Optmization of Treasury
This book is dedicated to companies and students that wish to know about how to optimize treasury and Cash-Management.
This book is dedicated to companies and students that wish to know about how to optimize treasury and Cash-Management.
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It should be noted that the chain <strong>of</strong> causality is not clear: the number and nature <strong>of</strong> the selected relationships remain<br />
quite arbitrary; they vary also from one author to another.<br />
3 - THE LIMITS OF THE NORMATIVE VALUE OF THE METHOD OF RATIOS.<br />
In order to make a judgment on the management <strong>of</strong> a company, it is convenient to dispose <strong>of</strong> reference standards.<br />
Among the many possibilities for the development <strong>of</strong> standards, the financial analyst uses most commonly either<br />
pr<strong>of</strong>essional standards or standards «models».<br />
3.1 - THE REFERENCE TO PROFESSIONAL STANDARDS.<br />
The calculation <strong>of</strong> pr<strong>of</strong>essional standards is the fact, either large companies with a service <strong>of</strong> documentation and<br />
studies, Federations or unions, either from private, public and parasternal bodies, or even spreadsheets plants.<br />
These studies are from larger or smaller samples <strong>of</strong> firms engaged in the same business. Within each sector <strong>of</strong> activity<br />
are calculated average reports for the whole sector, as well as by family <strong>of</strong> companies (or subsector). At these average<br />
ratios will be compared to the enterprise in question ratios. It is not so for the latter to set goal value <strong>of</strong> such average<br />
ratio, but rather to seek an explanation <strong>of</strong> the observed differences.<br />
At the present moment, as a result, the company has a mass <strong>of</strong> valuable information on the performance <strong>of</strong><br />
competing firms (concurrent) or other firms from the same group (T-mantis, MATHE…). By confrontation, the<br />
contractor can highlight some shortcomings <strong>of</strong> management that do not appear in simple individual analysis. This<br />
may be the case, for example, <strong>of</strong> the progressive emergence <strong>of</strong> a fiscal imbalance likely to jeopardize the safety <strong>of</strong><br />
the firm within months, or most certainly in the years to come.<br />
However, may be from this type <strong>of</strong> references identify financial principles fundamental and, consequently, a course<br />
<strong>of</strong> action? We risk not take reality for the optimum?<br />
3.2 - THE REFERENCE TO STANDARD MODELS OF MANAGEMENT.<br />
Some specialized agencies have implemented "statistical processing chains" that allow to build 'business models'<br />
characterized by a battery <strong>of</strong> ratios. The method consists in the establishment <strong>of</strong> ratios-types that reflect the 'average'<br />
situation <strong>of</strong> the sector <strong>of</strong> activity. Indeed, each type ratio represents an average calculated from the ratios <strong>of</strong> a<br />
number <strong>of</strong> companies forming a representative sample.<br />
These models constructed for the set <strong>of</strong> a pr<strong>of</strong>ession are an interesting reference for the company. The ratios <strong>of</strong> the<br />
company are reported to standard ratios in the sector <strong>of</strong> activity; calculate and report:<br />
R = RATIO OF THE COMPANY / RATIO- TYPE<br />
The position <strong>of</strong> the undertaking is synthesized by the sum <strong>of</strong> the ratios obtained; each <strong>of</strong> them is assigned a weight<br />
that takes into account the importance attached to each <strong>of</strong> the criteria. The situation <strong>of</strong> the firm is considered<br />
satisfactory if the end result is higher than 100%.<br />
This method has, however, a great deal <strong>of</strong> arbitrariness in its development:<br />
Arbitrariness in the choice <strong>of</strong> the characteristic ratios <strong>of</strong> a situation (in our example, the solvency <strong>of</strong> the<br />
company),<br />
Arbitrary in the choice <strong>of</strong> weights, and, therefore, arbitrary in the judgment on the company.<br />
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