Financial Management Analysis and Recommendations Report

This report provides a comprehensive financial management analysis of Clariton Antiques Ltd, an unincorporated business specializing in antiques. It explores various sources of finance, including personal savings, bank loans, retained earnings, and venture capital, comparing the implications of internal and external funding. The report assesses the costs associated with different financing options, such as dividends and interest, and highlights the importance of financial planning, including budgeting and economic forecasting. It also examines unit cost and pricing decisions, investment decisions, and the components and formats of financial statements. Furthermore, the report includes a comparative analysis of financial ratios to evaluate the financial performance of Clariton Antiques Ltd. The report offers insights into making effective financial decisions and managing financial resources to ensure profitability and sustainability.

Managing Financial Resources
and Decisions

Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................3
Task 1...............................................................................................................................................3
1.1 Unincorporated and incorporated business and sources of finance.......................................3
1.2 Internal and external sources along with their implications..................................................4
1.3 Appropriate source of finance................................................................................................5
Task 2...............................................................................................................................................6
2.1 Cost of sources of finance......................................................................................................6
2.2 Importance of financial planning...........................................................................................7
2.3 Requirement of information for making effective decision...................................................8
2.4 Impact on financial statements..............................................................................................9
Task 3.............................................................................................................................................10
3.1 Cash budget..........................................................................................................................10
3.2 Unit cost and pricing decisions............................................................................................11
3.3 Investment decisions............................................................................................................11
Task 4.............................................................................................................................................14
4.1 Components of financial statements....................................................................................14
4.2 Formats of financial statements...........................................................................................14
4.3 Comparison of financial ratios.............................................................................................17
Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................19
References......................................................................................................................................20
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INTRODUCTION
Financial management is the methodology that is used by organization to make effective
control over its income, expenditures, assets and liabilities. Main agenda of managing cash at the
workplace is to maximize profit and ensure sustainability. Sound capital structure is the aim of
every corporation so that they can run their business well. It is only possible with the help of
effective financial management strategies (Zimmerman, 2015). Present report is based on
Clariton Antiques Ltd. Five years ago, five partners have invested their money and started an
unincorporated business of selling antiques items. Slowly it has developed its own reputation in
the industry and now, it has become one of the well-known brand names in London.
Study will discuss several sources of finance which can raise capital of the cited firm.
Venture capitalist and financial brokers are the two main sources where cost attached with these
sources will be analysed in this assignment. Economic forecasting and its importance in business
will be discussed in this report. Unit cost, NPV, ARR and PBP calculations will be done in this
study to find out the feasibility of projects. In addition to this, financial ratio of Clariton Antiques
Ltd will be illustrated in this report (Croce, Grilli and Murtinu, 2014).
TASK 1
1.1 Unincorporated and incorporated business and sources of finance
a) Unincorporated businesses
These are such entities which have no legal identification and their liabilities are limited.
Sole traders and partnership firms are the great examples of unincorporated business. These
organizations are not legally registered and owner or partners run business separately. Clariton
Antiques Ltd is working as unincorporated corporations. Sources of finance available to the
business are as follows: Personal saving: It is the main source of finance for unincorporated business like
Clariton Antiques Ltd. In this, owner or partners of the cited firm can invest their own
capital for the expansion of organization. It assists in keeping liability of the entity in
control because in this, partners need not to pay interest to any lender (Rubin, Aas and
Stead, 2015).
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 Bank loan: It is another source of finance available to Clariton Antique Ltd where cited
firm can borrow money for fixed period from financial institutions. Bank usually charges
interest on lending amount but it is low and affordable by the borrower. Owner of
company needs to give security. It may be in the form of personal guarantee. This source
of finance can increase cash inflow in the organization and support in accomplishing the
aim of cited firm.
b) Incorporated business:
These are the legally structured entities who have to follow norms of international
accounting standards. In such type of organizations, person is not liable for the debt of company.
It can get benefit of tax and owner can generate income by selling its stock in the markets.
Sources of finance for incorporated business are maintained as below: Retained earnings: It is an important economic source that raises the capital of company.
It is the internal source or can be termed as profit of entity (Deshpandé and et.al., 2013).
Management of organization uses these funds for further development of the firms as no
economic cost is associated with it. So, it can be a good source of finance for the
enterprises.
 Venture capital: There are many capitalists who invest their money in the startup
business to gain higher returns. They invest a huge amount so that entity can expand its
operations and generate a good amount of income. But, in this, owner has to involve them
in board meetings and they can influence the decision of company.
1.2 Internal and external sources along with their implications
a) Internal sources
These are the funds which are generated by business internally. Company’s own fund can
be utilized by the management for further development (Pe'er, and Keil, 2013). Retained earnings: It is the net profit of entity after paying dividend to its shareholders.
This is a long term source of finance and in this, Clariton Antiques Ltd needs not to repay
this amount. So, no economic implications are associated with these funds. Along with
that, it does not create financial burden on the entity. In addition to this, as firm does not
issue any equity thus, ownership needs not to be shared with any investors. Thus,
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ownership and control remains the same, they do not get diluted. Owner can take his own
decision without any influence of third party. No legal complications have to be faced by
partners and therefore, no legal implications are attached with the same (Pinkwart and
Proksch, 2014).
 Sales of assets: To generate the cash, Clariton Antiques Ltd can sell its assets in the
market that will increase cash inflow which can be used by the cited firm to acquire
building in Birmingham for opening its another branch. It is short term finance and no
need to repay it. So, economic implications are associated with the sale of assets. When
company sells its inventories then it has to make legal agreement with the purchaser
which is a legal implication of this source of finance. But, in this, cited firm needs not to
share its ownership and also, controlling power remains in the hands of entrepreneur.
B) External sources
These are such funds which are borrowed by the external market and it is necessary to
repay the same on time. Bank loan: It is the main external financial source but in this, borrower has to pay interest
on it and rate of interest may be fixed or variable. This is an economic implication for
Clariton Antiques Ltd (Ambrose, Cordell and Ma, 2015). Bank can demand security that
is another economic cost. Apart from this, financial institutions make a legal agreement
with the borrower so that if person do not pay installment then he would get legal rights
to sell its properties to recover the complete loan amount. In this, ownership and
controlling power remains the same and owner needs not to share it with lenders.
 Equity share: Dividend is the economic implication of this source. Clariton Antique Ltd
needs to pay dividend to its equity partners. They have to follow regulations before
opting this source of finance. Apart from this, in the equity share, owner has to share
ownership with the equity holders and they can influence the decision of organization
(Deffains-Crapsky and Sudolska, 2014).
1.3 Appropriate source of finance
As Clariton Antiques Ltd is engaged in the selling of antique items. In this, it has to buy
products from the suppliers and have to resale it in the market. For expanding business, cited
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firm needs funds but it is important to look upon the cost and implications before selecting any
source of finance. Bank loan can be the best way of raising funds of Clariton Antiques Ltd. In
this, owner needs not to share controlling power with the lender and so, all important decisions
can be made by them individually without any interruption. Repayment schedule is simple and
affordable for the cited firm. Apart from this, interest rates of bank is low for startup firms and it
can get tax benefit on the same (Bessen and Meurer, 2013). So, it can be an appropriate source of
finance for the organization.
Retained earnings is another source which can raise the capital of entity. As it is an
internal source of finance so, there is no need to repay it as own capital can be used for further
development or expansion of the business. No much legal formalities are needed to be followed
and controlling power is the main benefit of this source. Apart from that, in this source of
finance, no dilution of ownership takes place.
TASK 2
2.1 Cost of sources of finance
Cost of raising funds can be measured by two ways; equity and debt. Cost of debt can be
explained as amount which is to be paid by organization on its debt. Whereas equity financing is
hose sources in which firm has to share ownership against funds. It is attached with equity shares
type of sources whereas bank loan is the great example of debt financing. As Clariton Antiques
Ltd has been just approached by “ We Finance Limited:. It is venture capitalists and is
demanding 20% stake in the business against its investment (Mayordomo, Peña and Schwartz,
2014). Financial brokers are another persons those who can arrange funds for the organization.
They take commission and arrange bank loan for the borrower. Both these sources are essential
and can increase capital of the company. Cost of these are explained as below:
a) Dividends:
If Clariton Antiques Ltd goes with venture capital then it will have to bear this cost. As it
is very important to give dividend to capitalist and involve them in decision making process.
That is legal right of the investor to get divided, but due to this financial burden of the company
can get enhanced. That is cost of venture capital source, 20% stake very high which can increase
expenditure of the cited firm.
b) Interest:
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As if Clariton Antiques Ltd goes with bank loan through financial brokers then this cost
would be applied. In this cited firm needs to pay annual interest to bank that increases long term
liability of the company (Ubel, Abernethy and Zafar, 2013). Interest is cost for the entity and can
reduce net profit of the corporation. Apart from this 1% brokerage can be considered as cost of
the organization. For instance Clariton Antiques Ltd is taking loan of £10,00,000 and bank
interest rate is 2% annual then cost would be:
= £1000000*2% + £10,00,000*1%
= £20000 + £10000
= £30000 cost of interest if cited firm takes loan from financial institutes.
c) Tax:
Clariton Antiques Ltd will have to pay tax on its income, that would considered as cost of
the entity. For instance recent tax rate is 30% then cost would be:
= £10,00,000* (1-0.3)*2%
= £14000 + 1% brokerage
= £14000+ £10000
= £15000
2.2 Importance of financial planning
It is the process through which entities can determine future capital requirements and can
control over its costs. Economic forecasting is the tool which assists in taking proper investment
decisions and managing cash well in the workplace. It is very important for ensuring adequacy of
funds in the organization. Apart from this future uncertain events can be forecasted by the firms
easily thus risk can be minimized (RAHDAN, MIRHASHEMI and DEHKORDI, 2014). It acts
as monitor and check the financial activities of the company and compare it with actual revenues.
It is essential in making coordination between various business functions such as sales and
production so that overall cost can be controlled by the owner.
a) Budgeting: It is one of the main element and important factor that can influence entire
business operations. Budget is the itemized summary of overall expenditure and income of the
organization. It can help in analysing the future of the business. It is an invaluable tool through
which manages can prioritize its spending and manage their cash well. With the help of financial
planning budget can be prepared effectively (Axelson and et.al, 2013). It helps to look upon the
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additional expenditure and impact of decisions on cash inflow. So owner of Clariton Antiques
Ltd can formulate proper strategies to manage its cash in the organization, by this way shortage
or surplus both activities will not take place in the business unit.
b) Implication of failure to finance adequately: many times wrong decisions can harm
the business performances to great extent. With the help of economic forecasting owner of
Clariton Antiques Ltd will be able to take proper economic decisions which can reduce risk of
failure. By this way company will be able to manage its stock well as per the demand of
customers, there would not be surplus stock of antiques in the inventory (Tadesse, 2014).
c) Over trading: As Clariton Antiques Ltd is engaged in the selling of antiques items, it
is essential for the cited firm to identify the demand and order goods as per the demand.
Financial planning helps in minimizing the issues of over trading. By this way cash inflow in the
entity can get raised to great extent and unnecessary wastage can be minimized.
2.3 Requirement of information for making effective decision
Financial information helps in making economic decision in the organization. Details
related to balance sheet, assets & liabilities, sales & purchase, expenditure, profit history are
major details which are necessary to know by the person (Almarri and Blackwell, 2014).
a) The Partners:
Clariton Antiques Ltd has been started by four partners, they all have put their money for
the development of the organization. Before investing their money they need to know about
market requirement, liabilities, solvency ratio, inventory turn over ratio, gearing ratio. By this
way they will be able to make effective decisions of investment. This information helps them in
forecasting returns on their invested amount.
b) Venture Capitalist:
“We Finance Limited” has approached to Clariton Antiques for investment, they need
information about profit history, previous liabilities, assists value, gearing ratio, dividend policy.
Capacity to generate income, market worth etc. With the helps of these details capitalist will be
able to make accurate decision.
c) Finance Broker:
They are the person those who are linked with the banks and they arrange loan for the
company (Venables, Laird and Overman, 2014). They need information like repay capacity,
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previous liabilities, solvency ratio, profitability ratio, credit history of owner and partners, market
worth of the firm etc. By this way broker will be able to decide whether to grand loan to the cited
firm of not.
2.4 Impact on financial statements
If Clariton Antique Ltd goes with venture capitalism and finance broker then both these
will impact on the financial statement of the cited firm.
a) Venture capitalist:
As “We Finance limited” is demanding 20% stake in the business, that can increase
expenditure of the organization to great extent. This spending will reflect in the income
statement of the company. Apart from this dividend is necessary to be paid to the shareholders.
So that would increase liabilities of the firm and will impact on the balance sheet of the firm. But
as they invest much amount in the business thus, capital side gets strong that show in the balance
sheet of the firm. Cash inflow get increases that impact on the cash flow statement of the
organization. So it can be said that venture capitalist impact on the all three main financial
statements of the company (Vesty and Oliver, 2014).
b) Finance Broker
Brokers are the mediators between bank and company. If Clariton Antique Ltd goes with
this source then owner of the firm will have to pay interest and brokerage to the broker. That will
be considered as expenses of the entity and will impact on the profit and loss account in the
expenditure side. Whenever, organization takes any loan from financial institutions then its long
term liabilities get increased. That impact on the liability side of balance sheet. On other hand
capital of the firm get increased thus it impacts positive on the assets side of balance sheet. It
increases cash inflow but interest charges and brokerage can be count as expenses or cash
outflow. So it will impact on the cash flow statement of the firm (Cost Per Unit, 2017).
TASK 3
3.1 Cash budget
Cash budget is the tool through which firm can ensure adequacy of funds in the
organization (Cost Per Unit, 2017). It can be explained as review of cash inflow and outflow so
that proper strategies can be made by the managers to control over excess expenses.
Particulars January (£) February (£) March (£) April (£) May (£) June (£)
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Cash revenues
Cash sales 15000 22500 30000 15000 15000 3750
Credit collection 142500 262500 405000 547500 330000 285000
Total Cash
income (A) 157500 285000 435000 562500 345000 288750
Cash payments
Total payments 807250 137250 119750 437250 227250 219750
Total cash
payments (B) 807250 137250 119750 437250 227250 219750
Net cash balance
(total cash
income-total
payments) -649750 147750 315250 125250 117750 69000
Opening cash
balance 110000 -53489750 -392000 -76750 48500 166250
Closing cash
balance -539750 -392000 -76750 48500 166250 235250
From the above cash budget it can be interpreted that in the initial moths Clariton
Antiques Ltd was not able to generate cash revenues, as its cash sales was lower than its
payments. That is why in the month of January its payments was 807250 which was very high as
compare to its income. Cash budget depicts that cash management is not good in the cited firm
that is why there were negative cash balance. But after that Clariton Antiques Ltd has work upon
it and made effective control over its spending. That is why after that it was able to meet its
liabilities. For improving its revenues entity should focus on increasing cash inflow that is
possible by offering trade discount to customers. That will attract more users thus, profit may get
raised.
3.2 Unit cost and pricing decisions
Unit cost can be defined as total incurred expenditure of organization to produce sell one
unit. As Clariton Antiques Ltd does not manufacture antiques, it just sells the items in the
market. Two types of costs are attached with this; fixed and variables. Fixed expenditures are
those spending which do not get influenced by total demand. Whereas variables are those
spending which are depended upon the demand of products (Vesty and Oliver, 2014). Employees
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salaries, rent of premises etc. are considered as fixed disbursement, transportation cost, utility
bills are variable costs of the Clariton Antique Ltd.
Unit cost= Fixed + variable costs / total produced units
For instance cited firm wants to purchase 5000 units of antique items, salaries paid to workers
are £15000, rent £10500, transportation cost £18000 and utility bills are £17000 then unit cost
would be:
Unit cost = [(15000+10500)+ (18000+17000)]/5000
Unit cost = £12.1
Pricing decision:
With the help of unit cost selling price can be calculated easily. Selling price= unit cost+
unit cost* profit percentage
For instance Clariton Antiques Ltd wants to earn 20% profit then calculation will b edone
as following:
= £12.1+ £12.1*20%
= £14.52 So it can be said that if cited firm keeps selling price of antiques £14.52 then it would
be able to generate 20% on its investments.
3.3 Investment decisions
Investment appraisal techniques are those methods through which an entity can take its
decision of investment and can identify feasibility of the projects (Investment appraisal, 2016).
Net present value (NPV): It is the method which compare present investment value with future
returns.
It is very effective tool through which firm can identify generation of income from the
project. As it focuses on risk factor so Clariton Antiques Ltd will be able to get high return on its
investment. But discounting factors are assumed by this firm so there may be high difference
between actual and expected figures.
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Investment 1 PV @ 14% Present value Investment 2
PV @
14%
Present
value
£m £m £m £m
Initial
investment 8.6 4.4
1 1.6 0.877 1 0.8 0.877 1
2 2.8 0.769 2 1.4 0.769 1
3 3.4 0.675 2 2 0.675 1
4 3.6 0.592 2 2.4 0.592 1
5 4 0.519 2 2.3 0.519 1
6 4.2 0.456 2 2.6 0.456 1
Total 12 7
NPV 3.38 2.53
So it can be interpreted that investment in project 2 would be good for the Clariton
Antiques Ltd, as in this it would be able to generate good income soon.
Average rate of returns (ARR):
It is the technique that helps to identify the profit percentage on investment.
ARR (%) = Total revenue / no. of year / Initial cost *100. It is easy to calculate and by this way
manager of cited firm can compare the results effectively. But it does not emphases on time
values so some times results may be differed from expectation (Vesty and Oliver, 2014).
Investment 1 Investment 2
£m £m
Initial investment 8.6 4.4
1 1.6 0.8
2 2.8 1.4
3 3.4 2
4 3.6 2.4
5 4 2.3
6 4.2 2.6
Total 19.6 11.5
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