Accounting Ratio's
Accounting Ratio's
Accounting Ratio's
By
Need of A/c Ratios Meaning And Its Classification Liquidity Ratios Activity Or Turnover Ratios Solvency Ratios Profitability Ratios Leverage Ratio Limitation Of Accounting Ratios
Ratio analysis is a good way to evaluate the financial results of your business in order to gauge its performance. Ratios allow you to compare your business against different standards using the figures on your balance sheet. Accounting ratios can offer an invaluable insight into a business' performance. Ensure that the information used for comparison is accurate - otherwise the results will be misleading. which help you to interpret financial information about your company. The more you know about how your business is performing, the easier it will be for you to make informed decisions about how to manage and grow your business.
A way of expressing the relationship between one accounting result and another, which is intended to provide a useful comparison. Accounting ratios assist in measuring the efficiency and profitability of a company based on its financial reports. Accounting ratios form the basis of fundamental analysis.
Explanation: An accounting ratio compares two aspects of a financial statement, such as the relationship (or ratio) of current assets to current liabilities. The ratios can be used to evaluate the financial condition of a company, including the company's strengths and weaknesses. An example of an accounting ratio is the price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of a stock. This measures the price paid per share in relation to the profit earned by the company per share in a given year.
Accounting Ratios
Liquidity Ratio
Stock turnover ratio
Turnover Ratio
Debtors turnover ratio Creditors turnover ratio
Current Ratio
Quick Ratio
Proprietar y ratio
The term liquidity refers to the ability of the company to meet its current liabilities. Liquidity ratios assess capacity of the firm to repay its short term liabilities. Thus, liquidity ratios measure the firms ability to fulfill short term commitments out of its liquid assets. The important liquidity ratios are.
(I) Current ratio (ii) Quick ratio
Current Assets are those assets which can be converted into cash within a short period i.e. not exceeding one year. It includes the following :Cash in hand, Cash at Bank, Bill receivables, Short term investment, Sundry debtors, Stock, Prepaid expenses Current liabilities are those liabilities which are expected to be paid within a year. It includes the following : Bill payables, Sundry creditors, Bank overdraft, Provision for tax, Outstanding expenses. Thus, the ideal current ratio of a company is 2 : 1 i.e. to repay current liabilities, there should be twice current assets. (ii) Quick ratio Quick ratio is also known as Acid test or Liquid ratio. This ratio establishes a relationship between quick assets and current liabilities. This ratio measures the ability of the firm to pay its current liabilities.
For the purpose of calculating this ratio, stock and prepaid expenses are not taken into account as these may not be converted into cash in a very short period.
liquid assets = current assets (stock + prepaid expenses) Significance Quick ratio is a measure of the instant debt paying capacity of the business enterprise. A quick ratio of1 : 1 is considered good/favorable for a company.
SOLVENCY RATIOS
The term solvency refers to the ability of a concern to meet its long term obligations. The term solvency refers to the ability of a concern to meet its long term obligations.
a) Debt-equity ratio
It is also otherwise known as external to internal equity ratio. It is calculated to know the relative claims of outsiders and the owners against the firms assets. This ratio establishes the relationship between the outsiders funds and the shareholders fund.
The outsiders funds include all debts/liabilities to outsiders i.e. debentures, long term loans from financial institutions, etc. Shareholders funds mean preference share capital, equity share capital, reserves and surplus and fictitious assets like preliminary expenses. In India, this ratio may be taken as acceptable if it is 2 : 1. If the debt-equity ratio is more than that, it shows a rather risky financial position from the long term point of view.
b)Proprietary ratio
It is also known as equity ratio. This ratio establishes the relationship between shareholders funds to total assets of the firm. The shareholders fund is the sum of equity share capital, preference share capital, reserves and surpluses. Out of this amount, accumulated losses should be deducted. On the other hand, the total assets mean total resources of the concern.
A ratio below 50% may be alarming for the creditors since they may have to lose heavily in the event of companys liquidation on account of heavy losses.
PROFITABILITY RATIOS
The main aim of an enterprise is to earn profit which is necessary for the survival and growth of the business enterprise. It is necessary to know how much profit has been earned with the help of the amount invested in the business. This is possible through profitability ratio.
where Net sales = Total sales (sales returns + excise duty) Gross profit = Net sales Cost of goods sold. A high gross profit ratio is a great satisfaction to the management. It represents the low cost of goods sold. Higher the rate of gross profit, lower the cost of goods sold.
Net profit ratio determines overall efficiency of the business. It indicates the extent to which management has been effective in reducing the operational expenses. Higher the net profit ratio, better it is for the business.
Operating Profit = Gross Profit (Administration expenses + selling expenses) It helps in examining the overall efficiency of the business. It measures profitability and soundness of the business. Higher the ratio, the better is the profitability of the business. This ratio is also helpful in controlling cash.
If net profit after interest, tax and dividend is given, the amount of interest, tax and dividend should be added back to calculate the net profit before interest, tax and dividend.
Significance
ROI ratio judges the overall performance of the concern. It measures how efficiently the sources of the business are being used. In other words, it tells what is the earning capacity of the net assets of the business. Higher the ratio the more efficient is the management and utilization of capital employed.
(i) If cost of goods sold is not given, the ratio is calculated from the sales. (ii) If only closing stock is given, then that may be treated as average stock.
Note: (i) If cost of goods sold is not given, the ratio is calculated from the sales. (ii) If only closing stock is given, then that may be treated as average stock.
Significance
It may also be of interest to see average time taken for clearing the stocks. This can be possible by calculating inventory conversion period. This period is calculated by dividing the number of days by inventory turnover. Inventory conversion period = (Days in a Year/Inventory turnover ratio
The ratio signifies the number of times on an average the inventory or stock is disposed off during the period. The high ratio indicates efficiency and the low ratio indicates inefficiency of stock management.
Debt collection period = (Net credit sales for the year/ Number of days in the year) This period refers to an average period for which the credit sales remain unpaid and measures the quality of debtors. Quality of debtors means payment made by debtors within the permissible credit period. It indicates the rapidity at which the money is collected from debtors. This period may be calculated as under :
Significance
Debtors turnover ratio is an indication of the speed with which a company collects its debts. The higher the ratio, the better it is because it indicates that debts are being collected quickly. In general, a high ratio indicates the shorter collection period which implies prompt payment by debtor and a low ratio indicates a longer collection period which implies delayed payment for debtors.
Significance
Creditors turnover ratio helps in judging the efficiency in getting the benefit of credit purchases offered by suppliers of goods. A high ratio indicates the shorter payment period and a low ratio indicates a longer payment period.
Working capital of a concern is directly related to sales. The current assets like debtors, bill receivables, cash, stock etc, change with the increase or decrease in sales. Working capital = Current Assets Current Liabilities Working capital turnover ratio indicates the speed at which the working capital is utilized for business operations. It is the velocity of working capital ratio that indicates the number of times the working capital is turned over in the course of a year. This ratio measures the efficiency at which the working capital is being used by a firm. A higher ratio indicates efficient utilization of working capital and a low ratio indicates the working capital is not properly utilized.
If the figure of cost of sales is not given, then the figure of sales can be used. On the other hand if opening working capital is not discussed then working capital at the year end will be used.
LEVERAGE RATIO
Leverage ratio is otherwise known as capital structure ratio. The term capital structure refers to the relationship between various long term forms of financing such as debentures (long term), preference share capital and equity share capital including reserves and surpluses. Financing the firms assets is a very crucial problem in every business and as a rule there should be a proper mix of debt and equity capital in financing the firms assets. Leverage or capital structure ratios are calculated to test the long term financial position of a firm.
Significance
Gearing should be kept in such a way that the company is able to maintain a steady rate of dividend. High gearing ratio is not good for a new company or a company of which future earnings are uncertain.
No single concept
In order to calculate any ratio, different firms may take different concepts for different purposes. Some firms take profit before charging interest and tax or profit before tax but after interest tax. This may lead to different results.
Ratios are based on accounting data. They can be useful only when they are based on reliable data. If the data are not reliable, the ratio will be unreliable.
Difficulties in forecasting
Ratios are worked out on the basis of past results. As such they do not reflect the present and future position. It may not be desirable to use them for forecasting future events.