The Essentials of Financial Analysis

CHAPTER FIVESHORT-TERM FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT AND SUPPLY CHAIN FINANCE

In broad terms, this chapter reviews three short-term areas of financial management: (1) short-term operating performance, (2) working capital management or supply-chain finance, and (3) short-term financing. Breakeven analysis and leverage analysis are necessary to better understand the impact of how the organization “goes to business” in the short term. Both are useful in making operating decisions on a day-to-day basis. They are at the foundation of business decisions, even though tools and techniques are introduced in later chapters that will blur the effectiveness of these short-term tools. In later chapters I discuss a more in-depth and longer-term approach to strategic ...