Introduction
First, it should be stated that financial resource management is considered one of the most crucial aspects of the financial strategy of any company. Considering the necessity to analyze the company’s financial health, the FRM is often associated with the financial analysis and the matters of the financial strategy, implemented within the company’s financial performance principles. Originally, there are numerous financial analysis techniques, nevertheless, everyone is suitable for the particular financial environment. The most universal, and suitable for the long-term analysis, which is required for the represented data set. Considering the fact, that this method has its limitations either, the next aim of the paper will be to analyze the limitations of the analysis methodology will be analyzed and represented them in the methodology part of the paper.
Ratio Analysis
Originally, there are several types of ratios, and one of the most general, and important for characterizing the financial health of the organization is the liquidity ratio.
This ratio reveals the relations between the assets and liabilities of the company. The assets often entail cash reserves, accounts, and investments (including receivable bank accounts). The liabilities are the payable accounts, short-term notes, debts of various origins, and taxes. Thus, following the calculations, the year 2009 was the least successful, as every dollar of liabilities was supported by 0,25 dollars of assets. Finally, in 2010, the company managed to cover all the liabilities, and the ratio was $1,21: $1. Considering the importance of the liquidity ratio, the considerations by McMenamin (205) should be emphasized:
Measures assets that are quickly converted into cash and are compared with current liabilities. This ratio realizes that some of the current assets are not easily convertible to cash e.g. inventories. The quick ratio also referred to as the acid test ratio, examines the ability of the business to cover its short-term obligations from its “quick” assets only (i.e. it ignores stock). The quick ratio is calculated as follows.
The next ratio analysis aspect is the average collection period. Originally, it is associated with the liabilities of a company and requires the precise calculation of the debtor’s collection levels. Thus, the average collection period is the relation of the accounts receivable towards the annual credit sales.
This analysis is not relevant for the analyzed company, as the credit sales were implemented only during the third year of business activity. Thus, the entire rates of the debtor’s collection are low. (Westerman, 851)
Total asset turnover should be managed properly to maximize sales. Originally, the higher the total assets turnover, which a company can perform, the higher efficiency is applied for the general assets.
Similarly to the total asset turnover, the fixed-asset turnover should be identified. Originally, these numbers reveal the efficiency level in fixed asset utilization. (Gratton, Hailey, et.al., 291)
Financial Ratio Matrix
The matrix itself is the summary for the previously calculated results, and the main aim of the matrix is to summarize the received results and outline the financial trends, associated with the trends of the company’s performance. (Barr, 104)
Reflective Commentary
Analysis of the financial analysis method, associated with the financial resource management is the matter of the previous researches, and literature review. In the light of this statement, it should be emphasized that the ratios, represented in this analysis have their limitations and, and the methodology, which may be used for the fuller analysis depends on the company’s profile and the values of the financial performance strategy. (Hosting, 74)
Considering the matters of the financial analysis from the perspectives of the financial resource management, the following statement should be emphasized:
One resource management technique is resource-leveling. It aims at smoothing the stock of resources on hand, reducing both excess inventories and shortages. The required data are the demands for various resources, forecast by period into the future as far as is reasonable, as well as the resources’ configurations required in those demands, and the supply of the resources, again forecast by period into the future as far as is reasonable. (Hildreth, 320)
In the light of this statement, it should be emphasized that the full analysis of the financial trends and the complete representation of all the trends, required for the assessment of the financial resource management is not applicable in this case. Thus, there is a strong necessity to know all the aspects of the business performance and to be aware of all the resources of the company. The fact is that financial resources are the most obvious, and the most important part of the analysis, nevertheless, it is not full without the information of the sizes of the company and the time resources, as well as without the information on customers and partners.
As Lynch (251) emphasized in the research, the main aim of the FRM analysis is to find out, how the company will be able to achieve the 100% utilization of the available resources:
Nevertheless, when weighted by important metrics and subject to constraints, for example: meeting a minimum service level, but otherwise minimizing cost. The principle is to invest in resources as stored capabilities, and then unleash the capabilities as demanded.
Consequently, the necessity to utilize the available resources is closely associated with the properly implemented strategy, and the service level, which is applied within the company. (Grable and Joo-Yung, 80) Considering the necessity to analyze the trends, which are formed depending on the real values of the company’s business performance, it should be stated that the real dimension of resource management includes all the possible resources, including investment. Nevertheless, investment is the type of mixed value, as on the one hand, it is the accounts, which are receivable, on the other hand, these are the resources, which should be returned, which makes investments similar to liabilities. Howitt (93) emphasized the following statement on this notion:
A dimension of resource development is included in resource management by which investment in resources can be retained by a smaller additional investment to develop a new capability that is demanded, at a lower investment than disposing of the current resource and replacing it with another that has the demanded capability.
Therefore, the investment capability is the essential restriction aspect for the ratio analysis approach, applied for summarizing the provided numbers and values of the business performance. Considering the matters of the restrictions and limitations of the methodology in general, it should be emphasized that the real values of the analysis are restricted by the matters of conservation of the resource management principles and practices. (Savidge, 46) The instances of such restrictions are concealed in the statement, claiming that all the factors of resource management should be based on the principles of preservation and wise consumption of the available resources. Nevertheless, the companies, which implement the principles of financial resource management actively, sometimes prefer performing risky operations, which may result in success, and an increase of the resource levels, or may cause failure and bankruptcy. (McMenamin, 29) Thus, resource management and financial resource management differ essentially, and the inability to differentiate the principles is the key restriction of the applied analysis methodology.
Conclusion
Finally, it should be emphasized that financial resource management is closely associated with the matters of ratio analysis and the application of the available resources. Nevertheless, while some researchers compare FRM with Resource management in general, this comparison appears to be the main restriction of the applied methodology. Thus, the ratio analysis matrix tool should be regarded as one of the most universal tools of financial analysis. Nevertheless, there is a strong necessity to emphasize, that the real values of this matrix are covered by the statement, that ratios depend on the real levels and tendencies of the financial performance, and form the tendencies of economic processes, which influence the entire performance of the company on a market.
Works Cited
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Grable, John E., Joo-Yung Park, and So-Hyun Joo. “Explaining Financial Management Behavior.” Journal of Consumer Affairs 43.1 (2009): 80
Gratton, Lynda, Veronica Hope Hailey, Philip Stiles, and Catherine Truss. Strategic Human Resource Management Corporate Rhetoric and Human Reality. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004.
Hohtling, Alexander A. “Corporate Financial Management.” The CPA Journal Aug. 2005: 74.
Hildreth, W. Bartley. “Financial Management: a Balancing Act for Local Government Chief Financial Officers.” Public Administration Quarterly 20.3 (2006): 320
Howitt, Richard. Rethinking Resource Management: Justice, Sustainability and Indigenous Peoples. London: Routledge, 2001.
Lynch, Thomas D. Federal Budget and Financial Management Reform. New York: Quorum Books, 2002.
McMenamin, Jim. Financial Management: An Introduction. London: Routledge, 2001.
Savidge, Joseph. “Financial Aspects of Technology Management.” The CPA Journal May 2008: 46
Westerman, Wim. “The Financial Management of Foreign Direct Investment: a Case Study of Dutch Firms Investing in Europe.” International Journal of Management 23.4 (2006): 851