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The purpose of this study is to estimate the amount of cash flow deficit, if any, needed to maintain the operating costs and service debt of a startup cow–calf enterprise. The study compares long-term profitability and risk between starting small and building a herd to full carrying capacity or by starting at desired herd capacity.

A dynamic cattle growth model was developed to capture expanding and maintaining the desired herd size. Discounted cash flow (DCF) models over a 15-year period were calculated to estimate net present value (NPV), modified internal rate of return (MIRR) and cash flow deficit to keep the business operating and service debt. Simulation analyses were conducted considering price and production risk.

Starting at the desired herd size was preferred, according to NPV/MIRR and cash flow deficit, but the differences were not substantial. Assuming the operation is liquidated at book values, there was a 36.3% probability of this enterprise having a zero or positive NPV. If the conservative terminal value assumption is relaxed up to feasible market values, the cow–calf enterprise is economically attractive at an estimated 2.4% opportunity cost of capital. However, the producer would experience a cash flow deficit during the first seven years, which was simulated to be $14,892 and $15,985 annual for both strategies.

Innovative methods used in this study include varying the annual opportunity cost of capital as a function of financing decisions, stochastic prices by cattle type and stochastic weaning weights that are a function of a dynamic cattle model.

Sees the objective of teaching financial management to be to help managers and potential managers to make sensible investment and financing decisions. Acknowledges that financial theory teaches that investment and financing decisions should be based on cash flow and risk. Provides information on payback period; return on capital employed, earnings per share effect, working capital, profit planning, standard costing, financial statement planning and ratio analysis. Seeks to combine the practical rules of thumb of the traditionalists with the ideas of the financial theorists to form a balanced approach to practical financial management for MBA students, financial managers and undergraduates.

Cash flow deficit situations and working capital control are major challenges for many companies, especially those whose suppliers and clients have strong bargaining power. This study aims to describe the application of the Six Sigma methodology for solving these problems in a large German food can manufacturing company.

This paper follows the qualitative methodology of case study research. During different define, measure, analyse, improve and control process phases, the problem and critical aspects are identified to improve the quality of the payment process and improvements are suggested and implemented.

The results provide evidence of how Six Sigma can be useful in administrative–financial processes that are carried out within a company. This result is particularly interesting because it is about processes that have not applied Six Sigma methodology. For the company studied, this methodology has balanced its cash flow and this meant large amounts of savings, especially in bank interest to avoid having to ask for bank credits.

This case can be extrapolated to other companies, regardless of the company size, that present similar symptoms of cash deficit, especially if their bargaining power with suppliers and customers is low.

Evidence in the literature repeatedly points towards failure to understand cash flow shortages as a major problem of small business operators. Theoretically, they should be able to use financial statements prepared by their accountants as planning and control tools. However, because of accountants' use of the accrual system, rather than cash, and the meticulous detail that tends to make statements too complicated for the untrained user, many operators simply do not attempt to use these statements.

The Hong Kong government emphasizes very much the importance of achieving the “financial stability” objective, and has been very successful in controlling expenditure growth and in accumulating fiscal reserves. This remarkable performance is attributed to adhering consistently to budgetary guidelines. Managing the financial budgets through budgetary guidelines is a unique feature of the Hong Kong fiscal system. Discusses the role of budgetary guidelines in the Hong Kong fiscal system, and reviews the evolution of these budgetary guidelines since the early 1970s. It turns out that the guideline on expenditure growth is the most important budgetary guideline. Fiscal performance is assessed against these budgetary guidelines. With the financial stability objective having long been achieved, strict adherence to these budgetary guidelines would unduly constrain social and economic developments in Hong Kong. Recommends comprehensive review of the role and function of these budgetary guidelines.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate factors that influence the free cash flow (FCF) motive for stock repurchases. Specifically, it examines whether the positive association between FCF and open-market repurchases is partially driven by abnormal cash flows, and whether external analyst monitor and financial crisis influence the association.

The study employs a tobit regression model to test the hypotheses.

First, the results suggest that the positive association between FCF and stock repurchases is partially driven by abnormal cash flows. Second, the association between pre-managed FCF and stock repurchases is strengthened as more analyst following the firms. Third, firms repurchase less when they report more negative abnormal cash flows, and that tendency is more pronounced during the 2008 financial crisis period. Further analysis shows that during the crisis period, the effect of negative abnormal cash flows on operating performance gets stronger.

The study makes several contributions to the literature. This paper is the first to show that managers use abnormal cash flows to fulfill the share buy-backs. In addition, it shows that analysts provide effective external monitoring by strengthening the association between pre-managed FCF and repurchases. Furthermore, it finds that firms adjust their strategy in times of financial crisis period in response to the increased risk. Finally, it contributes to the earnings management literature by showing the differential effects of accruals management and cash flow management on earnings performance.

Construction companies require meticulous and thorough financial planning to ensure business survival in an increasingly competitive global market. Past studies assert that cash flow management is also crucial to meeting project and organisational performance expectations. However, the link between an advance payment system (APS), cash flow and project performance has hitherto received scant academic attention. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the attributes and impact of APS on cash flow, project and organisational performance. This study surveyed all registered contractors listed in Grades 1–9 on the Construction Industry Development Board Register of Contractors in South Africa.

This study adopted an empirical epistemological design and deductive reasoning to analyse primary data collated via a questionnaire data collection instrument. Summary statistical and regression analysis were used to explore data garnered.

This study found that key significant attributes of APS in South Africa were payment of balance to the contractor upon project delivery; advance payment to contractors before the commencement of the work; and payment to contractors as agreed. This study proffers that project performance in terms of cost, time and quality performance is highly and positively supported by APS. Moreover, APS positively supports the efficiency, competitiveness and profitability of construction organisations. Cumulatively, these findings confirm that APS attributes in South Africa conforms to the global attributes of APS. The research concludes that client use of APS on projects improves the likelihood of attaining improved quality and time performance. This paper concludes with a recommendation that both public and private clients consider the option of an APS as the ideal payment system to support project and organisational performance.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this work constitutes the first attempt to explore the linkages between an APS, cash flow and project performance in South Africa and seeks to engender wider polemic debate and further discussion among industry stakeholders.

The purpose of this paper is to identify whether negative operating cash flows are related to investment inefficiency, and specifically whether they are related to subsequent overinvestment and if this relationship is driven by agency problems within the firm.

The study conducts fixed effect regressions, testing the relationship between negative operating cash flows and the firm’s subsequent investment inefficiency. The relationship is further examined for all firms based on size, corporate governance and cash holdings – all of which are related to agency problems.

The proportion of firms reporting negative operating cash flows has been increasing over time and is positively related to subsequent investment inefficiency. This increase is explained not only by the rise in investment of intangible assets. The positive relationship is not explained by the firm size or corporate governance, but is related to cash holdings. These results are consistent across four different measures of firm investment.

The percentage of publicly traded firms with negative operating cash flows has never been higher. This paper is one of the first to identify factors that may be contributing to this rise.

This study extends prior findings by identifying previously unexplored factors related to the rise in firms with negative operating cash flows. The rise in investment of intangible assets does not explain the increase alone. High cash holdings also influence the rise in negative operating cash flows.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the effect of Sharia-compliance (SC) on investment sensitivity to internal funds in oil rich countries.

A fixed-effect panel technique with OLS regression is used to investigate such relationship applying data from a sample of 207 non-financial firms listed on the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) stock markets over the period 2009–2014.

The results show that the investment-cash flow (ICF) sensitivity is positive, and is a lot larger for more constrained firms. Compared to developed markets, the results show higher ICF sensitivity in GCC countries. The evidence also shows that SC decreases the dependence of firms on internally generated funds when undertaking new investment projects. Unexpectedly, the results reveal that the ICF sensitivity increases when liquidity becomes abundant. Additional analysis suggests that investment expenditures of firms display a greater sensitivity to cash flow in the crisis period.

The implications of this study are that SC is a nature of business that reduces the propensity of corporations to undertake inefficient investments that are derived from capital market imperfections. However, manager ability to overinvest increases when liquidity is abundant suggesting that cash-rich firms are more likely to engage in value-decreasing projects.

The proposed study presents several originalities. First, it provides evidence on ICF sensitivity in specific emerging economies, namely the GCC countries. Second, it highlights the issue of efficient investment. For this purpose, the present paper focuses on Sharia-compliant (SC) firms where financial constraints are bound to be more stringent than for non-Sharia-compliant (NSC) firms. Finally, the study findings enable us to investigate what the sudden abundance of liquidity, generated by the record levels of oil prices, as well as the financial crisis implied for the ICF relationship.

This study aims to investigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on businesses, their operations, and the financial conditions in Sri Lanka. A sample of 19 executive-level employees from 19 companies registered at the Colombo Stock Exchange in Sri Lanka was interviewed. The thematic analysis method was used to analyse the data. It demonstrates the insecurity of the current business situation, as with the pandemic, most large-scale operating companies have been permanently or temporarily closed. The financial condition was categorised into main sub-themes such as business profitability, liquidity problems, the balance of payments, working capital, and cash flows and was highly impacted during the COVID-19 outbreak. The findings of the study help to improve the favourable image of Sri Lankan companies by facilitating solutions to overcome the challenges and difficulties and are beneficial for the relevant government parties to amend policies and for investors to make prudent investment decisions. As a maiden study, this one focused on investigating the pandemic’s impact on business operations and developed a nine-step plan for organisations, employees, and the government to minimise the impact of COVID-19 on their businesses.