现金流对营运资本管理的影响和资金投资【外文翻译】Word文档格式.doc
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@#@外文翻译@#@原文@#@TheCashFlowImplicationsofManagingWorkingCapitalandCapitalInvestment@#@MaterialSource:
@#@JournalofBusiness&@#@EconomicStudies@#@Author:
@#@RussellP.Boisjoly@#@INTRODUCTION@#@Inrecentyearsmajorcorporationshavediscoveredthatthereareimportantcashflowstreamsavailabletothemiftheyaggressivelymanagetheirworkingcapitalaccounts(accountsreceivable,inventory,accountspayable,andadvancepayments).Whilesomehavearguedthatcashflowsgeneratedthroughworkingcapitalmanagement(improvinginventoryturnover,aggressiveaccountsreceivablecollectionpoliciesorsuppliermanagementprograms,lengtheningaccountspayablepaymentperiods,etc.)aretransitoryand,therefore,arenotindicativeofafundamentalimprovementintheinternalvaluecreationprocess(businessmodel),thereislimitedempiricalevidenceonwhetherthesepractices(a)havechangedtheunderlyingprobabilitydistributionsoftherelatedfinancialratios,(b)persistedoverseveralyearsratherthanjust2or3yearsasimpliedbyMulfordandElywhopurportthatchangesaretransitoryortemporary,(c)whetherthesechangesinworkingcapitalmanagementpolicieshaveimpactedmarketvaluespositively(ornegatively)or(d)whetherweunderstandthemodelforcashflowsthroughthefirmadequatelytoproperlyconductempiricaltestsorforecastcashflows.Inadditiontomanagerialpolicies,oneshouldprobablyconsiderchangesintechnologyandchangesinthefinancialenvironment.TypicalDSOorACPratioshavebeenradicallyloweredformostmerchandisersbythenearlyuniversaloutsourcingofthecreditfunctiontocreditcardcompanies.Also,thedeclineofshort-terminterestratesmostcertainlyaffectedWCpoliciesduringtheperiodinquestion,makingfirmslesswillingtoholdcash,andperhapsmorewillingtoincreaseshort-termliabilities.@#@Thisissueisimportanttoexaminenotonlytodetermineifchangesinmanagementpracticeshaveimpactedcashflowandvaluecreation,butalsotoinvestigatewhetherrationormsmayhavechangedandshiftedthebenchmarksforcomparisonsbetweenfirms.Furthermore,thesebenchmarksarederivedfromthemeasuresofcentraltendency,buttheappropriateuseofthesebenchmarksmaybeinfluenced(orbiased)bythethird(skewness)andfourth(kurtosis)momentsoftheratiodistributionsorindustryeffectsorfinancialcondition.Ifthebiasexistsandiftheskewnessissignificant,thentheappropriatebenchmarksmaydeviatesignificantlyfromthemean,median,ormode.Inthepast,someresearchersexcluded“outliers,”e.g.,introducedbyskewness,fromtheirstudiesbecausetheywereresponsiblefordeparturesfromnormality,ortheymadesquarerootorlogarithmictransformationstothedatatoreestablishormorenearlyapproachnormality.Theseadjustmentstheoreticallywouldleavethe“benchmarks”unaltered.But,thereissubstantialevidencethedistributionsoffinancialratiosexhibitpositiveskewness.@#@Previousstudiesshowthatdistributionsoffinancialratiosexhibitpositiveskewnessanddeparturesfromnormality.Howevertherehavebeennoattemptstoexplainthesourceoftheskewness.Ifmanagementhasengagedinpracticesthatshouldattenuatemeandeviations,skewness,orkurtosis,thentheremaybeevidenceofthisthatcanbediscoveredbyfollowingfirmsovertime.Ifdistributionshaveshifted(mean,variance,skewness,and/orkurtosis),thenalongitudinalinvestigationmayleadtotheestablishmentofnewbenchmarksoranewbenchmarkmeasurementprocess,aswellasexaminetheimpactonstockpriceperformance.Also,ifevidenceexistsforratiodistributionshifts,thenthereiscausetoreexaminethevaluecreationprocessandthecausalityofcashflowgenerationtovaluecreation.Therefore,thestartingpointisthislongitudinalstudyofanoriginalsampleof50firmstodetermineifdistributionshaveshiftedduetochangesinworkingcapitalmanagementandcorporatereinvestmentpolicies.@#@HYPOTHESISFORMULATION@#@Thisstudywilllookatthedistributionalpropertiesofseveralfinancialratiostiedtotheworkingcapitalmanagementandcapitalinvestmentprocessesofthefirm.Wewillinvestigatewhetherthereisevidencetosupporttheacceptanceofthehypothesesthatcorporations,especiallythelargestfirms,havebecomemorevigorousinmanagingtheirworkingcapitalprocessesorcapitalinvestmentpracticestogeneratesignificantimprovementsincashflow.Specifically,corporationsmayhaveimprovedthemanagementofaccountsreceivable,inventory,accountspayable,andadvancepaymentstosuchanextentthatdistributionsoftherelatedfinancialratioshaveshiftedsignificantly.Thedistributionsalsomaybemoreskewedasaresultofthesechangesincorporatepolicytoacceleratecustomerpaymentsorextendtheperiodtakentopaysuppliers.Inaddition,corporationsmayhavereducedtheirreinvestmentin