specifications of the broad objectives with
time and quantity dimensions. Goals are quantified targets to be attained within a specific
period. Example The objective of a nation may be to have an economic growth for which
fix a goal that is for example 5.5 percent of rate of growth in the next year.

D) Determine Strategies It lays down the foundation or the activities to be followed in

attaining the objectives and goals. It specifies the way to achieve the objectives and goals.
Example objective of a firm may be to maximize return for a period of time by
increasing sales. The goal may be increase sales by 10 percent at the end of the year. The
firm’s strategies may include reduction of selling price and/ or liberalizing credit policy
among others.

E) Formulate Budget An enterprise must also have idea about the different cash
inflows and outflows, the requirement of additional fund, if the plan is to be
implemented. Budget is the expression of the company’s plan in terms of financial terms.
It is a plan explicitly stating the goals in terms of time and expected financial results for
each major segments of the firm. Example cash budget, sales budget, capital budget etc

Financial budget It is the financial expression of operating budget. It expresses the cash
flows, financial positions, and operating results. The most important types of financial
budgets are: Cash budget, pro-forma or projected financial statements and Capital budget.
The section herein is all about pro-forma or projected financial statements.
2.2.2 Financial Statement Forecasting
It is an integral part of planning. It uses past data to estimate future financial
requirements. It is future estimate of financial requirements based on some scientific and
systematic approaches. It is an important activity for a wide variety of business people.
Nearly all of the decisions made by financial managers are made on the basis of forecasts
of one kind or another (Mayes and Shank, 2004). There are different methods of
forecasting. The percent of sales method, one of the forecasting techniques, which will be
used in this sub section. The percent of sales method is the simplest method of
forecasting income statements and balance sheets. The method can be used with
relatively little data available.

The fundamental assumption of the percent of sales method is that many (but not all)
income statement and balance sheet items maintain a constant relationship to the sales
level. Moreover, the method assumes that the forecast level of sales is already known.
Sales forecast: the sales forecast generally starts with a review of sales during the past
five to ten years. The development of sales forecast may consider:

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 i) Product divisions. If firms have product divisions, sales growth is seldom the
same for each division. Hence, to begin the forecasting process, divisional
projections are to be made on the basis of historical growth, and then divisional
forecasts are combined to produce an approximation of the firms overall sales
forecast.
ii) The level of economic activity in each of the divisions/ branches marketing
areas is forecasted. For example, the change in population growth
iii) The firm’s probable market share in each of the divisions/ branch’s distribution
territories. Consideration given is to the firm’s production and distribution
capacity, the competitors’ capacity among others.
iv) The exchange rate fluctuations for export-oriented firms
v) The planners have to consider the effect of inflation on prices
vi) Advertising campaigns, promotional discounts, credit terms and the like also
affect sales
Once sales have been forecasted, the forecast for future balance sheet and income
statements can be undertaken.

1. Forecasting an Income Statement The level of detail that you have in an income
statement will affect how many items will fluctuate with sales. The general procedure is
to proceed through line by line for each component of income statement by asking the
question, is it likely this item will change directly with sales? If the answer is ‘yes’, then
calculate the percentage of sales and multiply the result by the sales forecast for the next
period. If the answer is otherwise, you will take one of two actions: leave the item
unchanged, or use other information to change the item.

To illustrate take the income statement of GLOBAL company for the year 2008 and
prepare the pro-forma income statement for 2009. Assume that sales increases by 20
percent. The pro forma income statement is shown below with explanations.

GLOBAL Company
Pro-forma Income Statement (in’ Birr)
For the year ended December 31, 2009

Sales Br.996, 000

Cost of Goods Sold (647,400)
Gross Profit on Sales Br.348, 600
Operating Expenses:
Marketing Expense Br. 91,000
General and Administrative Expense 71,000

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 Depreciation 28,000
Total Operating Expenses (Br.190, 000)
Operating Income (EBIT) Br.158, 600
Interest Expense (20,000)
Earnings Before tax Br. 138,600
Income Tax (21%) (29,106)
Earnings after Tax Br. 109,494
Dividends Paid (23%) (25,184)
Change in Retained Earnings Br.84,310

Forecasted sales is calculated as: 830,000 + (830,000x 0.2)

= 830,000 + 166,000= Br. 966,000
Cost of goods sold has a direct relationship to sales.
The cost of goods sold as percentage of sales = 539,000 = 65%
830,000
Forecasted cost of goods sold = 0.65x 996,000 = Br. 647,400

For GLOBAL Company both marketing and general administrative expenses stay
constant. These expenses are conglomerates of different expenses for which some may
change while the others stay constant. Depreciation expenses are not directly related to
sales. The change in depreciation expense on the pro forma income statement depends on
the depreciation rate not based on sales. For GLOBAL Company there is no change in the
depreciation rate.

Interest expense is not directly related to sales. It is a function of the amount and
maturity structure of debt in the firm’s capital structure. GLOBAL Company assumes no
changes in the interest expense for the year 2009 because the same capital structure is
expected for the year.

Tax depends directly on the firm’s taxable income though indirectly related to sales level.
Dividend is not directly related to sales but is dependent on the retention ratio and the
dividend policy of the firm.
2. Forecasting a Balance Sheet Balance sheet can be forecasted in exactly the same
way as the income statement. The main difference is the common size information is not
used in the case of forecasting balance sheet because the common size balance sheet is
based on total assets not based on total sales. Under the percentage of sales method, the
components of balance sheet are to be determined based on sales depending on their
direct relationship to sales.

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Like it is done in the income statement, you will move line by line for each balance sheet
items to determine which items will vary with sales.

Example: take the balance sheet of GLOBAL Company for the year 2008 to prepare the
pro-forma balance sheet for the year 2009. The sales forecast is reported in the pro-forma
income statement. The pro-forma balance sheet and explanations for the respective
components is as follows.

GLOBAL Company
Pro-forma Balance Sheets (in Birr)
December 31, 2009
Assets
Current assets
Cash Br. 49,800
Account Receivables 89,640
Inventories 249,000
Prepaid expenses 15,000
Total current assets Br. 403,440
Fixed Assets:
Gross plant and Equipment Br. 838,000
Accumulated Depreciation (411,000)
Net Plant and Equipment 427,000
Land 70,000
Total fixed assets Br.497,000
Patent 55,000
Total Assets Br. 955,440*
Liabilities and Shareholders Equity
Current Liabilities:
Account Payable Br. 89,640
Income tax payable 29,106
Accrued wages and salaries 4,980
Interest payable 2,000
Total Current Liabilities Br.125,726
Long-term notes payable 200,000
Total Liabilities Br.325,726
Common stock Br.300,000
Retained Earnings 412,310
Total Stockholders' Equity Br. 712,310
Total liabilities and Equity Br. 1,038,036*

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Cash The amount of cash to support a firm’s sales activity will be proportional to sales.
This assumption holds for most firms. If the firm sells more goods, it accumulates more
cash. But the nature of cash creates some reservations on this assumption. Cash is non-
earning or lower return assets so that firms seek to minimize the amount of their cash
balance. Due to such reason, even though cash balance will probably change, it probably
will not change by the same percentage as sales.
For GLOBAL Company cash is assumed to be changed in the same proportion with
sales.
Cash to sales percentage = 44,000 = 5%
830,000

Hence, the forecasted cash balance:

996,000X 0.05 = Br. 49,800

Account Receivable Unless the firm changes its credit policy or has changed it types of
customers, account receivable will increase proportionally with sales.
For GLOBAL Company, the forecasted account receivable is:
Account receivable to sales percentage = 78,000 = 9%
830,000
Forecasted account receivable = 996,000x0.9 = Br. 89,640

Inventory As sales increase, companies generally need more inventory. Hence, the
inventory of GLOBAL Company increases in the same proportion to sales.
Inventory to sales percentage = 210,000 = 25%
830,000
Forecasted balance of inventory =996,000 x0.25 = Br. 249,000

Prepaid Expenses These current assets are generally assumed not to be changed directly
with increase in sales. Prepaid expenses are conglomerates of different advance
payments. For GLOBAL Company Prepaid Expenses are assumed to be the same as the
previous year.

Fixed Assets Even though a firm may buy and sell many pieces of fixed assets, there is
no reason to believe that these actions are directly related to the level of sales. At least in
the short-run plant equipment will not be changed. Furthermore, no firm builds new
plants every time sales increases. But in the long-run no firm can continue to increase
sale unless it eventually adds capacity. For GLOBAL Company, plant and equipment,
and land stay the same as the year 2008.

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Accumulated Depreciation will definitely increase, but not because of the forecasted
change in sales. It will be increased by the amount depreciation expense to be reported in
the forecasted periods. For GLOBAL Company accumulated depreciation increases by
the amount of deprecation expenses of Br. 28,000.

Patent doe not have any relationship with sales level of firms. It is also expected to be
the same as the year 2008 for GLOBAL Company, disregarding the amortization
expenses.

After you complete the assets section of the balance sheet, sources of financing the assets
is your next part of the pro-forma balance sheet. The financing sources may be
spontaneously generated and/or discretionary financing sources.

Spontaneous Sources of Financing These are the sources of financing that arise during
the ordinary courses of doing business. For example, account payable, once the credit
account is established with suppliers, no additional work is required to obtain credit; it
just happens spontaneously when the firm makes purchases. Not all current liabilities are,
however, spontaneous sources of financing. For example, short-term notes payable and
long-term debts due in one year are not spontaneously emerging sources of financing.

Discretionary Sources of Financing These are financing sources which require a large
effort on the part of the firm to obtain. The firm must make a conscious decision to obtain
these funds. Furthermore, the firm’s top level management will use its discretion to
determine the appropriate type of financing. Examples under this group are any types of
bank loan, bonds, common and preferred stocks.

Now comeback to the illustration for GLOBAL Company

Accounts Payable is one of the spontaneous sources of financing for GLOBAL
Company and is directly related to sales.
Accounts payable to sales percentage 76,000 = 9%
830,000
Forecasted balance of accounts payable = 996,000x0.09 = Br. 89,640

Tax depends directly on the firm’s taxable income though indirectly related to sales level.
Tax payable for GLOBAL Company is Br. 29,106 taken from the income statement.

Accrued wages and salaries are accrued liabilities representing primarily accrued
expenses which are spontaneous sources of financing.

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Accrued wages and salaries to sales percentage = 4,000 = 0.05%
830,000
996,000x0.005 = Br. 4,980

Interest Payable is not directly related to sales. It is a function of the amount and
maturity structure of debt in the firm’s capital structure. GLOBAL Company assumes no
changes in the interest payable for the year 2009 because the same capital structure is
expected for the year.

Long Term Notes Payable and Common Stocks are discretionary sources of financing
and are not directly related to the level of sales. For GLOBAL Company the balances of
these accounts are left as they are in 2008.

Retained Earnings will increase with increase in sales but not in the same rate as sales.
The new balance for retained earning will be the old level plus the addition to retained
earnings. Hence, the balance for retained earning of GLOBAL Company is:
328,000 + 84,310= Br. 412,310

Additional Funds Needed After you complete forecasting the balance of each balance
sheet items, assets must be equal to the sum of liabilities and equity. But the sum of the
projected balances will not balance. The difference between total assets and total
liabilities and equity is referred to as additional fund required. The additional fund
required is financed through discretionary financing sources. The fund is also called
discretionary financing fund.

Deficit Discretionary Funds When the firm’s forecasted assets shows higher level than
liabilities and equities in the pro-forma balance sheet, arrangement are made for more
liabilities and/or equities to finance the level of assets needed to support the volume of
sales expected. This is referred to as deficit of discretionary funds.

Surplus of Discretionary Funds If the forecast shows that there will be a higher level of
liabilities and equities than assets, the firm is said to be have a surplus of discretionary
funds.
Generally, the amount required to make the forecasted balance sheet balance is additional
fund needed or external financial requirement.

For GLOBAL Company, the difference between total assets and total liabilities and
equity is: Total assets – [Total Liabilities + Equities] = 955,440 - 1,038,036 = (Br.
82,596). The calculation tells you that GLOBAL Company expects to have Br. 82,596
more in discretionary funds that are needed to support its forecasted level of assets. In
this case, GLOBAL Company is forecasting a surplus of discretionary funds.
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