Accounting and finance clips #4

v. 1. Cash flow: Tossed's gamble. --v. 2. Cash flow: why cash is king. --v. 3. Working capital. --v. 4. The difference between cash & profit

Originally produced by TV Choice in 2011

v. 1. A new salad bar chain is chasing growth - but will it run out of cash? Tossed is the baby of twenty-something entrepreneur Vincent McKevitt who aims to make big money out of healthy eating. The business is successful, but if he tries to grow it too quickly, he risks running out of money. We eavesdrop on a critical meeting with his business advisor. --v. 2. Cash flow isn't about how much money you're making - it's about when you get paid for your wares and when you have to pay your bills. Businesses which invoice customers for goods have to wait to be paid, retailers generally don't - a critical issue in cash flow. The clip explains in detail how you construct a cash flow forecast - and the critical importance of predicting the maximum cash deficit. Get the figures wrong and the business may go bust! --v. 3. Working capital is like oil to a company's engine - without it, the engine seizes up and the business may go under. This clip explains what working capital is and how it's different from cash in the bank. It also examines how companies can maximise their working capital - for example, by chasing up slow payers. --v. 4. Spare cash and profit may seem like the same thing, but in fact they're very different. The Tin Drum café bar has lots of cash coming in but is in fact heading for financial disaster. The Press Red interactive TV service is profitable on paper - but is short on cash because it can't get its customers to pay up. In the long term businesses chase profits, but in the short term cash is king

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