I. Executive Summary In order to finance future expansion or get past a temporary business slow down (particularly in seasonal business) it is necessary to raise working capital and that involves determining which method of financing is best; debt or equity.
II. Business Challenge
One of the main challenges businesses face when trying to grow is how to raise the necessary working capital to achieve the necessary growth, whether for additional employees, inventory or plant expansion, technology upgrades or other. The big decision then becomes whether to raise the working capital in the form of debt or equity.
It is important for senior management to consider the advantages and disadvantages of each type to determine which method of
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• Assets of the business are usually held as collateral.
• Owners of small companies must usually self guarantee the business loan.
Debt financing is typically easier to get than equity financing. If the company is showing good results and has positive cash flow, debt can typically be raised by going to banks. Though lending is still tighter than in years past, it has loosened significantly in the last two years allowing for business growth financing.
Bank loans can be in various forms depending on the company’s needs. Typical loans are working capital loan with a fixed payment of principal and interest for a specific term. Depending on the strength of the company these loans are usually based around some form of measurement such as points above or below LIBOR or Prime Rate.
Prime rate in July 2015 is at 3.25% and LIBOR (London Interbank Offered Rate) is approximately 0.81%. Depending on the bank or financial institution a company borrows from will determine which index is used. Regardless, companies will pay approximately the same based on their riskiness to the bank as determined by the banks’ underwriters.
The average interest rate for a small business loan depends upon a number of factors. One factor is the size of the loan. For example, loans under $100,000 have a higher interest rate than loans over $100,000, according to a July rate report by Bloomberg Businessweek.
The company position is strong enough so its better that company should use debt financing instead of equity financing.
In fact, the interest rate of a business is changing daily. Therefore, we cannot actually assume that the same interest rate for a whole year.
As a firm grows, it must invest in new assets to support increased sales volume. The investments in new assets must be financed with some combination of increased liabilities and increasesd equity.
Capital structure long term is looking at how assets for the business should be paid for. Through the article the common theme is to more efficiently change working capital into cash that can be used to pay for the debt and liabilities for the business. By converting the working capital into cash, the business can make payments without having to take out an extra loan or take on more debt for the business. The working capital management is evaluating the day-to-day finances of the firm and how to make sure it is paid for. Again converting working capital into tangible resources that can be used to pay for the firm is key to covering the businesses operating expenses day to day in this economy. It is more profitable for the company to do this. This will not change the overall total value of assets, but it would shift assets from being fixed into being current. Having more current assets creates a larger net working capital for the business, which is beneficial to them. Determinants of the businesses growth include total asset turnover and the dividend policy. The total asset turnover will be increased if the tips in this article are complied with. This is because having current assets that can and will be used increases this amount. The dividend policy is about choosing how much to pay shareholders versus reinvesting
Interest rate is the percentage of the loan that is charged as interest. The interest rate is determined by 3 factors. The first is the rate that the Federal Reserve bank charges the banks. The second aspect that determine the interest rates is the demand and supply of bonds and treasury notes. Finally, the third aspect of the interest rate is determined by the bank. The bank sets the rate according to their needs.
In general, using external funds, i.e. debt or equity, to finance increasing growth is riskier to the corporation. When issuing debt the company needs to be certain to cover both the repayment of the principal and the interest payments on time (because if they do not this could cause them to have problems securing financing in the future). When issuing additional shares of stock (equity) the value of existing traded stock is diluted (in proportion) and as such the current ownership might lose control (and may even be voted out by shareholders if dilution is substantial enough). Furthermore, with both debt and equity financing, a fast growing company needs to be aware that payments to either may hamper future expansion because payments that need to be send out in the forms of dividends or interest cannot be retained and invested in future projects.
A business will run smoothly if the working capital is used effectively, hence the description “Working” capital. Managing this is a delicate balance and needs to be monitored regularly to make sure both debtors and creditors are on track. One of the most effective ways to manage this figure is to ensure debtors to the company pay their debts on time (or early if
This step involves short and long term debt equity analysis. The proportion of equity capital depends on the possessing and additional funds will be raised. The choice of the source of funds the company has are the issue of shares and debentures, loans to be taken from banks and financial institutions and public deposits to be drawn in form of bonds. The choice will depend on relative merits and demerits of each source and period of financing. The management of the investment funds is key in allocating that the funds are going in the correct place. The profits that are made can be down in two ways dividend declaration which includes identifying the rate of dividends and retained profits in which the volume has to be decided which will depend upon expansion and diversification of the company. The management of cash is another important function. Cash is needed for all different aspects of the company such as payment of salaries, overhead and bills. All of these are important in a company and how successful the financial aspect is going to be.The financial management practices include capital structure decision, investment appraisal techniques, dividend policy, working capital management and financial performance assessment. A company needs to have well financial in order to be successful. “A company that sells well but has poor financial management can fail.” (Johnston)
In order to grow her organization, our group advises that Ms. Thorne invest a total of R1 million in new additional facilities to double the operating capacity of the company. In order to grow the company and expand into foreign markets, the company needs to build another facility. It was made clear that the limiting factor in production is not the number of people, rather it is the fact that the old facilities have been outgrown. The way our group advises funding the building would be through debt. Using equity to finance the deal would likely mean giving up part of the company
Parrino, R., Kidwell, D. S, & Bates, T. W. (2012: Concept Review Video: Working Capital Management
Improving working capital position, a company is able to compare from year to year any increase in revenue; increase in production due to a decrease in variable or fixed costs, increase in sales due to a new sales workforce and any increase in liabilities; new short term creditors, a higher accounts payable account due to the need to purchase new materials. A company can improve its working capital by trying to keep a healthy balance between the two accounts, cutting costs, and analyzing its current short-term debt in terms of how to decrease it or find alternative ways to avoid it such as restructuring production procedures. (Schroeder, el. 2014)
Small businesses are important to the U.S economy for multiple reasons. According to the U.S Small Business Administration, small businesses represents for 99.7 percent of all employer firms, have generated sixty four percent of new jobs and paid forty four percent of the total united states payroll (Brown, 2017) . Small business is an important role not just in the US economy, but they also play a major role in the growth of the individual community that they are located in. Small businesses give citizens of the community an opportunity for employment by offering jobs that the individuals may not have to have degrees or accolades to qualify for unlike jobs in larger corporations. Although small business is very important to the economy and the community, often times small
Annual percentage rate has many different way of calculating a loan percentage rate. For a loan of
Service-Disabled Veterans have earned the right to receive certain preferences for government contracting because they volunteered to serve their country. Congress established programs to benefit Service-Disabled Veterans, choose three programs and describe these programs. Explain how these programs benefit a small business over a large business.
Lending investments allow you to be the bank. They tend to be lower risk than ownership investments and return less as a result. A bond issued by a company will pay a set amount over a certain period, while during the same period the stock of a company can double or triple in value, paying more than a bond - or it can lose heavily and go bankrupt, in which case bond holders usually still get their money and the stockholder often gets nothing.