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Copyright 2003 – Biz/ed

Finance and Accounts 2

Analysing Accounts



Accounting and Finance• Key Terms:• Assets: - the resources a business owns- • Fixed Assets – those lasting more than one year and not

used up in production – equipment, machinery, buildings, etc.– Freehold assets – where the business has full ownership of the

assets– Leasehold assets – agreement permitting the leaseholder the

right to use the asset for a fixed period in exchange for a regular payment

– Goodwill – the difference between the audited value and the market value of a business – the image, brand name, the existence of patents or trademarks, etc.

• Current Assets – assets used up during production and which will realise cash within a year – debtors, raw materials, stock, etc.



Accounting and Finance

• Liabilities:• The financial obligations of a

business – what a business owes.– Loans, shareholders funds, creditors,

tax liability, interest owing.– Current liabilities – those

obligations the business has to meet within a year.



Accounting and Finance• The Purpose of Accounts:• To provide information for

stakeholders– Shareholders – progress of their

investment– Government – tax liability– Suppliers – credit worthiness– Customers – long term future of

the business– Prospective Investors – decision

making– Potential bidders in acquisition

activity– Trade Unions – negotiations

with the company– Management – monitor

performance of the business– Employees – their position in

the business (they may well also be shareholders!)

A trial is currently underway in France where a total of 37 people, including Elf's former president Loik Le Floch-Prigent, are facing charges surrounding the ‘murky’ sale of the Leuna refinery in Germany to Elf in 1991. Allegations have persisted throughout that bribes were paid by Elf to two former German ministers and to the Christian Democratic Union

Title: Leuna Oil Refinery Scandal. Copyright: Getty Images, available from Education Image Gallery (http://edina.ac.uk/eig)



Accounting and Finance

• Types of Information:• Profit and Loss Account – the

revenue and costs of a business over a time period

• Balance Sheet – the assets and liabilities of a business at a specific point in time– Use these sources to give ratios – the

relationship between different aspects of the business



Ratio Analysis

• Key types:• Profitability ratios - a measure

of how much profit its activities generate

• Liquidity ratios – ability of a business to meet its debts

• Investment ratios – a measure of the performance of the business



Ratio Analysis• Profitability Ratios• Profit Margin – relates profit

to turnover (sales revenue).– In general the higher the

profit margin the better– A profit margin of 10% means

that the firm makes 10p profit for every £1 of goods sold.

– Narrow margins – tend to be on products/services which are high volume, mass market products which are highly competitive

– Wide margins – tend to be on products/services that are low volume, high value with relatively high degree of monopoly power

Stock markets rely on key financial dataTitle: Dow up on bullish brokerage calls. Copyright: Getty Images, available from Education Image Gallery (http://edina.ac.uk/eig)



Ratio Analysis

• Gross Profit: Total Revenue – Variable (Direct) Costs Gross Profit– Gross Profit Margin = -------------- x 100

Turnover

• Net Profit: Total revenue – Total Costs (VC+FC) Net Profit– Net Profit Margin = -------------- x 100

Turnover



Ratio Analysis

• Other profitability ratios

Retained Profit

• Retained Profit Margin = ------------------- x100 Turnover

Profit• Profit Mark up = ----------- x100 Cost



Ratio Analysis

• Return on capital employed (ROCE)– A measure of the efficiency of the

firm in using its capital to generate profit.

– A ROCE of 15% suggests that the firm uses every £1 of capital to generate profits of 15p



Ratio Analysis• Example:• Assume two firms produce identical products and

have identical capital structures:– Firm A – Capital Assets = £1,000,000. – Profit = £250,000– Firm B – Capital Assets = £1,000,000. – Profit = £100,000

• Easy to see in this instance that firm A is the more efficient as every £1 of capital generates 25p in profit whereas for Firm B, every £1 of capital only generates 10p profit

• ROCE allows us to have a measure of efficiency for firms with different capital structures



Ratio Analysis

Profit for the Year

ROCE = ----------------------------------- x100 Equity Shareholders' Funds

Generally – the higher the ratio, the more effective the firm is in using its capital assets.



Ratio Analysis

• Liquidity Ratios:– Look at the ability of a firm to meet its

expenditure and how much cash is tied up in the business available to pay for that expenditure.

– Careful management of its income and expenditure is important to its cash flow and its ultimate long term survival.

• More firms fail through cash flow problems than any other reason.



Liquidity Ratios

• Working Capital – having sufficient funds at the right time to be able to meet liabilities– Working capital management is

crucial to the success of a firm

Working capital = the difference between current assets and

current liabilities.



Liquidity Ratios

• The Current Ratio – the proportion of assets to liabilities.– A current ratio of 2:1 means the firm has

sufficient liquidity to cover its liabilities twice over

– A current ratio of 0.75:1 would suggest that the firm is unable to meet its liabilities and could be in a weak financial position.

• A ratio below 1 does not mean the firm will collapse but it will be in a vulnerable position.



Liquidity Ratios

• Acid Test Ratio = (Current Assets - Stocks) : Current

Liabilities The Acid Test Ratio gives an indication whether a

firm can meet its liabilities without having to dispose of its stocks. It gives a clear and quick indication of the state of the firms liquid assets.

Comparing the Current ratio and the Acid Test ratio therefore gives an indication of the relative size of the stock holdings of a firm.



Investment Ratios

• Measure the performance of the firm and are of interest to potential investors.

• Gearing Ratio – measures the proportion of share capital to loan capital– A high gearing ratio suggests high

proportion of loans to share capital• Gearing ratio important in looking at a

firm’s capital structure and the impact of interest rate changes



Investment Ratios

•Other key investment ratios:

• Earnings per share= Profit available to equity shareholders Average number of issued equity shares

The average profit earned per ordinary share

• Dividends per share= Dividends paid to equity shareholders Average number of issued equity shares

The average dividend received per ordinary share



Investment Ratios• Dividend yield= Latest annual dividends Current market share price

A comparison of the dividend received with the current market value of the shares

• Dividend cover= Net profit available to equity shareholders Dividends paid to equity shareholders

The ability of the firm to meet its dividend payments from its profits

• Price/earnings or p/e ratio= Current market share price Earnings per share

The length of time for earnings to cover the cost of the initial investment – key investor ratio used to estimate degree of risk involved in the investment.



Ratio Analysis• Limitations of Ratio Analysis:

– Usefulness dependent on the accuracy of the figures – Enron, Parmalat?

– Only a part of the jig-saw – needs other information to make full judgement

– What has happened in the past is not necessarily a pointer to what will happen in the future!

– Statistics always have a limitation in that it depends when they are used and how they are used.

– No two businesses are fully comparable as the differences between them will always influence the performance of the business

– Ratios do not always reflect the degree of ‘intuition’/’genius’ that may influence the performance of a business

The Crooked E – ironic logo of Enron. Statistics do have their limitations!

Source: reubing, stock xchng (http://www.sxc.hu)

http:// copyright 2003 – biz/ed finance and accounts 2 analysing accounts

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