Financial Analysis Decision Making

FACS Page 1 If you require a receipt for the post module work please complete the form below and clip it to the outside front of your assignment, together with a stamped pre-addressed envelope. * To be completed by the student * * * * NAME: MODULE: CHUTSANA NA NAGARA FINANCIAL ANALYSIS & CONTROL SYSTEMS MODULE DATE: 3rd, 4th, 7th December 2007 DUE DATE FOR POST MODULE WORK: January 28, 2008 I confirm the post-module work relating to the above module was received on †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ Signature †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. Warwick Manufacturing Group N. B. Post Module Work received by WMG after 16. 0 (Monday- Friday) will be stamped as having arrived on the next working day. Chutsana Na Nagara (0654258) FACS Page 2 I declare that the work contained in this assignment is my own, unless otherwise stated. Signed: Chutsana Na Nagara (for on-line submission it is only necessary to type your name in this space) MODULE TITLE: MODULE DATE: GROUP: NAME: FINANCIAL ANALYSIS & CONTROL SYSTEMS 3rd, 4th, 7th December 2007 B CHUTSANA NA NAGARA (0654258) Chutsana Na Nagara (0654258) FACS Page 3 TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Question 1 : Analysis of the Financial Reports : Electrocomponents plc. Brief Description of Electrocomponents Plc. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 4 Evaluation of Company Performance †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 7 Group Income Statement and Profitability Ratios †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢ € ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 7 Group Balance Sheet†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 9 Efficiency Ratios†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 10 Liquidity Ratios †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 3 Investment Ratios†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢ € ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 14 Group Cash Flow Statement †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 16 Conclusion †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 16 Corporate Governance †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 17 Ethical Concerns †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 8 Suggestions †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 18 Question 2 : Management Accounting Part A : Cash Management†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 21 Part B (1) Budgeting †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 23 Part B (2) Marginal Costing†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 24 Appendix †¦Ã¢ € ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 6 References†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 34 Chutsana Na Nagara (0654258) FACS Page 4 FINANCIAL ANALYSIS AND CONTROL SYSTEMS Question 1 : Analysis of the Financial Reports Brief description of the company Electrocomponents Public Company Limited is a high service distributor of electronic, electromechanical and wider industrial products. They supply products to worldwide engineering customers. The group operates in 27 countries, covering 82% of global GDP, and supplies to most of the remaining countries worldwide via third party distributors.Chutsana Na Naga ra (0654258) FACS Page 5 Group Strategy—a three year-plan commencing from May 2005; ? Focus separately on two distinct customer groups, Electronic and Electromechanical (EEM) and Maintenance and Repair and Operations (MRO): by extending products ranges and availability to build on the enthusiastic response and meet customer expectations. ? ? Implement the integrated system, Enterprise Business System (EBS) Create a lower cost infrastructure: moving to new head offices, tighter control of costs, supply chain management, for instances Main Products: Nearly 350,000 products around the world.The main product ranges are; ? ? ? ? Electrical, automation and cables Electronic components, power and connectors Mechanical products and tools IT, test and safety equipment Main Customer Groups Total around 1. 5 million customers from all industrial sectors are typically research and development (R&D) or maintenance engineers in business. They also sell products to end customers. Currently they are focusing on 2 main customer groups refer to product groups. 1. Electronic and Electromechanical or EEM Primary customers are electronics design and pre and low volume electronics production.This has been seen as an attractive and growing segment because of strong electronics market growth, technology proliferation and R&D investment. Chutsana Na Nagara (0654258) FACS Page 6 2. Maintenance, Repair and Operations or MRO Within MRO, their important customer is involved in factory automation that primarily uses process control and automation products (PCA). Main Markets are divided into 4 geographical areas: UK, continental Europe, North America and Asia Pacific. below. UK 40% Current market size (in sales) is shown Continental Europe 33% Asia Pacific 9% North America 18% Chutsana Na Nagara (0654258)FACS Page 7 Channels ? Catalogue: a traditional channel ? e-Commerce: total around 25% of group’s sales ? Trade counters/Sales Offices: operating globally Evaluation of Compa ny Performance†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. Four techniques are selected (horizontal analysis, trend analysis, vertical analysis, and ratio analysis) to interpret and illustrate business performance during year 2007 comparing to 2006 and 2005. For trend analysis, Y2005 is assumed to be a base year (=100%) as it was the last year before massive investments and reorganization projects took place as well as implementation of maintaining dividend paid/share.Ratios will be divided into four groups to evaluate company performance in separate areas. Group Income Statement and Profitability Ratios†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. (Calculations in Appendix1-2) Trend analysis shows sales have increased by 13% from Y2005 as international sales increased (Business Review) due to a combination of strong revenue growth in continental Europe, North America (joint promotions programs), and Asia Pa cific especially a successful customer acquisition program and contribution from new Thailand sales office.However, cost of sales has increased by greater amount (by 20%). Generally speaking, cost of sales should not increase much more than increase in sales because this shows that all produced goods might not be sold (stolen, defected, etc. ) or raw Chutsana Na Nagara (0654258) FACS Page 8 material cost greatly rose due to inefficient procurement. Also, normally when sales increases, business will receive discounts from big batch purchases and even reduces cost of sales. By comparing cost of sales with sales: Y2005 was accounted for 47% but Y2006-7 was the same at 49% of sales.So the problem for Electrocomponents might be, (Chief Executive’s and Business Review), that their strategy to expand product ranges, availability, and promotions to better satisfy and attracts customers in highly competitive markets. These led to increase in inventory holding and cost of sales. As a r esult, gross profit increased by only 4% from Y2006 or 8% from Y2005 (lesser amount than sales growth). directly affected. Gross profit and mark-up ratios are Gross Profit Ratio Gross Profit x 100 Sales Y2007 443. 5 x 100 = 50. 5 % 877. 5 Y2006 426. 4 x 100 = 51. 5 % 828. 5 Gross profit ratio shows every ? sales; business earned 50. 5pence and cost of sales took 49. 5p from it because of increase in cost of sales as mentioned earlier. To illustrate, sales increased by 5. 9% (877. 5 -828. 5? m) but cost of sales increased by 7. 9% (434 – 402. 1? m). Mark-up Ratio Gross Profit x 100 Cost of Sales Y2007 443. 5 x 100 = 102. 2 % 434 Y2006 426. 4 x 100 = 106% 402. 1 Mark-up ratio shows the profit business added up to cost of sales has decreased. Gross profit derived from sales deducted by cost of sales. They normally change adversely; the more cost of sales, the less gross profit.Ratio also illustrates market situation; UK is their biggest but highest competitive market (Business R eview) so increasing price to raise profit is prohibited. That is why business earned only 2. 2pence profit after deducting all cost of sales. Chutsana Na Nagara (0654258) FACS Page 9 For internal comparison, Gross profit ratio is compared with net margin ratio: Net Margin Ratio Operating Profit x 100 Sales Y2007 91. 1 x 100 = 10. 4 % 877. 5 Y2006 68. 5 x 100 = 8. 3 % 828. 5 They are measuring profitability at different levels. Although gross profit ratio decreased, net margin ratio increased.This supports that business better managed operating expenses through achieving in Enterprise Business Systems or EBS and reorganization projects. In other words, It is justified that (13%increase) distribution and marketing expenses which seems to be variable costs (especially sales commissions) for Y2007 has changed in relation to sales (14%increase)—comparing to Y2006; these expenses increased 15% while sales only increased 7%. This was because strong field sales team in North America , EBS, and Japan’s e-commerce increased to 57% of its sales, (Business Review).Moreover, administrative expenses (fixed costs) greatly decreased (78%) because reorganization project led to low infrastructure cost especially the removal of around 110 roles including the closure of the telemarketing department in the UK (Webpage1). So, total operating expenses decreased to 40% as a percentage of sales and led to increase in operating profit by 32% from Y2006. Regarding profitability, the business is doing well in terms of generating profits from worldwide sales growth which is supported by effective marketing activities, product strategies, and investment projects.Group Balance Sheet†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. (Also refer to Appendix3-4) Overall picture, Y2007 total assets were about the same as Y2005, despite a slight increase in Y2006â €™s. On the other side (assets = liabilities + equity), while fixed liabilities and equity decreased, current liabilities was the Chutsana Na Nagara (0654258) FACS Page 10 only one area that greatly increased especially loans and borrowings that increased by ? m56 and also with increases in trade and other payables by ? m9. 4. For further analysis, we shall look at detailed performance from ratios.Efficiency ratios†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ Inventory Turnover Ratio (times) Cost of Sales (Ending) Inventory Y2007 434 160. 6 Y2007 434 159. 6 = 2. 7 = 2. 7 402. 1 158. 6 Y2006 402. 1 150. 45 Y2006 = 2. 5 Cost of Sales (Average) Inventory = 2. 7 Inventory turnover ratio: If average inventory is used to calculate ratio, business remains efficiency of purchasing and selling goods at the same level of 2. 7times. A high relative volume of 2. 7times turnover means business had only 4 months of sales in stock.However, it is acceptable to use â€Å"ending† inventory as it was the most current inventory level business held and it shows that supply chain management truly helped improve stock turn from 2. 5 to 2. 7times (Business Review). Notes17 illustrates that business tended to increase raw materials while decrease finished goods. In general, when sales increase, business should stock finished goods for availability to customers—not raw materials as they are not immediately ready for sale. However, ratio can mislead if business stocks too much and cost of sales are not well-managed, the ratio still increases and problems are hidden.Debtor Collection Period (days) Receivables x 365 (Average) Trade Debtors Y2007 150. 5 x 365 = 62. 6 877. 5 Y2006 138. 2 x 365 = 60. 9 828. 5 Debtor collection period: Gross trade debtors (from Notes18) comparing to sales shows business has begun to weaken than Y2006 and industry figure because median period for UK is about only 50 days, Dyson1 Chutsana Na Nagara (0654258) FACS Page 11 (2007). Also, if comparing it with inventory turnover ratio, company sold products quicker but collected money slower. The possible reason might be current global expansions, for example, new trades in Thailand.Payment transactions are neither yet well-settled nor flowing smoothly; therefore, increase leadtime. Also, it is possible that customers buy more because attractive credits terms are offered especially high competitive and mature market like UK (Notes2 and Business review). This is meaningless because sales—not cash inflow increases. Moreover, business must ensure the collection period is shorter than credit sales otherwise business can go bankruptcy. Net Assets Turnover (times) Sales Capital Employed Y2007 877. 5 450. 4 = 1. 9 828. 5 543. 5 Y2006 = 1. 5Net asset turnover shows the improvements in efficient utilization of capital employed to genera te sales. Every ? 1invested in assets, business earned nearly ? 2sales. Sales increased (as earlier mentioned) while capital employed greatly decreased mainly because of increase in current liabilities especially unsecured bank facilities and loans, Notes20. Fixed Assets Turnover Ratio (times) Sales Fixed Assets @ NBV (NBV = Net Book Value) Y2007 877. 5 95. 3 = 9. 2 828. 5 96. 3 Y2006 = 8. 6 Fixed asset turnover ratio: Business had better utilized fixed assets to generate sales or they began to pay off.In other words, every ? 1fixed assets invested can generate sales ? 9. 2. Main effects were from decrease in net book value of intangible assets (Notes12) and slightly increase in property, plant and equipment (Notes13). However, sales increased in greater amount; hence, satisfied ratio. It is wise to compare net book value with other businesses (on like-for-like basis) or industrial ratio for comparisons of performance and position. Chutsana Na Nagara (0654258) FACS Page 12 Similarly , fixed assets can be compared with operating profit to show its ability to generate profit—not just sales.Operating Profit Fixed Assets @ NBV Y2007 91. 1 95. 3 = 1. 0 times 68. 5 96. 3 Y2006 = 0. 7 times Ability to generate profit has also improved; therefore, business well utilized fixed assets to generate both sales and profit. In similar fashion, we can see how well business utilized total assets as below. Return on Total Assets Operating Profit x 100 Total Assets Y2007 91. 1 x 100 = 13. 5 % 676. 8 Y2006 68. 5 x 100 = 9. 7 % 703. 3 Return on total asset ratio shows that company has improved on utilizing each ? 1total assets invested to generate profit.Ratio is higher due to decrease in intangible assets (Notes12), cash and cash equivalents (Notes28), while increase in operating profit. Regarding efficiency in using assets, business is also doing well in this area accept for debtor collection period that has slightly gone up two more days and is still much longer than the average UK’s, Dyson1 (2007). This suggests business closely control international sales and payments along with its expansions. Chutsana Na Nagara (0654258) FACS Page 13 Liquidity ratios†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. (Also refer to Appendix3-4)Current Ratio Inventory + Debtors + Cash + Short term investments Creditors + Short term loans + Overdrafts Y2007 350. 7 211. 9 = 1. 7 360. 3 146. 5 Y2006 = 2. 5 This measures how well business can immediately pay debt from sufficient liquid resources when it falls due. It shows their ability to use any ? 1current assets to pay current debts was weaker because creditors and enormous current borrowings/loans increased (Notes19-20) while decreased in cash and cash equivalents especially call deposits and investments (Notes28). We further look at acid test.Acid Test Debtors + Cash + Short term investments Creditors + Short term loans + Overdrafts Y2007 190. 1 211. 9 = 0. 9 201. 7 146. 5 Y2006 = 1. 4 Normally, inventory cannot immediately turn to cash. Acid test which excludes inventory shows real business ability to meet its obligations. Acid test declines to even lower than 1 showing a worrying sign. Business invested in too much inventory such as product ranges which affected their liquidity. Although, some liabilities may not be due in some months, business cannot neglect the situation.Their liquidity seems very stretch at the moment as the two ratios shows a warning sign that business did not maintain proper level of liquidity and can expose to more severe financial risk unless they make soonest improvement. Chutsana Na Nagara (0654258) FACS Page 14 Investment ratios†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ (Also refe r to Appendix3-4) Gearing Ratio (Fixed loans and borrowings + Current loans and borrowings – Cash and cash equivalents) x 100 Equity Y2007 (76. 3 + 79 -19. 1) x 100 304. 6 = 44. 7 % Y2006 (137. 2 + 23 – 39. 4) x 100 336. 4 = 35. 9 % Interest Cover (times)Operating Profit Interest Charges Y2007 91. 1 5. 9 = 15. 4 68. 5 3. 4 Y2006 = 20. 1 Operating Profit (%Change Y2006-7) (91. 1 – 68. 5) x 100 68. 5 = 33 % Interest Charges (%Change Y2006-7) (5. 9 – 3. 4) x 100 3. 4 = 74 % Gearing ratio increased from Y2006: This illustrates business depends more on borrowed funds rather than shareholder funds. It seems that business borrowed short term loans for (main consumption) development of new warehouse and office in North America (Business Review, Notes2). At the same time, shareholder funds decreased due to decrease in other reserves, Notes26; hence higher ratio.Regarding shareholders’ view, they may be in high financial risk as borrowing interests must be p aid before distributing dividend and, in liquidation; lenders will be repaid before shareholders receive any repayments, FACS1. The gearing ratio itself does not mean very much because it depends on type of business and investment stage. We compare it with interest cover Chutsana Na Nagara (0654258) FACS Page 15 which decreased due to interest charges increased by greater amount (74%) than profit (33%). It shows that operating profit can only cover interest charges 15. times so again this is because interests paid for current borrowings/loans as mentioned earlier. Dividends = 18. 4p per share for three years Refer to Chairman Statement; the Board announced in Y2005 that business would maintain dividend paid at 18. 4p per share for the following three years. This is good for shareholders as they know exactly what they will receive, however, it is very risky for business as they must ensure to earn sufficient profit to meet what they said or, if not, business must seek new funding sou rces to finance such commitment. Return on Shareholder FundProfit after Tax & Interest x 100 Shareholders Funds Y2007 56. 2 x 100 = 18. 5 % 304. 6 Y2006 43. 6 x 100 = 13 % 336. 4 Return on shareholder funds increased because of increase in profit after tax and interest which is mainly due to no provisions for Y2007 RoHS cost (Notes3, 11), profit on sale of former head office (Notes5, 11), and decrease in other reserves in shareholder funds (Notes26). This gives confidence to shareholders that every ? 1invested can generate profit 5. 5% higher than Y2006. Chutsana Na Nagara (0654258) FACS Page 16 Group Cash Flow Statement†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦The statement illustrates profits earned each year is totally different from cash they hold. It serves as a tool for management control that allows business monitor their cash flows especially the cash outflows. The first major cash outflow was capital expenditure and financial investment which might be due to infrastructure projects business is implementing especially new warehouse in North America, (Notes2, Business Review). Moreover, Income Statement for year ended 2005-7 shows profits after tax and interests attributable to equity shareholders (? m67. 6, 43. , and 56. 2 for Y2005-7 respectively) are less than total dividends paid of ? m80 (18. 4p/share). This is probably the reason that business had new bank loans during these three consecutive years (Cash Flow Statement). Although loans might also be distributed to other activities, it seems that they were partially paid as dividends as announcement in Y2005. Consequently, this is why Y2007 profit (? m85. 2) which increased from Y2006 (? m65. 1), was actually left at the end of the trading year as â€Å"real† cash and cash equivalents at only ? m17. 2 decreased from ? m38.Conclusion†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã ¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ In conclusion, since the business has been established in 1928, they are growing and expanding internationally rapidly (Webpage2 and Webpage3). At present, they are doing well in term of profitability, efficiency, and investment areas, or to say, they are succeeding in sustaining global sales growth across the group, grow margin stabilization and tight control of costs. ROCE ratio also illustrates overall success. Chutsana Na Nagara (0654258) FACS Page 17 Return on Capital Employed (ROCE) Operating Profit x 100 Capital Employed Y2007 91. 1 x 100 = 20. 2 % 450. Y2006 68. 5 x 100 = 12. 6 % 543. 5 ROCE is the combination of Net Margin and Net Assets Turnover. As earlier mentioned both ratios increase and led to significantly increased ROCE. It suggests that overall performance is satisfied due to effective pricing and cost management as well as asset management were im proved comparing to Y2006. This also illustrates overall success in EBS, product strategy, new technology launches, supplier relationships and low costs projects that are paying off. The number of times (1. 9) that net assets can generate sales is very important as one turn equals to 10. % that sales can generate profit. That is why ROCE = 20. 2% as it equals two turns. This suggests that it may greatly increases sales very soon because business recently plans to accelerate sales growth in China which is a big potential market and if business can manage to utilize assets well, there will be increase in profit on capital employed even more. Furthermore, it is better if the ROCE rate of 20. 2% is less than the rate of cost (interest rate) that business pays for money borrowed to invest in these assets because it means assets are used for generating profit that can cover cost of acquiring them.Regarding Corporate Governance (Webpage4), the business is subject to the provisions of the C ombined Code on Corporate Governance published in July 2003 and appended to the Listing Rules of the UK Listing Authority. There are many practices company must follow. For example, the Audit Committee shall consist of not less than three members and be independent non-executive directors. Also, it is authorized by the Board and able to investigate any activity within its Terms of Reference which allows for full access to Company information and can seek that information from any employee of the business.Employees are directed to co-operate with any request made by the Committee. If, at all time, company strictly follows the set rules, they can ensure operating properly. Chutsana Na Nagara (0654258) FACS Page 18 Moreover, regarding Ethical concerns (Business Review), they are focusing on many areas of responsibilities such as ethical trading and sets of KPI for environmental concerns. Along with their profitability, business is considered be on track of long term prosperous. However , there is one important area that needs to be immediately improved. This is liquidity. From the logic below;Total assets = Fixed Liabilities + Current Liabilities + 676. 8 100% = = 145. 8 21. 54% + + 226. 4 33. 45% + + Equity 304. 6 ? m 45. 01% or; Sources of asset investments are from three parts. Business acquires funds from borrowings/loans 54. 99% (21. 54% + 33. 45%) which exceeds equity (45. 01%). The proportion shows business is considered at high risk. This evidence is also strongly supported by earlier ratios and cash flow analysis. Suggestions†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. Suggestions aim to point out at major areas. Most of them involve the concern on liquidity which has been mentioned earlier. . Recently, there are many business activities going on to support their expansions that involve mostly in long term investments. However, it seems t hat business finance their activities with short term liabilities as they increased significantly, Notes20. This is not a proper means of investment because, normally, short term liabilities are at higher interest rate and the payment due is sooner (amounts falling due less than a year is as high as 79? m from 23? m, Notes20), but business uses them for long term investments which take time to generate cash back.Business may soon suffer from low liquidity and inability to pay day-to-day expenses and interests as business pays back the cost of using money even before they make profit from the money borrowed. Chutsana Na Nagara (0654258) FACS Page 19 The evidence was supported by increased in Gearing ratio; while, Current ratio, Acid test and Interest Cover ratio have significantly decreased. Although, interest expenses from borrowings reduce tax payable, business must ensure they have ability to pay interests and it is worth to do so.Unless they restructure funding sources, they can go bankruptcy very soon because many long term projects will be implement next year. By doing so, business surely improves their liquidity and reduces financial risk for business itself as well as shareholders’. 2. It was very risky that the Board has announced to maintain the same amount of dividend paid for three years while business is under investments/expansions and these two activities consume huge amount of money. Dividend amount is greater than profits after tax and interests; business seemed to borrow current liabilities for cash dividend paid.This could be a good strategic idea to retain shareholders’ confidence on the successful implementation of EBS, execution of the strategy and cost reduction initiatives will significantly improve financial performance over the next three years. However, it could turn to be the worst idea especially when liquidity is now in concern. The alternative solutions can be that business issues more shares so they use cash receive d to pay dividend or pay shareholders with stock dividends (dividend reinvestment plan) so they still retain cash in the business.These two alternatives will increase number of shares so, refer to Gearing ratio, financial risks can be reduced. Point 1&2 above suggest that business rearrange sources of funding by seeking for long term sources and bewares of â€Å"overtrading†. They are expanding, stocking more inventories, having more debtors but lack of cash to pay for creditors—not only from normal trading but also interests from borrowing/loans. Although the Board seems to be sure that after all these investments come alive under well-managed plan for implementations they will urely benefit and guarantee long term prosperous to business, business may go bankruptcy even before reaching the goal. Chutsana Na Nagara (0654258) FACS Page 20 3. Business’s strategy to satisfy customers with around 350,000 products stocked globally, this can hardly do so efficiently. Although inventory turnover seems satisfied, acid test shows inventory greatly affects business’s liquidity. Business is suggested reconsider inventory policy to rearrange classes and only stock fast moving, high volume but low value items.For slow moving, low volume but high value items, business may decide to use pooled strategy by stocking them in one warehouse in location that can easily transport products to anywhere needed, Chopra and Sodhi (2004). 4. Business is expanding very much. Their performance on receivables collection period is slightly weaker because trading worldwide interfaces with many parties and increases procedures complexity. Business must ensure activities are in control and they have sufficient cash to pay creditors. 5. Regarding risks assessment (Business Review); it is wise to include isks from suppliers into consideration as they are trading in competitive markets with enormous competitors and high penalties. Satisfying customers is vitally importa nt; therefore, this requires reliable suppliers as well as effective supply chain management for inventory management and reduce cost of sales. 6. It is suggested business focus on international markets especially North America and Asia which have higher revenue growth. Currently, North American’s e-commerce is account for only 10% of total sales. This is elatively low comparing to other regions. This may be a great opportunity to increase profits because sales can be increased through e-commerce; while, costs are reduced from, for example, reduction in sales teams. (3,824 Words) Chutsana Na Nagara (0654258) FACS Page 21 Question 2 Part A : Cash Management†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. – The significance of cash management in managing a business. Cash is one of the most important resources in running a business as Pizzey (199 8) put that it is the life-blood of the business.However, cash is not profit. Highly profitable businesses cease to exist just simply because they do not maintain sufficient cash to allow proper level of liquidity; for example, paying for routine business’ expenses. While too much idle cash means inefficiency as it does not generate any added value to business. To avoid falling into either ends, business needs cash management. This can be done through preparing cash flow statement to examine past performance and include corrective actions/improvements in cash budget for future directions/guidelines.To illustrate, business can recognize transaction flows with initial factors; identify risk because it allows for regular monitoring and control; plan their money ahead such as acquiring funds from proper sources at reasonable price rather than rushing into lenders when problems surprisingly happen, etc. We can; therefore, say that ultimate significances of cash management are that business runs smoothly, stably; is safe from insolvency and increases confidences for shareholders. – Impact of Production Manager’s role on the cash position of the business game.Refer to Year2 Cash Flow Statement (Appendix5) Major decisions that affected (negative) cash position were; Machine choice & bottle neck : Machine Mark-I has longest leadtime. Work-in-process are slowly produced. Finished goods tie up waiting for workin-process before consolidating into batch delivery. The longer leadtime, the longer business gets paid from customers and it is even longer from foreign markets. So it keeps borrowing more money to run business and paying interests. Chutsana Na Nagara (0654258) FACS Page 22Routing : At fist stage, Wolfs were produced from Mark-I which had most expensive unit cost of $m(5). This increased cost of sales and while price was fixed, business received less profit. Capacity : Business has already invested in Engineering&Quality and bought new factory. However, using Mark-I led to insufficient capacity; decreased opportunity to win big contracts; and limited sales volume. Business ended up with insufficient products to generates enough sales to cover all costs especially capital expenditure. Three issues above affected cash out-flows which led to extremely high negative cash position.One possible solution is to replace Mark-I with Mark-III to efficiently increase capacity. So leadtime is decreased; stocks are reduced; business tends to decrease debtors, increase profit, reduce loans and interest paid; hence, cash position gets better. – Comment on the impact of Production Manager’s role in managing the cash in a real business. Managing real business will involve more complex issues—unlike the game. The role affects managing cash in numbers of ways: – Control on scrap/defect rates to reduce cost of sales. – Methods to manage defected products to minimise all costs related. Sequencing rule when th ousands different product groups are produced/day, good sequencing is required to avoid delay, quality problems and unnecessary costs. The more costs increase, the less profit business gains—especially in competitive markets where prices can hardly be increased, business suffer more severely. It is worth remembering some points : decisions cannot be made in isolation as one’s decisions affect others’. All functions’ commitment is vitally important. Also, final decisions must be considered regarding company’s For example, purchasing function cuts cost by enefits not a function’s. ordering low quality materials. Additional costs pass on to inspection and production functions. Also, if customers reject products, there will be claiming Chutsana Na Nagara (0654258) FACS Page 23 process, reverse logistic, and product replacement. All these increase costs for whole business no matter in which functions they occur. (541 Words) Part B (1) : Budgeting †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ Budgeting Budgeting comprises of two important parts, preparation and budgetary control, which will be described referring to FACS2.Preparation: Business critically analyses internal and external environments/factors to formulate strategic plans that must be in line with business objectives. Business then sets up operational plans with properly identifying resource requirements to support strategies. This resource plans are finally translated into financial plans to complete a budget preparation. Budgetary control: Budget is compared with actual figures. If variances occur, timely corrective actions are required; involving sending feedbacks back for reviews and formulated plans and/or forecasts may be revised. These re continuous processes and required management contributions/commitments at all time so that intended benefits are surely achieve d. The technique can apply to WinningMarginTM. Our objective is to lead Wolf markets and strategy is ensuring products are adequate for sales. We prepare production and sales budgets (Appendix6-7) showing maximum productions are 14 Terriers and 8 Wolfs with total sales $116. 6. From this point, purchasing manager knows how many exactly materials to order and when to prevent material shortage. Production manager can effectively manage shift allocations.Financial manager can see how much money to borrow more as we plan to invest in engineering and quality next year. Moreover, commercial manager can evaluate market share correctly. All Chutsana Na Nagara (0654258) FACS Page 24 functions know their responsibilities and control areas which help achieve the objective. In real business, all processes are much more complex and involve enormous factors such as competitors, substitute products, technologies, government legislations, as well as funding/borrowings which are not easy or fast as in the game. Also, business is legally committed to pay tax and interests which can be very high.More importantly, suppliers and customers are not always reliable. Late payments from customers or late delivers from suppliers can severely interrupt whole business plan/process. (298 Words) Part B (2) : Marginal Costing†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ Marginal Costing Marginal costing is a costing technique that helps business making decisions. We must understand cost behaviors to properly classify and, more importantly, control them. Total costs roughly comprised of variable costs, which changes with activity Dyson3 (2007) and fixed or â€Å"time-based† costs, which remain unchanged within a period of time regardless of how many products produced.The difference between price and variable cost can be used to cover fixed costs and this is known as â€Å"contribution†. Business makes prof it from any contribution amount exceeds fixed costs; or loss, if insufficient contribution. Regarding WinningMarginTM, this technique would have helped our decision in choosing market. Appendix8 suggests we produce Tiger because of highest contribution in both situations. However, we actually chose Wolf. To make profit from Wolfs; we must produce 11 Wolfs (best case) or 76 Wolfs (worst case). However, our capacity is very limited due to machine constrains (Appendix6).This suggests we have adequate investments in engineering Chutsana Na Nagara (0654258) FACS Page 25 quality and market development to get best available prices as well as enough contracts so that all products will be sold. Alternatively, we may replace MarkI with Mark-III to increase capacity; hence, increase contribution and profit. In real business, marginal costing is more widely used for strategic decisions, for example; â€Å"Make or buy†: Normally making products in-house required more fixed costs. Business buy-in if increase in variable costs is less than fixed costs. â€Å"Price incentives†: Reducing price can increase sales.Business reduce price if contribution from additional sales can cover total price reduction. Or increase price if contribution covers total sales lost. Comparing to real world, a number of costs are associated. To get best from the technique, business ensures they carefully distribute all costs to the right groups otherwise results can mislead decision-making and greatly affects business. (296 Words) Chutsana Na Nagara (0654258) FACS Page 26 Appendix Appendix 1 : Trend Analysis of Group Income Statement 2007 (? m) SALES REVENUE 877. 5 877. 5 x 100 773. 9 2006 (? m) 828. 5 2005 (? m) 773. 9 113% 828. 5 x 100 773. 9 = 107% 100% (Cost of sales) 434 434 x 100 361. 8 402. 1 = 120% 402. 1 x 100 361. 8 361. 8 = 111% 100% GROSS PROFIT 443. 5 426. 4 = 103. 5% 412. 1 443. 5 x 100 412. 1 = 108% 426. 4 x 100 412. 1 100% (Distribution & marketing expenses) 346. 2 346. 2 x 100 303. 3 348. 9 = 114% 348. 9 x 100 303. 3 303. 3 = 115% 100% (Administrative expenses) 6. 2 6. 2 x 100 8 9 = 78% 9 x 100 8 8 = 113% 100% (Total operating expenses) 352. 4 357. 9 311. 3 OPERATING PROFIT 91. 1 91. 1 x 100 100. 8 68. 5 = 90% 68. 5 x 100 100. 8 100. 8 = 68% 100% Chutsana Na Nagara (0654258) FACS Page 27Appendix 2 : Vertical Analysis of Group Income Statement 2007 (? m) SALES REVENUE 877. 5 = 100% 828. 5 2006 (? m) = 100% 773. 9 2005 (? m) = 100% (Cost of sales) 434 434 x 100 877. 5 402. 1 = 49% 402. 1 x 100 828. 5 361. 8 = 49% 361. 8 x 100 773. 9 = 47% GROSS PROFIT 443. 5 426. 4 412. 1 (Distribution & marketing expenses) 346. 2 348. 9 303. 3 346. 2 x 100 877. 5 = 39% 348. 9 x 100 828. 5 = 42% 303. 3 x 100 773. 9 = 39% (Administrative expenses) 6. 2 6. 2 x 100 877. 5 9 = 0. 7% 9 x 100 828. 5 8 = 1% 8 x 100 773. 9 = 1% (Total operating expenses) 352. 4 352. 4 x 100 877. 5 357. 9 = 40% 357. x 100 828. 5 311. 3 = 43% 311. 3 x 100 773. 9 = 40% OPERATING PROFIT 91. 1 68. 5 100. 8 Chutsana Na Nagara (0654258) FACS Page 28 Appendix 3 : Trend Analysis of Group Balance Sheet 2007 (? m) FIXED ASSETS Intangible Assets 2006 (? m) 2005 (? m) 196. 7 196. 7 x 100 191. 9 208. 2 = 102. 5% 208. 2 x 100 191. 9 191. 9 = 108. 5% 100% Property, plant, and equipment 111. 1 111. 1 x 100 110. 9 112. 8 = 100% 112. 8 x 100 110. 9 110. 9 = 102% 100% Investments Other receivables Deferred tax assets Total fixed assets 0. 3 2. 7 14. 2 325 325 x 100 323. 2 0. 3 3. 2 17. 5 342 = 101% 342 x 100 323. 2 0. 2 2. 17. 4 323. 2 100% = 106% CURRENT ASSETS Inventories 160. 6 160. 6 x 100 142. 3 158. 6 = 113% 158. 6 x 100 142. 3 142. 3 = 111. 5% 100% Trade and other receivables 171 171 x 100 145. 1 162. 3 = 118% 162. 3 x 100 145. 1 145. 1 = 112% 100% Income tax receivable Cash & cash equivalents 1. 1 19. 1 19. 1 x 100 64. 8 1 39. 4 = 29. 5% 39. 4 x 100 64. 8 2. 2 64. 8 = 61% 100% Total current assets 351. 8 351. 8 x 100 354. 4 361. 3 = 99% 361. 3 x 100 354. 4 354. 4 = 102% 100% Tot al assets 676. 8 676. 8 x 100 677. 6 703. 3 = 100% 703. 3 x 100 677. 6 677. 6 = 104% 100% Chutsana Na Nagara (0654258) FACS Page 29Appendix 3 : Trend Analysis of Group Balance Sheet (Continued) 2007 (? m) CURRENT LIABILITIES Trade and other payables 2006 (? m) 2005 (? m) 132. 9 132. 9 x 100 109. 5 123. 5 = 121% 123. 5 x 100 109. 5 109. 5 = 113% 100% Loans and borrowings 79 79 x 100 27. 7 23 = 285% 23 x 100 27. 7 = 83% 27. 7 100% Tax liabilities Total current liabilities 14. 5 226. 4 226. 4 x 100 155. 9 13. 3 159. 8 = 145% 159. 8 x 100 155. 9 18. 7 155. 9 = 103% 100% Net current assets 125. 4 125. 4 x 100 198. 5 201. 5 = 63% 201. 5 x 100 198. 5 = 102% 198. 5 100% 521. 7 100% Capital employed 450. 4 450. 4 x 100 521. 7 543. 5 = 86% 43. 5 x 100 521. 7 = 104% FIXED LIABILITIES Other payables Retirement benefits obligations Loans and borrowings 7. 9 38. 7 7. 8 41. 8 7. 6 47 76. 3 76. 3 x 100 92. 5 137. 2 = 82% 137. 2 x 100 92. 5 = 148% 92. 5 100% Deferred tax liabilities Total fixed liab ilities 22. 9 145. 8 145. 8 x 100 166 20. 3 207. 1 = 88% 207. 1 x 100 166 18. 9 166 100% = 125% EQUITY Called-up share capital Share premium account Other reserves Total equity 43. 5 38. 7 222. 4 304. 6 43. 5 38. 4 254. 5 336. 4 43. 5 38. 4 273. 8 355. 7 Chutsana Na Nagara (0654258) FACS Page 30 Appendix 4 : Vertical Analysis of Group Balance Sheet 007 (? m) FIXED ASSETS Intangible Assets 2006 (? m) 2005 (? m) 196. 7 196. 7 x 100 325 208. 2 = 60. 5% 208. 2 x 100 342 191. 9 = 60. 9% Property, plant, and equipment 111. 1 111. 1 x 100 325 112. 8 = 34% 112. 8 x 100 342 110. 9 = 33% Investments Other receivables Deferred tax assets Total fixed assets 0. 3 2. 7 14. 2 325 = 100% 0. 3 3. 2 17. 5 342 = 100% 0. 2 2. 8 17. 4 323. 2 CURRENT ASSETS Inventories 160. 6 160. 6 x 100 351. 8 158. 6 = 45. 7% 158. 6 x 100 361. 3 142. 3 = 44% Trade and other receivables 171 171 x 100 351. 8 162. 3 = 48. 6% 162. 3 x 100 361. 3 145. 1 = 45%Income tax receivables Cash & cash equivalents 1. 1 1 2. 2 19. 1 1 9. 1 x 100 351. 8 39. 4 = 5. 4% 39. 4 x 100 361. 3 64. 8 = 11% Total current assets 351. 8 = 100% 361. 3 = 100% 354. 4 Total assets 676. 8 703. 3 677. 6 Chutsana Na Nagara (0654258) FACS Page 31 Appendix 4 : Vertical Analysis of Group Balance Sheet (Continued) 2007 (? m) CURRENT LIABILITIES Trade and other payables 2006 (? m) 2005 (? m) 132. 9 132. 9 x 100 226. 4 123. 5 = 59% 123. 5 x 100 159. 8 109. 5 = 77. 3% 109. 5 x 100 155. 9 = 70% Loans and borrowings 79 79 x 100 226. 4 23 = 35% 23 x 100 159. 8 27. 7 = 14. 4% 27. 7 x 100 155. 9 = 18%Tax liabilities Total current liabilities Net current assets Capital employed FIXED LIABILITIES Other payables Retirement benefits obligations Loans and borrowings 14. 5 226. 4 = 100% 13. 3 159. 8 = 100% 18. 7 155. 9 = 100% 125. 4 450. 4 201. 5 543. 5 198. 5 521. 7 7. 9 38. 7 7. 8 41. 8 7. 6 47 76. 3 76. 3 x 100 145. 8 137. 2 = 52% 137. 2 x 100 207. 1 92. 5 = 66% 92. 5 x 100 166 = 56% Deferred tax liabilities Total fixed liabilities EQUITY Called-u p share capital Share premium account Other reserves Total equity 22. 9 145. 8 = 100% 20. 3 207. 1 = 100% 18. 9 166 = 100% 43. 5 38. 7 222. 4 304. 6 43. 5 38. 4 254. 5 336. 4 43. 5 38. 273. 8 355. 7 Chutsana Na Nagara (0654258) FACS Page 32 Appendix 5 : Year 2 Cash Flow Statement of Simulation Game (Reconciling profit to cash) Year 2 Cash Flow Statement Profit before interest Add: Depreciation Movements in working capital: (Increase)/Derease in stock (Increase)/Derease in debtors Increase/(Derease) in debtors Financing costs and taxation: Interest paid Dividends paid Tax paid Investing activities: Capital expenditure Disposal of assets Cash generated/(consumed) in year Financing activities: Loans raised/(repaid) Other Increase/(Decrease) in cash in year $m (14) 6 (8) (13) (24) 0 (45) (10) 0 0 (55) (34) 0 (89) 0 0 (19) Appendix 6 : Production Budget Factory 1 Machine Mark-I Mark-I Mark-I Mark-II Mark-III Mark-III Mark-III Mark-III Q1 Te Te Te Te Wo Te Wo Te Te Te Wo Te Wo Total (22) Q2 Te Q3 Q4 Total units Terrier Wolf 1 1 2 2 4 4 4 4 14 8 Tiger 2 Te Wo Te Wo Te Wo Te Wo 3 Chutsana Na Nagara (0654258) FACS Page 33 Appendix 7 : Sales Budget Terrier Opening finished stock (Q1) Production (from Production Budget) Available for sales Forecast unsold finished stock (Q4) Sales Direct costs $s Sales value $s 0 14 14 0 14 14Ãâ€"2 = 28 14Ãâ€"4. = 63 Units Wolf 0 8 8 0 8 8Ãâ€"4 = 32 8Ãâ€"6. 7 = 53. 6 Tiger Total 60 116. 6 Appendix 8 : Optimizing Contribution Terrier Best Worst 5 3 2 2 3 1 13 38 Wolf Best Worst 7. 5 5. 5 4 5 3. 5 0. 5 11 76 Tiger Best Worst 10. 5 8. 5 6 7 4. 5 1. 5 9 26 Sales value Variable cost Unit contribution Break-even volume (Fixed cost of ? 38) Chutsana Na Nagara (0654258) FACS Page 34 References Business Review : Electrocomponents plc’s annual report and accounts 2007, p. 8-13 Chairman Statement : Electrocomponents plc’s annual report and accounts 2007, p. Chief Executive’s Review : Electrocomponents plc’s annual re port and accounts 2007, p. 7 Chopra and Sodhi (2004): Managing risk to avoid supply-chain breakdown, MIT Sloan Management Review, Fall 2004, p. 53-61 Dyson1 J R (2007) : Profitability Ratios, Accounting for Non-Accounting Students, Pearson Education Limited, England, 7th Edition, p. 230 Dyson2 J R (2007) : Profitability Ratios, Accounting for Non-Accounting Students, Pearson Education Limited, England, 7th Edition, p. 230Dyson3 (2007) : Direct costs, Accounting for Non-Accounting Students, Pearson Education Limited, England, 7th Edition, p. 293 FACS1 : Financial Analysis and control systems module pack, WMG, Winning MarginTM, p. 14 (2007) FACS2 : Financial Analysis and control systems module pack, WMG, Budget and Budgetary Control, 2007 FACS3 : Financial Analysis and control systems module pack, WMG, Marginal Costing, 2007 Group Balance Sheet : Electrocomponents plc’s annual report and accounts 2007, p. 25 Chutsana Na Nagara (0654258) FACS Page 35Group Cash Flow Statement : E lectrocomponents plc’s annual report and accounts 2007, p. 26 Group Income Statement : Electrocomponents plc’s annual report and accounts 2007, p. 24 Notes 1 – 30 : Please refer to Notes to the Group Accounts, Electrocomponents plc’s annual report and accounts 2007, p. 29-45 Pizzey A (1998) : Cash: the life-blood of the business, Finance and Accounting for Non-Specialist Students, Financial Times, Pitman Publishing, England, p. 83 Webpage1 : About Us, Low Cost Infrastructure, Electrocomponents plc webpage, [online], http://www. lectrocomponents. com/ecm/about/strategy/infrastructure/ Webpage2 : About Us, Our History, Electrocomponents plc webpage, [online], http://www. electrocomponents. com/ecm/about/history/ Webpage3 : Investor Center, Historic Trends, Electrocomponents plc webpage, [online], http://www. electrocomponents. com/ecm/ir/finperformance/trends Webpage4 : Our Responsibilities, Corporate Governance, Electrocomponents plc webpage, [online], htt p://www. electrocomponents. com/ecm/responsibilities/corpgov/ Chutsana Na Nagara (0654258)