Calculate Business Ratio - Calculating Formula for Current Ratio is very important for business owners expecially companies developing a business plan or feasibility study for their businesses. People always ask; What is the formula for calculating the current ratio?The current ratio is a financial ratio that investors and analysts use to examine the liquidity of a company and its ability to pay short-term liabilities (debt and payables) with its short-term assets (cash, inventory, receivables). The current ratio is calculated by dividing current assets by current liabilities:
Current ratio = current assets / current liabilities
On February 23, 2017, for example, Microsoft’s (MSFT) balance sheet listed the following:
Current Assets:
Cash and cash equivalents = N11,572,000
Short-term investments = N76,853,000
Net receivables = N14,921,000
Inventory = N1,920,000
Other current assets = N3,740,000
Total current assets = N109,006,000
Current Liabilities:
Accounts payable = N9,958,000
Short-term debt = N2,000,000
Other current liabilities = N21,945,000
Total current liabilities = N33,903,000
To determine MSFT’s current ratio, we divide current assets by current liabilities:
MSFT current ratio = N109,006,000 / N33,903,000 = 3.22
The current ratio can provide investors and analysts with clues about the efficiency of a company’s operating cycle, or its ability to monetize its products. The higher the ratio, the more able a company is to pay off its obligations. While acceptable ratios vary depending on the specific industry, a ratio between 1.5 and 3 is generally considered healthy. Investors and analysts would consider MSFT, with a current ratio of 3.22, financially healthy and capable of paying off its obligations.
Liquidity problems can arise for companies that have difficulty getting paid on their receivables or that have slow inventory turnover because they can’t satisfy their obligations. A ratio under 1 implies that a company would be unable to pay off its obligations if they become due at that point in time. A ratio under 1 does not necessarily mean that a company will go bankrupt since it may be able to secure other forms of financing; however, it does indicate the company is not in good financial health. A ratio that is too high may indicate that the company is not efficiently using its current assets or short-term financing.
As with other financial ratios, it is more useful to compare various companies within the same industry than to look at only one company, or to attempt to compare companies from different industries. In addition, investors should consider more than one ratio (or number) when making investment decisions since one cannot provide a comprehensive view of the company.
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How can the current ratio be misinterpreted by investors?
The current ratio is a financial ratio that investors and analysts use to examine the liquidity of a company and its ability to pay short-term liabilities (debt and payables) with its short-term assets (cash, inventory, receivables). The current ratio is calculated by dividing current assets by current liabilities.
While current ratio can be used to evaluate a company’s financial health, the results can be misleading. One reason for this is that a high current ratio is not necessarily a good thing, and, similarly, a low current ratio is not automatically a bad thing. For example, assume company ABC has current assets of N1,000, current liabilities of N400 and a resulting current ratio of 2.5. Company XYZ, on the other hand, has current assets of N400, current liabilities of N400, and a resulting current ratio of 1.0. At first glance it may seem that company ABC is a better financial position to meets its obligations.
Let’s dig a little deeper. Assume both companies’ current liabilities have a payment period average of 30 days. Company ABC – with the higher current ratio – needs 180 days to collect its account receivables, and turns its inventory only twice per year. Company XYZ – with the lower current ratio – collects cash from its customers and turns its inventory 26 times per year. Despite the fact that XYZ has a lower ratio, it is in a better position and more liquid because of its faster cash conversion. Company ABC, though it has a higher current ratio, would have trouble operating because bills are coming in faster than cash.
The inventory component in the current ratio can also produce misleading results. For example, if a company’s current assets include a high percentage of inventory assets, the assets may be difficult to liquidate, and therefore, the company may not be as liquid as it appears in its current ratio.
As with other financial ratios, it is more useful to compare various companies within the same industry than to look at only one company, or to attempt to compare companies from different industries. In addition, investors should consider more than one ratio (or number) when making investment decisions since one figure cannot provide a comprehensive view of the company.
What are some alternative liquidity ratios to the cash ratio?
There are other liquidity measures that can be used as an alternative to the cash ratio, including the current ratio and the quick ratio.
The cash ratio is a liquidity ratio that measures a company's ability to pay off all of its current liabilities with only its cash and cash equivalents. Since the cash ratio only allows for current liabilities to be paid with cash and cash equivalents, it's the most restrictive of the three liquidity ratios. The equation for the quick ratio is as follows:
Cash ratio = (cash + cash equivalents) / total current assets
The quick ratio is one of two alternatives a company can use in place of its cash ratio and measures a company's ability to pay off all of its current liabilities with cash and cash equivalents, as well as other highly liquid current assets. The quick ratio factors in a company's accounts receivables and other liquid current assets when assessing its ability to pay off its current liabilities, but does not include illiquid current assets, such as inventory. The two equations for the quick ratio are as follows:
Quick ratio = (cash + cash equivalents + accounts receivable) / total current assets
Quick ratio = (total current assets - inventory) / total current assets
The other alternative to the cash ratio is the current ratio. The current ratio measures a company's ability to pay off all of its current liabilities with its total current assets. It doesn't take into account the liquidity of its individual current assets, and assumes all current assets can be used to pay off its current liabilities. The equation for the current ratio is as follows:
Current ratio = (current assets) / (current liabilities)
What are the main differences between the current ratio and the quick ratio?
The current ratio is a financial ratio that investors and analysts use to examine the liquidity of a company and its ability to pay short-term liabilities (debt and payables) with its short-term assets (cash, inventory, receivables). The current ratio is calculated by dividing current assets by current liabilities.
The quick ratio, on the other hand, is a liquidity indicator that filters the current ratio by measuring the amount of the most liquid current assets there are to cover current liabilities (you can think of the “quick” part as meaning assets that can be liquidated fast). The quick ratio, also called the “acid-test ratio,” is calculated by adding cash & equivalents, marketable investments and accounts receivables, and dividing that sum by current liabilities.
The main difference between the current ratio and the quick ratio is that the latter offers a more conservative view of the company’s ability to meets its short-term liabilities with its short-term assets because it does not include inventory and other current assets that are more difficult to liquidate (i.e., turn into cash). By excluding inventory (and other less liquid assets) the quick ratio focuses on the company’s more liquid assets.
What is the difference between the cash ratio and the solvency ratio?
The main difference between the cash ratio and the solvency ratio is that the cash ratio is a liquidity measure that only takes into account cash and cash equivalents and current liabilities, while the solvency ratio takes into account both current liabilities and long-term liabilities.
The cash ratio is a liquidity ratio used by a company to measure its ability to pay off its total current liabilities with its cash and cash equivalents. Cash equivalents are investments and other assets that can be converted to cash within 90 days. Essentially, the cash ratio tells a company whether it is maintaining adequate cash to pay off all of its current debt as it becomes due. The formula for the cash ratio is as follows:
Cash ratio = (cash + cash equivalents) / total current liabilities
A cash ratio greater than 1, means that a company will have excess cash left over after it pays off all of its current liabilities, and a cash ratio less than 1 means that a company will need to liquidate other assets besides cash in order to pay off all of its current liabilities.
The solvency ratio is one of a few ratios that a company can use to measure its ability to pay off its long-term debts. The solvency ratio measures the size of a company's after-tax income excluding noncash expenses, such as depreciation, compared to its total debt obligations. Essentially, the solvency ratio tells a company whether its net income excluding depreciation can be used to pay its total liabilities. The formula for the solvency ratio is as follows:
Solvency ratio = (after-tax net profit + depreciation) / (long-term liabilities + short-term liabilities)
What are the main differences between the current ratio and the quick ratio?
The current ratio is a financial ratio that investors and analysts use to examine the liquidity of a company and its ability to pay short-term liabilities (debt and payables) with its short-term assets (cash, inventory, receivables). The current ratio is calculated by dividing current assets by current liabilities.
The quick ratio, on the other hand, is a liquidity indicator that filters the current ratio by measuring the amount of the most liquid current assets there are to cover current liabilities (you can think of the “quick” part as meaning assets that can be liquidated fast). The quick ratio, also called the “acid-test ratio,” is calculated by adding cash & equivalents, marketable investments and accounts receivables, and dividing that sum by current liabilities.
The main difference between the current ratio and the quick ratio is that the latter offers a more conservative view of the company’s ability to meets its short-term liabilities with its short-term assets because it does not include inventory and other current assets that are more difficult to liquidate (i.e., turn into cash). By excluding inventory (and other less liquid assets) the quick ratio focuses on the company’s more liquid assets.
What is the relationship between the cash ratio and liquidity?
The relationship between the cash ratio and liquidity is that the cash ratio is one of three liquidity ratios used to compare a company's most liquid assets to its total current liabilities.
The cash ratio is used to determine whether a company has the cash and cash equivalents on hand to meet all of its short-term debt obligations. It is the most conservative of the liquidity ratios and is, therefore, the best measure of true liquidity. Unlike the other two liquidity ratios that take into account current assets that aren't highly liquid, such as inventory, the cash ratio only uses its most liquid assets when determining a company's ability to pay all of its current liabilities.
The formula for the cash ratio is as follows:
Cash ratio = (cash + cash equivalents) / total current liabilities
A cash ratio of 1 means that a company has the exact amount of cash on hand to pay off all of its current liabilities as they come due. A cash ratio greater than 1 means that a company has an excess of cash above what is needed to pay off all of its current liabilities. A cash ratio less than 1 means that a company needs to find other sources of cash to pay off all of its current liabilities as they come due.
A cash ratio greater than 1 signals that a company's current assets are highly liquid, while a cash ratio less than 1 signals that a company may have illiquid current assets. If a company's cash ratio is less than 1, it can use its accounts receivable or inventory to pay off all of its current assets.
Source: What is the formula for calculating the current ratio from Investopedia: http://www.investopedia.com/ask/answers/070114/what-formula-calculating-current-ratio.asp