Working Capital Management

What is working Capital?

In a business it can be defined as its current assets less its current liabilities. Current assets comprise cash, stocks of raw materials, work in progress & finished goods, marketable securities such as Treasury bills & amounts receivable from from debtors. Current liabilities comprise creditors falling due within one year, & may include amounts owned to trade creditors, taxation payable, dividend payments due, short term loans, long term debts maturing within one year & so on.

Every business needs adequate liquid resources to maintain day to day cash flow. It needs enough to pay wages & salaries as they fall due & enough to pay creditors if it is to keep its workforce & ensure its supplies. Maintaining adequate working working capital is not just important in the short term. Sufficient liquidity must be maintained in order to ensure the survival of the business in the long term as well. Even a profitable company may fail if it does not have adequate cash flow to meet its liabilities as they fall due.
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