Southern New Hampshire University Working Capital Management for Microsoft Discussion

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znevat2003

Business Finance

Southern New Hampshire University

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Overview

Working capital management is critical to an organization’s ability to meet its short-term obligations. When proposing new projects or investment ideas for corporations, it is critical to consider working capital red flags such as excess credit use by the business or a low cash balance. Managing such issues early on can help corporations acquire a competitive advantage in the marketplace.

Prompt

Using the business you selected for Project Two, complete the calculations for determining working capital, and describe their relevance in assessing financial health.


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1 Financial Statements and Cash Flow Management Gabriel Deng Southern New Hampshire University FIN 320 March 8, 2022 2 Financial Statements and Cash Flow Management Microsoft is a multinational corporation that is the largest vendor of computer software. It has also emerged as the leading cloud computing provider to its customers and other companies. In addition, the company sells its software to individual consumers and companies. Since its establishment in 1975 by Bill Gates and Paul Allen, the company has seen considerable growth, incorporating other companies and startups into its business model. From offering an operating system, the company has grown to include services such as games, computers, and an array of software needed for the smooth operation of businesses. As of 2021, the company was valued at 16 billion USD. The current CEO of the company is Satya Nadella. The company has managed to remain profitable because of its ability to adapt to the market and respond to changing consumer demands. Microsoft is in direct competition with Alphabet Inc and Apple on several fronts. (Microsoft, 2022). According to Microsoft, their products include "operating systems for PCs, servers, phones, and other intelligent devices; server applications for distributed computing environments; productivity applications; business solution applications; desktop and server management tools; software development tools; video games; and online advertising." The company also designs and markets Xbox 360 gaming and entertainment consoles, Kinect for Xbox 360, Xbox 360 accessories, and Microsoft PC hardware ((Microsoft, 2012). Financial statements provide a company with insights into its health at a specific period. Financial statements provide information on a company's performance, cash flow, and general operations. Financial statements are decision-making tools since they provide a snapshot of a company's financial status. Financial statements illustrate business trends, the rate at which receivables are collected, the rate at which creditors are paid, and any cash flow issues. The four basic characteristics of financial health should be examined: liquidity, solvency, profitability, and operating efficiency. Profitability is perhaps the most accurate 3 measure of a company's health out of the four. Using financial statements, companies can determine their operational capabilities and the possibility of them making profits. By foretelling on the profits that a company can make, financial statements make it possible for businesses to determine their financial health in a given period (Davies & Crawford, 2011). For instance, if a company has good health, the financial statements would show that the company has a growing revenue, has low debt ratios, flat expenses, and long-term growth, as demonstrated by the company's cash balance. Financial statements provide a company with an overview of how the company's funds have been used and the profits that the company has generated. These statements can help businesses understand when they are incurring losses, and they may sometimes provide insights into how the company can mitigate the losses. By making it possible for companies to foresee their profits or losses, financial statements are crucial in accurately estimating a company's health (Hosaka, 2019). Cashflow management is critical because it may unlock value for a company and boost the reward for shareholders. It aids in risk mitigation, investment planning, and collection from accounts the company has provided services. Companies can fail if they do not manage their cash flow effectively. For instance, if a company does not have enough money to pay lenders or suppliers, banks may foreclose on the company, which may cause the suppliers to end their contracts. Effective management of cash flow gives a company greater control over its cash. The company will thus have enough cash reserves in cases of an emergency (Afrifa & Tingbani, 2018). Cashflow management is therefore important for the sustenance of a company's operations. A company's financial health depends on the company's cash flow management. If a company effectively manages its cash flow, there are high chances of having good financial health (Paolone, 2020). An example of a company that experienced cash flow problems is Casper. Due to its inability to manage its cash, the company has never seen profits, despite promising that it was foreseeing profits. Due to its 4 inability to plan for emergencies and manage its cash flow, the company fell victim to supply chain problems, labor inflation, and the rising cost of raw materials (Bowman, 2021). 5 References Afrifa, G. A., & Tingbani, I. (2018). Working capital management, cash flow, and SMEs' performance. International Journal of Banking, Accounting, and Finance, 9(1), 1943. Bowman, J. (2021, November 2). Will Casper Sleep Ever Be Profitable? The Motley Fool. https://www.fool.com/investing/2021/11/02/will-casper-sleep-ever-be-profitable/ Davies, T., & Crawford, I. P. (2011). Business accounting and finance. Financial Times Prentice Hall. Hosaka, T. (2019). Bankruptcy prediction using imaged financial ratios and convolutional neural networks. Expert Systems with Applications, 117, 287–299. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eswa.2018.09.039 Microsoft. (2012). Business Description. Microsoft Corporation. Retrieved March 8, 2022, from https://www.microsoft.com/investor/reports/ar12/financial-review/businessdescription/index.html#:%7E:text=Our%20products%20include%20operating%20sys tems,development%20tools%3B%20video%20games%3B%20and Microsoft. (2022, January 21). Microsoft to acquire Activision Blizzard to bring the joy and community of gaming to everyone across every device. Stories. https://news.microsoft.com/features/microsoft-to-acquire-activision-blizzard-to-bringthe-joy-and-community-of-gaming-to-everyone-across-everydevice/?icid=SSM_AS_ActivisionBlizzard Paolone, F. (2020). Concluding Remarks: The Importance of Cash Flow Statement. SpringerBriefs in Accounting, 69–81. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-50688-9_6
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Explanation & Answer

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1

Working Capital Management for Microsoft
Student's Name
Institutional Affiliation
Course Number
April 3, 2022

2

Working Capital Management for Microsoft
Companies can better understand their financial capabilities by understanding the
company's working capital and cash flow. Working capital is the difference between a
company's current assets and current liabilities. Companies have a greater chance of
withstanding financial challenges with positive working capital. It is thus the amount a
company needs to manage its short-term operational costs.
Financial Statements
Working capital is calculated by subtracting a company's current assets from its
current liabilities. A company's current assets and liabilities are listed on its balance sheet.
Calculating the working capital for Microsoft would require reading the balance sheet for
Microsoft and getting the total figures for Microsoft's current assets and current liabilities.
When one wishes to calculate the working capital for a given company, the...


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