营运管理 外文翻译 外文文献 对整个行业中营运资金管理的研究

外文资料翻译译文营运资本管理目前，随着我国市场经济的高速增长，以及逐步进行的金融改革，企业对于营运资本管理的重视程度与日俱增。

营运资本管理对于企业的经营发展具有至关重要的作用。

它是财务管理的组成部分，体现出了企业的财务管理和控制的水平，同时被认为是企业生存与发展的重要基础。

其重要性不言而喻。

主要描述了关于营运资本管理的相关理论和实践环境，简要说明了国内国外的在该领域所取得的成就。

而在此之后，正文部分从理论角度出发，首先简要说明了营运资本管理的相关定义。

由于我国在该领域的理论与实践经验不足，所以国内在该领域存在诸多问题，如流动资金缺乏，管理不力，运营效率低等。

本文就国内的现状以及存在的问题进行深入探讨，同时，分析其成因。

为了更具说服力，找到代表性的企业案例进行进一步的分析说明。

最后，提炼出解决企业营运资本管理问题的对策，为企业营运资本管理提供依据方法。

营运资金是企业资金结构中最具活力的部分，营运资金的运转效率很大程度上决定了企业的生存与发展。

从会计角度讲，营运资金是指某时点内企业的流动资产与流动负债的差额，构成要素包括现金、有价证券、应收账款、存货等。

这些要素的周转速度及资金占有余额直接影响着企业经营效益，又制约着企业的生产经营规模。

营运资本主要在研究企业的偿债能力和财务风险时使用。

如果营运资本过量，说明资产利用率不高；如果营运资本过少，说明固定资产投资依赖短期债务融资的程度较高，经营上会受到影响。

因此，营运资本管理是企业财务管理的重要组成部分。

然而，目前很多企业在营运资金管理方面存在很多问题，如资金营运能力较低、资金短缺，这些都严重影响到企业的经营效益。

因此解决好营运资金管理中存在的问题,有利于企业财务管理目标的实现。

我国中小企业从资金角度看，规模普遍较小，从市场抗风险能力看，抵御能力较弱，同时财务制度还不完善，财务管理水平相对落后，在经济市场大环境中，中小企业往往处于破产的风口浪尖上，此时财务管理显得尤为重要。

企业营运资金管理国内外研究文献综述1. 引言1.1 研究背景企业营运资金管理是企业经营活动中至关重要的一个方面，直接关系到企业的生存和发展。

随着市场经济的发展，企业面临的竞争越来越激烈，经营环境也日益复杂多变，资金管理的重要性凸显出来。

有效的资金管理可以帮助企业合理规划资金的使用，提高资金利用效率，降低财务风险，增强企业的竞争力。

对企业营运资金管理进行深入研究具有重要的理论和实践意义。

在国内，随着我国经济的快速增长，企业面临着资金管理面临的挑战也越来越多。

不同规模、性质的企业面对的资金管理问题也有所不同，需要根据实际情况制定相应的策略。

国外企业在资金管理方面的经验也值得借鉴和学习，可以帮助国内企业更好地提升资金管理水平。

对国内外企业营运资金管理现状进行比较分析，有助于发现问题、总结经验、提出建议，对促进企业资金管理水平的提升具有重要的指导意义。

【2000字】1.2 研究目的企业营运资金管理是企业运营中至关重要的一环，对企业的发展和生存至关重要。

本文旨在通过对国内外企业营运资金管理的研究综述，深入探讨现有资金管理模式的实施情况和存在的问题，从而为企业提供更有效的管理策略。

具体研究目的包括：1. 分析企业营运资金管理的现状及存在的问题，为企业提供改进管理策略的参考；2. 比较国内外企业营运资金管理的差异，探讨其原因和带来的影响；3. 探讨影响企业营运资金管理的各种因素，包括宏观经济环境、行业特点、企业规模等，为企业提供全面的管理建议；4. 提出未来企业营运资金管理研究的展望，为学者和企业提供研究方向和发展思路。

1.3 研究意义企业营运资金是企业运作的生命线，它直接关系到企业的经营活动及财务状况。

有效的资金管理可以提高企业的盈利能力，降低资金成本，增强企业的竞争力。

对企业营运资金管理进行研究具有重要的现实意义。

企业营运资金管理对企业的经营活动起着至关重要的作用。

合理的资金管理可以确保企业的正常运转，保障生产经营的顺利进行。

文献出处:Enqvist, Julius, Michael Graham, and Jussi Nikkinen. "The impact of working capital management on firm profitability in different business cycles: evidence from Finland." Research in International Business and Finance 32 (2014): 36-49.原文The impact of working capital management on firm profitability in different business cycles: Evidence from Finland1. IntroductionThis paper investigates the effect of the business cycle on the link between working capital, the difference between current assets and current liabilities, and corporate performance. Efficient working capital management is recognized as an important aspect of financial management practices in all organizational forms. In acknowledgement of this importance, the CFO Magazine publishes an annual study of corporate working capital management performance in many countries. The extensive literature indicates that it impacts directly on corporate liquidity ( Kim et al., 1998 and Opler et al., 1999), profitability (e.g., Shin and Soenen, 1998, Deloof, 2003, Lazaridis and Tryfonidis, 2006 and Ukaegbu, 2014), and solvency (e.g.,Berryman, 1983 and Peel and Wilson, 1994).It is reasonable to assume that economy-wide fluctuations exogenous to the operations of the firm play an important role in the demand for firms’ products and any financing decision. Korajczyk and Levy (2003), for instance, suggest that firms time debt issuance based on economic conditions. Also, given that retained earnings are a significant component of working capital, business cycles can be said to affect all enterprises financing source through its effect on economic growth and sales. For example, when company sales weaken it engenders earning declines, thereby, affecting an important source of working capital. The recent global economic downturn with crimping consumer demand is an excellent example of this. The crisis,characterized by plummeting sales, put a squeeze on corporate revenues and profit margins, and subsequently, working capital requirements. This has brought renewed focus on working capital management at companies all over the world.The literature on working capital, however, only includes a handful of studies examining the impact of the business cycle on working capital. An early study by Merville and Tavis (1973) examined the relationship between firm working capital policies and business cycle. More recent studies have investigated the degree to which firms’ reliance on bank borrowing to finance working capital is cyclical (Einarsson and Marquis, 2001), the significance of firms’ external dependence for financing needs on the link between industry growth and business the cycle in the short term (Braun and Larrain, 2005), and the influence of business indicators on the determinants of working capital management (Chiou et al., 2006). These studies have independently linked working capital to corporate profitability and the business cycle. No study, to the best of our knowledge, has examined the simultaneous working capital–profitability and business cycle effects. There is therefore a substantial gap in the literature which this paper seeks to fill. Firms may have an optimal level of working capital that maximizes their value. However, optimal levels may change to reflect business conditions. Consequently, we contribute to the literature by re-examining the relationship between working capital management and corporate profitability by investigating the role business cycle plays in this relationship.We investigate this important relationship using a sample of firms listed on the Helsinki Stock Exchange and an extended study period of 18 years, between 1990 and 2008. Finnish firms tend to react strongly to changes in the business cycle, a characteristic that can be observed from the volatility of the Nasdaq OMX Helsinki stock index. The index usually declines quickly in poor economic states, but also makes fast recoveries. Finland, therefore, presents an excellent representative example of how the working capital–profitability relationship may change in different economic states. The choice of Finland is also significant as it also offers a representative Nordic perspective of this important working capital–profitability relationship. Hitherto no academic study has examined the workingcapital–profitability relationship in the Nordic region, to the best of our knowledge. Surveys on working capital management in the Nordic region carried out by Danske Bank and Ernst & Young in 2009 show, however, that many companies rated their working capital management performance as average, with a growing focus on optimizing working capital in the future. The surveys are, however, silent on how this average performance affected profitability. This gives further impetus for our study.Our results point to a number of interesting findings. First, we find that firms can enhance their profitability by increasing working capital efficiency. This is a significant result because many Nordic firms find it hard to turn good policy intentions on working capital management into reality (Ernst and Young, 2009). Economically, firms may gain by paying increasing attention to efficient working capital practices. Our empirical finding, therefore, should motivate firms to implement new work processes as a matter of necessity. We also found that working capital management is relatively more important in low economic states than in the economic boom state, implying working capital management should be included in firms’ financial planning. This finding corroborates evidence from the survey results in the Nordic region. Specifically, the survey results by Ernst and Young (2009) indicate that the largest potential for improvement in working capital could be found within the optimization of internal processes. This suggests that this area is not prioritized in times of business growth which is typical of the general economic expansion periods and is exposed in economic downturns.The remainder of this paper is organized as follows: Section 2 presents a brief review of the literature presents the hypotheses for empirical testing. Sections 3 and 4 discuss data and models to be estimated. The empirical results are presented in Section 5 and Section 6 concludes.2. Related literature and hypotheses2.1. Literature reviewMany firms have invested significant amounts in working capital and a number of studies have examined the determinants of this investment. For example Kim et al. (1998) and Opler et al. (1999), Chiou et al. (2006) and D’Mello et al. (2008) find thatthe availability of external financing is a determinant of liquidity. Thus restricted access to capital markets requires firms to hold larger cash reserves. Other studies show that firms with weaker corporate governance structures hold smaller cash reserves (Harford et al., 2008). Furthermore firms with excess cash holding as well as weak shareholder rights undertake more acquisitions. However there is a higher likelihood of value-decreasing acquisitions (Harford, 1999). Kieschnick and Laplante (2012) provide evidence linking working capital management to shareholder wealth. They find that the incremental dollar invested in net operating capital is less valuable than the incremental dollar held in cash for the average firm. The findings reported in the paper further suggest that the valuation of the incremental dollar invested in net operating working is significantly influenced by a firm's future sales expectations, its debt load, its financial constraints, and its bankruptcy risk. Further the value of the incremental dollar extended in credit to one's customers has a greater effect on shareholder wealth than the incremental dollar invested in inventories for the average firm. Taken together the results indicate the significance of working capital management to the firm's residual claimants, and how financing impacts these effects.A thin thread of the literature links business cycles to working capital. In a theoretical model, Merville and Tavis (1973) posit that investment and financing decisions relating to working capital should be made in chorus as components of each impact on the optimal policies of the others. The optimal working capital policy of the firm is, therefore, made within a systems context, components of which are related spatially over time in a chance-constrained format. Uncertainty in the wider business environment directly affects the system. For example, short run demand fluctuations disrupt anticipated incoming cash flows, and the collection of receivables faces increased uncertainty. The model provides a structure enabling corporate managers to solve complex inventory and credit policies for short term financial planning.In an empirical study, Einarsson and Marquis (2001) find that the degree to which companies rely on bank financing to cover their working capital requirements in the U.S. is countercyclical; it increases as the state of the economy weakens. Furthermore, Braun and Larrain (2005) find that high working capital requirementsar e a key determinant of a business’ dependence on external financing. They show that firms that are highly dependent on external financing are more affected by recessions, and should take more precautions in preparing for declines in the economic environment, including ensuring a secure level of working capital reserves during times of crisis. Additionally, Chiou et al. (2006) recognize the importance of the state of the economy and includes business indicators in their study of working capital determinants. They find a positive relationship between business indicator and working capital requirements.The relationship between profitability and working capital management in various markets has also attracted intense interest. In a comprehensive study, Shin and Soenen (1998) document a strong inverse relationship between working capital efficiency and profitability across U.S. industries. This inverse relationship is supported by Deloof (2003), Lazaridis and Tryfonidis (2006), and Garcia-Teruel and Martinez-Solano (2007)for Belgian non-financial firms, Greek listed firms, and Spanish small and medium size enterprises (SME), respectively. There are, however, significant divergences in the results relating to the effect of the various components of working capital on profitability. For example, whereas Deloof (2003) find a negative and statistically significant relationship between account payable and profitability, Garcia-Teruel and Martinez-Solano (2007) find no such measurable influences in a sample of Spanish SMEs.2.2. Hypotheses developmentThe cash conversion cycle (CCC), a useful and comprehensive measure of working capital management, has been widely used in the literature (see for example Deloof, 2003 and Gill et al., 2010). The CCC, measured in days, is the length of time between a company's expenditure for the procurement of raw materials and the collection of sales of finished goods. We adopt this as our measure of working capital management in this study. Previous studies have established a link between profitability and the CCC in different countries and market segments.Efficient working capital management practices aims to shorten the CCC to optimize to levels that best suites the requirements of the specific company (Hager,1976). A short CCC indicates quick collection of receivables and delays in payments to suppliers. This is associated with profitability given that it improves corporate efficiency in its use of working capital. Deloof (2003), however, posits that low inventory levels, tight trade credit policies and utilizing obtained trade credit as a means of financing can increase risks of inventory stock-outs, decrease sales stimulants and increase accounts payable costs by forgoing given cash discounts. Managers must, therefore, always consider the tradeoff between liquidity and profitability when managing working capital. A faster rise in the cost of higher investment in working capital relative to the benefits of holding more inventories and/or granting trade credit to customers may lead to decrease in corporate profitability. Deloof (2003), Wang (2002), Lazaridis and Tryfonidis (2006), and Gill et al. (2010) all propose a negative relationship between the cash conversion cycle and corporate profitability. Following this, we propose a general hypothesis stating the expected negative relationship between the cash conversion cycle and corporate profitability:6. ConclusionsWorking capital, the difference between current assets and current liabilities, is used to fund a business’ daily operations due to t he time lag between buying raw materials for production and receiving funds from the sale of the final product. With vast amounts invested in working capital, it can be expected that the management of these assets would significantly affect the profitability of a company. Consequently, companies strive to achieve optimize levels of working capital by paying bills as late as possible, turning over inventories quickly, and collecting on account receivables quickly. The optimal level, though, may vary to reflect business conditions. This study examines the role business cycle plays in the working capital-corporate profitability relationship using a sample of Finnish listed companies from years 1990 to 2008.We utilize the cash conversion cycle (CCC), defined as the length of time between a company's expenditure for the procurement of raw materials and the collection of sales of finished goods, as our measure of working capital. We further make use of 2 measures of profitability, return on assets and gross operating income.We document a negative relationship between cash conversion cycle and corporate profitability. Our results also show that companies can achieve higher profitability levels by managing inventories efficiently and lowering accounts receivable collection times. Furthermore shorter account payable cycles enhance corporate profitability. These results, which largely mirror findings from other countries, indicate effective management of firm's total working capital as well as its individual components has a significant effect on corporate profitability levels.Our results also show that economic conditions exhibit measurable influences on the working capital-profitability relationship. The low economic state is generally found to have negative effects on corporate profitability. In particular, we find that the impact of efficient working capital (CCC) on operational profitability increases in economic downturns. We also find that the impact of efficient inventory management and accounts receivables conversion periods, subsets of CCC, on profitability increase in economic downturns.Overall the results indicate that investing in working capital processes and incorporating working capital efficiency into everyday routines is essential for corporate profitability. As a result, firms should include working capital management in their financial planning processes. Additionally, firms generate income and employment. The reduced demand in economic downturns depletes working capital of firms and threatens their stability and, implicitly, their important function as generators of employment and income. National economic policy aimed at boosting cash flows of firms may increase business ability to finance working capital internally, especially during economic down turns.译文营运资本管理对不同商业周期公司盈利能力的影响：证据来自芬兰1.引言本文研究商业周期与营运资本两者之间的联系,流动资产和流动负债之间的区别,以及公司业绩问题。

企业营运资金管理国内外研究文献综述1. 引言1.1 研究背景企业营运资金管理是企业管理中的重要组成部分，直接关系到企业的生存和发展。

随着经济全球化的深入发展，如何有效管理企业的资金，成为企业面临的重要挑战之一。

资金管理的好坏直接关系到企业的经营状况和绩效水平，因此备受企业管理者和研究学者的关注。

在国内，企业营运资金管理的实践状况存在着一些值得关注的问题，如资金周转速度不够快、资金使用效率不高等。

国外企业在资金管理方面积累了丰富的经验，值得国内企业借鉴和学习。

因此，深入了解国内外企业资金管理的实践状况，分析资金管理对企业绩效的影响，探讨资金管理的挑战与对策，对于提高企业的经营管理水平，增强其竞争力具有重要意义。

本文旨在对企业营运资金管理国内外研究文献进行综述，全面了解资金管理理论概述，国内外企业资金管理实践状况，资金管理对企业绩效的影响，资金管理的挑战与对策等方面的研究成果，为进一步探讨国内外企业资金管理存在的问题，展望未来研究方向提供参考。

1.2 研究目的企业营运资金管理对企业的生存和发展至关重要。

有效的资金管理可以帮助企业确保流动性良好，降低财务风险，提高运营效率，增强竞争力。

资金管理不当可能导致企业资金紧张，影响企业正常经营活动，甚至导致企业破产倒闭。

研究企业营运资金管理的目的在于探讨资金管理的重要性和作用，分析现有资金管理的实践状况，探讨资金管理对企业绩效的影响，探讨资金管理所面临的挑战，并提出相应的对策措施。

通过深入研究企业营运资金管理，可以为企业提供更好的资金管理建议，帮助企业有效应对市场竞争和财务风险，实现稳健发展。

1.3 研究意义企业营运资金管理是企业财务管理中极为重要的部分，它直接关系到企业的正常运转和长期发展。

资金管理的好坏直接影响着企业的生产经营效率、盈利能力以及市场竞争力。

深入研究企业营运资金管理的国内外状况及影响因素，对于改进企业财务管理水平、提高企业整体竞争力具有重要意义。

外文翻译原文：An Analysis of Working Capital Management Results AcrossIndustriesAbstractFirms are able to reduce financing costs and/or increase the funds available for expansion by minimizing the amount of funds tied up in current assets. We provide insights into the performance of surveyed firms across key components of working capital management by using the CFO magazine’s annual Working Capital Management Survey. We discover that significant differences exist between industries in working capital measures across time. In addition. we discover that these measures for working capital change significantly within industries across time. IntroductionThe importance of efficient working capital management is indisputable. Working capital is the difference between resources in cash or readily convertible into cash (Current Assets) and organizational commitments for which cash will soon be required (Current Liabilities). The objective of working capital management is to maintain the optimum balance of each of the working capital components. Business viability relies on the ability to effectively manage receivables. inventory. and payables. Firms are able to reduce financing costs and/or increase the funds available for expansion by minimizing the amount of funds tied up in current assets. Much managerial effort is expended in bringing non-optimal levels of current assets and liabilities back toward optimal levels. An optimal level would be one in which a balance is achieved between risk and efficiency.A recent example of business attempting to maximize working capital management is the recurrent attention being given to the application of Six Sigma® methodology. Six Sigma® methodologies help companies measure and ensure quality in all areas of the enterprise. When used to identify and rectify discrepancies.inefficiencies and erroneous transactions in the financial supply chain. Six Sigma® reduces Days Sales Outstanding (DSO). accelerates the payment cycle. improves customer satisfaction and reduces the necessary amount and cost of working capital needs. There appear to be many success stories. including Jennifer Towne’s (2002) report of a 15 percent decrease in days that sales are outstanding. resulting in an increased cash flow of approximately $2 million at Thibodaux Regional Medical Center. Furthermore. bad debts declined from $3.4 million to $600.000. However. Waxer’s (2003) study of multiple firms employing Six Sigma® finds that it is really a “get rich slow” technique with a rate of return hovering in the 1.2 – 4.5 percent range. Even in a business using Six Sigma® methodology. an “optimal” level of working capital management needs to be identified.Even in a business using Six Sigma® methodology. an “optimal” level of working capital management needs to be identified. Industry factors may impact firm credit policy. inventory management. and bill-paying activities. Some firms may be better suited to minimize receivables and inventory. while others maximize payables. Another aspect of “optimal” is the extent to which poor financial results can be tied to sub-optimal performance. Fortunately. these issues are testable with data published by CFO magazine. which claims to be the source of “tools and information for the financial executive.” and are the sub ject of this research.In addition to providing mean and variance values for the working capital measures and the overall metric. two issues will be addressed in this research. One research question is. “are firms within a particular industry clustered to gether at consistent levels of working capital measures?” For instance. are firms in one industry able to quickly transfer sales into cash. while firms from another industry tend to have high sales levels for the particular level of inventory . The other research question is. “does working capital management performance for firms within a given industry change from year-to-year?”The following section presents a brief literature review. Next. the research method is described. including some information about the annual Working CapitalManagement Survey published by CFO magazine. Findings are then presented and conclusions are drawn.Related LiteratureThe importance of working capital management is not new to the finance literature. Over twenty years ago. Largay and Stickney (1980) reported that the then-recent bankruptcy of W.T. Grant. a nationwide chain of department stores. should have been anticipated because the corporation had been running a deficit cash flow from operations for eight of the last ten years of its corporate life. As part of a study of the Fortune 500’s financial management practices. Gilbert and Reichert (1995) find that accounts receivable management models are used in 59 percent of these firms to improve working capital projects. while inventory management models were used in 60 percent of the companies. More recently. Farragher. Kleiman and Sahu (1999) find that 55 percent of firms in the S&P Industrial index complete some form of a cash flow assessment. but did not present insights regarding accounts receivable and inventory management. or the variations of any current asset accounts or liability accounts across industries. Thus. mixed evidence exists concerning the use of working capital management techniques.Theoretical determination of optimal trade credit limits are the subject of many articles over the years (e.g.. Schwartz 1974; Scherr 1996). with scant attention paid to actual accounts receivable management. Across a limited sample. Weinraub and Visscher (1998) observe a tendency of firms with low levels of current ratios to also have low levels of current liabilities. Simultaneously investigating accounts receivable and payable issues. Hill. Sartoris. and Ferguson (1984) find differences in the way payment dates are defined. Payees define the date of payment as the date payment is received. while payers view payment as the postmark date. Additional WCM insight across firms. industries. and time can add to this body of research.Maness and Zietlow (2002. 51. 496) presents two models of value creation that incorporate effective short-term financial management activities. However. these models are generic models and do not consider unique firm or industry influences. Maness and Zietlow discuss industry influences in a short paragraph that includes theobservation that. “An industry a company is located in may have more influence on that company’s fortunes than overall GNP” (2002. 507). In fact. a careful review of this 627-page textbook finds only sporadic information on actual firm levels of WCM dimensions. virtually nothing on industry factors except for some boxed items with titles such as. “Should a Retailer Offer an In-House Credit Card” (128) and nothing on WCM stability over time. This research will attempt to fill this void by investigating patterns related to working capital measures within industries and illustrate differences between industries across time.An extensive survey of library and Internet resources provided very few recent reports about working capital management. The most relevant set of articles was Weisel and Bradley’s (2003) article on cash flow management and one of inventory control as a result of effective supply chain management by Hadley (2004). Research MethodThe CFO RankingsThe first annual CFO Working Capital Survey. a joint project with REL Consultancy Group. was published in the June 1997 issue of CFO (Mintz and Lezere 1997). REL is a London. England-based management consulting firm specializing in working capital issues for its global list of clients. The original survey reports several working capital benchmarks for public companies using data for 1996. Each company is ranked against its peers and also against the entire field of 1.000 companies. REL continues to update the original information on an annual basis.REL uses the “cash flow from operations” value located on firm cash flow statements to estimate cash conversion efficiency (CCE). This value indicates how well a company transforms revenues into cash flow. A “days of working capital” (DWC) value is based on the dollar amount in each of the aggregate. equally-weighted receivables. inventory. and payables accounts. The “days of working capital” (DNC) represents the time period between purchase of inventory on acccount from vendor until the sale to the customer. the collection of the receivables. and payment receipt. Thus. it reflects the company’s ability to finance its core operations with vendor credit. A detailed investigation of WCM is possible becauseCFO also provides firm and industry values for days sales outstanding (A/R). inventory turnover. and days payables outstanding (A/P).Research FindingsAverage and Annual Working Capital Management Performance Working capital management component definitions and average values for the entire 1996 –2000 period . Across the nearly 1.000 firms in the survey. cash flow from operations. defined as cash flow from operations divided by sales and referred to as “cash conversion efficiency” (CCE). averages 9.0 percent. Incorporating a 95 percent confidence interval. CCE ranges from 5.6 percent to 12.4 percent. The days working capital (DWC). defined as the sum of receivables and inventories less payables divided by daily sales. averages 51.8 days and is very similar to the days that sales are outstanding (50.6). because the inventory turnover rate (once every 32.0 days) is similar to the number of days that payables are outstanding (32.4 days). In all instances. the standard deviation is relatively small. suggesting that these working capital management variables are consistent across CFO reports.Industry Rankings on Overall Working Capital Management Performance CFO magazine provides an overall working capital ranking for firms in its survey. using the following equation: Industry-based differences in overall working capital management are presented for the twenty-six industries that had at least eight companies included in the rankings each year. In the typical year. CFO magazine ranks 970 companies during this period. Industries are listed in order of the mean overall CFO ranking of working capital performance. Since the best average ranking possible for an eight-company industry is 4.5 (this assumes that the eight companies are ranked one through eight for the entire survey). it is quite obvious that all firms in the petroleum industry must have been receiving very high overall working capital management rankings. In fact. the petroleum industry is ranked first in CCE and third in DWC (as illustrated in Table 5 and discussed later in this paper). Furthermore. the petroleum industry had the lowest standard deviation of working capital rankings and range of working capital rankings. The only other industry with a mean overall ranking less than 100 was the Electric & Gas Utility industry. which ranked second inCCE and fourth in DWC. The two industries with the worst working capital rankings were Textiles and Apparel. Textiles rank twenty-second in CCE and twenty-sixth in DWC. The apparel industry ranks twenty-third and twenty-fourth in the two working capital measuresConclusionsThe research presented here is based on the annual ratings of working capital management published in CFO magazine. Our findings indicate a consistency in how industries “stack up” against each other over time with respe ct to the working capital measures. However. the working capital measures themselves are not static (i.e.. averages of working capital measures across all firms change annually); our results indicate significant movements across our entire sample over time. Our findings are important because they provide insight to working capital performance across time. and on working capital management across industries. These changes may be in explained in part by macroeconomic factors. Changes in interest rates. rate of innovation. and competition are likely to impact working capital management. As interest rates rise. there would be less desire to make payments early. which would stretch accounts payable. accounts receivable. and cash accounts.The ramifications of this study include the finding of distinct levels of WCM measures for different industries. which tend to be stable over time. Many factors help to explain this discovery. The improving economy during the period of the study may have resulted in improved turnover in some industries. while slowing turnover may have been a signal of troubles ahead. Our results should be interpreted cautiously. Our study takes places over a short time frame during a generally improving market. In addition. the survey suffers from survivorship bias – only the top firms within each industry are ranked each year and the composition of those firms within the industry can change annually.Source: Thomas M. Krueger, “An Analysis of Working Capital Management Results Across Industries” .American Journal of Business,vol.20,no.2,2005(20),pp.11-18.译文：对整个行业中营运资金管理的研究摘要:企业能够降低融资成本或者尽量减少绑定在流动资产上的成立基金数额来用于扩大现有的资金。

企业营运资金管理国内外研究文献综述企业营运资金管理是指企业在日常经营中，对流动资产和流动负债进行合理布局和控制，以确保企业能够平稳运营和实现盈利目标的管理活动。

本文通过对国内外相关研究文献的综述，对企业营运资金管理的研究现状和趋势进行探讨。

国内外研究文献普遍认为，企业营运资金管理是企业实现稳定经营和增加利润的重要手段。

企业的流动资产和流动负债合理匹配可以减少企业流动资金的占用成本，提高企业的流动性，降低财务风险。

研究表明，有效的营运资金管理可以改善企业的经营绩效，提高企业的市场竞争力。

研究文献中对企业营运资金管理的影响因素进行了广泛的讨论。

这些影响因素包括企业规模、行业特性、股权结构、财务约束、宏观经济环境等。

企业规模和行业特性对企业的营运资金需求有显著影响，大型企业和高资金密集型行业的企业对营运资金的需求较高。

股权结构也影响着企业的营运资金管理，控股股东的偏好可能导致企业对流动资金的过度占用或过度融资。

财务约束和宏观经济环境的变化也会对企业的营运资金管理产生影响。

研究文献中对企业营运资金管理的优化方法和工具进行了深入研究。

针对流动资产管理，研究者提出了不同的模型和工具，如现金管理模型、账款管理模型、库存控制模型等，以帮助企业优化流动资产配置和管理。

针对流动负债管理，研究者提出了供应链融资、票据融资、短期借款等方法，以帮助企业降低财务风险和减少融资成本。

一些研究还探讨了企业内部流程和组织结构的优化，以提高企业营运资金管理的效率和效果。

企业营运资金管理是企业日常经营中至关重要的管理活动，对企业的盈利能力和市场竞争力具有重要影响。

未来的研究应继续深化对企业营运资金管理的影响因素和优化方法的研究，加强实证研究，为企业提供更加有效的资金管理策略和工具。

文献出处:Enqvist, Julius, Michael Graham, and Jussi Nikkinen. "The impact of working capital management on firm profitability in different business cycles: evidence from Finland." Research in International Business and Finance 32 (2014): 36-49.原文The impact of working capital management on firm profitability in different business cycles: Evidence from Finland1. IntroductionThis paper investigates the effect of the business cycle on the link between working capital, the difference between current assets and current liabilities, and corporate performance. Efficient working capital management is recognized as an important aspect of financial management practices in all organizational forms. In acknowledgement of this importance, the CFO Magazine publishes an annual study of corporate working capital management performance in many countries. The extensive literature indicates that it impacts directly on corporate liquidity ( Kim et al., 1998 and Opler et al., 1999), profitability (e.g., Shin and Soenen, 1998, Deloof, 2003, Lazaridis and Tryfonidis, 2006 and Ukaegbu, 2014), and solvency (e.g.,Berryman, 1983 and Peel and Wilson, 1994).It is reasonable to assume that economy-wide fluctuations exogenous to the operations of the firm play an important role in the demand for firms’ products and any financing decision. Korajczyk and Levy (2003), for instance, suggest that firms time debt issuance based on economic conditions. Also, given that retained earnings are a significant component of working capital, business cycles can be said to affect all enterprises financing source through its effect on economic growth and sales. For example, when company sales weaken it engenders earning declines, thereby, affecting an important source of working capital. The recent global economic downturn with crimping consumer demand is an excellent example of this. The crisis,characterized by plummeting sales, put a squeeze on corporate revenues and profit margins, and subsequently, working capital requirements. This has brought renewed focus on working capital management at companies all over the world.The literature on working capital, however, only includes a handful of studies examining the impact of the business cycle on working capital. An early study by Merville and Tavis (1973) examined the relationship between firm working capital policies and business cycle. More recent studies have investigated the degree to which firms’ reliance on bank borrowing to finance working capital is cyclical (Einarsson and Marquis, 2001), the significance of firms’ external dependence for financing needs on the link between industry growth and business the cycle in the short term (Braun and Larrain, 2005), and the influence of business indicators on the determinants of working capital management (Chiou et al., 2006). These studies have independently linked working capital to corporate profitability and the business cycle. No study, to the best of our knowledge, has examined the simultaneous working capital–profitability and business cycle effects. There is therefore a substantial gap in the literature which this paper seeks to fill. Firms may have an optimal level of working capital that maximizes their value. However, optimal levels may change to reflect business conditions. Consequently, we contribute to the literature by re-examining the relationship between working capital management and corporate profitability by investigating the role business cycle plays in this relationship.We investigate this important relationship using a sample of firms listed on the Helsinki Stock Exchange and an extended study period of 18 years, between 1990 and 2008. Finnish firms tend to react strongly to changes in the business cycle, a characteristic that can be observed from the volatility of the Nasdaq OMX Helsinki stock index. The index usually declines quickly in poor economic states, but also makes fast recoveries. Finland, therefore, presents an excellent representative example of how the working capital–profitability relationship may change in different economic states. The choice of Finland is also significant as it also offers a representative Nordic perspective of this important working capital–profitability relationship. Hitherto no academic study has examined the workingcapital–profitability relationship in the Nordic region, to the best of our knowledge. Surveys on working capital management in the Nordic region carried out by Danske Bank and Ernst & Young in 2009 show, however, that many companies rated their working capital management performance as average, with a growing focus on optimizing working capital in the future. The surveys are, however, silent on how this average performance affected profitability. This gives further impetus for our study.Our results point to a number of interesting findings. First, we find that firms can enhance their profitability by increasing working capital efficiency. This is a significant result because many Nordic firms find it hard to turn good policy intentions on working capital management into reality (Ernst and Young, 2009). Economically, firms may gain by paying increasing attention to efficient working capital practices. Our empirical finding, therefore, should motivate firms to implement new work processes as a matter of necessity. We also found that working capital management is relatively more important in low economic states than in the economic boom state, implying working capital management should be included in firms’ financial planning. This finding corroborates evidence from the survey results in the Nordic region. Specifically, the survey results by Ernst and Young (2009) indicate that the largest potential for improvement in working capital could be found within the optimization of internal processes. This suggests that this area is not prioritized in times of business growth which is typical of the general economic expansion periods and is exposed in economic downturns.The remainder of this paper is organized as follows: Section 2 presents a brief review of the literature presents the hypotheses for empirical testing. Sections 3 and 4 discuss data and models to be estimated. The empirical results are presented in Section 5 and Section 6 concludes.2. Related literature and hypotheses2.1. Literature reviewMany firms have invested significant amounts in working capital and a number of studies have examined the determinants of this investment. For example Kim et al. (1998) and Opler et al. (1999), Chiou et al. (2006) and D’Mello et al. (2008) find thatthe availability of external financing is a determinant of liquidity. Thus restricted access to capital markets requires firms to hold larger cash reserves. Other studies show that firms with weaker corporate governance structures hold smaller cash reserves (Harford et al., 2008). Furthermore firms with excess cash holding as well as weak shareholder rights undertake more acquisitions. However there is a higher likelihood of value-decreasing acquisitions (Harford, 1999). Kieschnick and Laplante (2012) provide evidence linking working capital management to shareholder wealth. They find that the incremental dollar invested in net operating capital is less valuable than the incremental dollar held in cash for the average firm. The findings reported in the paper further suggest that the valuation of the incremental dollar invested in net operating working is significantly influenced by a firm's future sales expectations, its debt load, its financial constraints, and its bankruptcy risk. Further the value of the incremental dollar extended in credit to one's customers has a greater effect on shareholder wealth than the incremental dollar invested in inventories for the average firm. Taken together the results indicate the significance of working capital management to the firm's residual claimants, and how financing impacts these effects.A thin thread of the literature links business cycles to working capital. In a theoretical model, Merville and Tavis (1973) posit that investment and financing decisions relating to working capital should be made in chorus as components of each impact on the optimal policies of the others. The optimal working capital policy of the firm is, therefore, made within a systems context, components of which are related spatially over time in a chance-constrained format. Uncertainty in the wider business environment directly affects the system. For example, short run demand fluctuations disrupt anticipated incoming cash flows, and the collection of receivables faces increased uncertainty. The model provides a structure enabling corporate managers to solve complex inventory and credit policies for short term financial planning.In an empirical study, Einarsson and Marquis (2001) find that the degree to which companies rely on bank financing to cover their working capital requirements in the U.S. is countercyclical; it increases as the state of the economy weakens. Furthermore, Braun and Larrain (2005) find that high working capital requirementsar e a key determinant of a business’ dependence on external financing. They show that firms that are highly dependent on external financing are more affected by recessions, and should take more precautions in preparing for declines in the economic environment, including ensuring a secure level of working capital reserves during times of crisis. Additionally, Chiou et al. (2006) recognize the importance of the state of the economy and includes business indicators in their study of working capital determinants. They find a positive relationship between business indicator and working capital requirements.The relationship between profitability and working capital management in various markets has also attracted intense interest. In a comprehensive study, Shin and Soenen (1998) document a strong inverse relationship between working capital efficiency and profitability across U.S. industries. This inverse relationship is supported by Deloof (2003), Lazaridis and Tryfonidis (2006), and Garcia-Teruel and Martinez-Solano (2007)for Belgian non-financial firms, Greek listed firms, and Spanish small and medium size enterprises (SME), respectively. There are, however, significant divergences in the results relating to the effect of the various components of working capital on profitability. For example, whereas Deloof (2003) find a negative and statistically significant relationship between account payable and profitability, Garcia-Teruel and Martinez-Solano (2007) find no such measurable influences in a sample of Spanish SMEs.2.2. Hypotheses developmentThe cash conversion cycle (CCC), a useful and comprehensive measure of working capital management, has been widely used in the literature (see for example Deloof, 2003 and Gill et al., 2010). The CCC, measured in days, is the length of time between a company's expenditure for the procurement of raw materials and the collection of sales of finished goods. We adopt this as our measure of working capital management in this study. Previous studies have established a link between profitability and the CCC in different countries and market segments.Efficient working capital management practices aims to shorten the CCC to optimize to levels that best suites the requirements of the specific company (Hager,1976). A short CCC indicates quick collection of receivables and delays in payments to suppliers. This is associated with profitability given that it improves corporate efficiency in its use of working capital. Deloof (2003), however, posits that low inventory levels, tight trade credit policies and utilizing obtained trade credit as a means of financing can increase risks of inventory stock-outs, decrease sales stimulants and increase accounts payable costs by forgoing given cash discounts. Managers must, therefore, always consider the tradeoff between liquidity and profitability when managing working capital. A faster rise in the cost of higher investment in working capital relative to the benefits of holding more inventories and/or granting trade credit to customers may lead to decrease in corporate profitability. Deloof (2003), Wang (2002), Lazaridis and Tryfonidis (2006), and Gill et al. (2010) all propose a negative relationship between the cash conversion cycle and corporate profitability. Following this, we propose a general hypothesis stating the expected negative relationship between the cash conversion cycle and corporate profitability:6. ConclusionsWorking capital, the difference between current assets and current liabilities, is used to fund a business’ daily operations due to t he time lag between buying raw materials for production and receiving funds from the sale of the final product. With vast amounts invested in working capital, it can be expected that the management of these assets would significantly affect the profitability of a company. Consequently, companies strive to achieve optimize levels of working capital by paying bills as late as possible, turning over inventories quickly, and collecting on account receivables quickly. The optimal level, though, may vary to reflect business conditions. This study examines the role business cycle plays in the working capital-corporate profitability relationship using a sample of Finnish listed companies from years 1990 to 2008.We utilize the cash conversion cycle (CCC), defined as the length of time between a company's expenditure for the procurement of raw materials and the collection of sales of finished goods, as our measure of working capital. We further make use of 2 measures of profitability, return on assets and gross operating income.We document a negative relationship between cash conversion cycle and corporate profitability. Our results also show that companies can achieve higher profitability levels by managing inventories efficiently and lowering accounts receivable collection times. Furthermore shorter account payable cycles enhance corporate profitability. These results, which largely mirror findings from other countries, indicate effective management of firm's total working capital as well as its individual components has a significant effect on corporate profitability levels.Our results also show that economic conditions exhibit measurable influences on the working capital-profitability relationship. The low economic state is generally found to have negative effects on corporate profitability. In particular, we find that the impact of efficient working capital (CCC) on operational profitability increases in economic downturns. We also find that the impact of efficient inventory management and accounts receivables conversion periods, subsets of CCC, on profitability increase in economic downturns.Overall the results indicate that investing in working capital processes and incorporating working capital efficiency into everyday routines is essential for corporate profitability. As a result, firms should include working capital management in their financial planning processes. Additionally, firms generate income and employment. The reduced demand in economic downturns depletes working capital of firms and threatens their stability and, implicitly, their important function as generators of employment and income. National economic policy aimed at boosting cash flows of firms may increase business ability to finance working capital internally, especially during economic down turns.译文营运资金管理对不同商业周期公司盈利能力的影响：证据来自芬兰1.引言本文研究商业周期与营运资本两者之间的联系,流动资产和流动负债之间的区别,以及公司业绩问题。

文献出处：Sunday K J. Effective Working Capital Management in Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs)[J]. International Journal of Business & Management, 2011, 6(9)：271-279.第一部分为译文，第二部分为原文。

默认格式：中文五号宋体，英文五号Times New Roma，行间距1.5倍。

中小企业有效的营运资金管理摘要：中小企业（SME）的主要有效流动资金管理的需求对中小企业的偿付能力和流动性仍然至关重要。

大多数中小企业不关心他们的流动资金状况，大多数人很少考虑到他们的流动资金状况，这些企业大多数都没有标准的信贷政策。

许多人不关心他们的财务状况，他们只是经营，他们主要关注现金收据和他们的银行账户。

本研究使用标准流动资金比率来衡量所选企业的流动资金的有效性，所选择的公司显示过度交易和流动性不足的迹象，关注的是利润最大化，而没有认识到债权人的支付，这些公司的债务回报率低于信贷支付。

建议中小企业在尼日利亚经济中生存下去，必须制定标准的信贷政策，确保良好的财务报告和管理制度，他们必须充分认识到营运资金的管理，以确保连续性，增长和偿付能力。

关键词：中小企业（SME），营运资金管理，流动资金，偿付能力引言中小企业业务仍然是一个国家经济增长和发展最有活力的力量和代理人。

中小企业至少占美国国内生产总值的60％（Ovia，2001年）尼日利亚的中小企业全部在我们周围，只有少数几个中小企业才能成为最受欢迎的企业。

中小企业是几个新兴行业的重大突破。

美国（IT）的大部分突破都是由中小企业推动的。

当时公司是一家小规模企业，由盖茨（Paul Gates）和保罗·艾伦（Paul Allen）于1980年开发的微软磁盘操作系统（MS Dos）在全球拥有约80％的运营成本。

An Analysis of Working Capital Management Resultsacross IndustriesGreg Filbeck and Thomas M. KruegerAbstractFirms are able to reduce financing costs and/or increase the funds available for expansion by minimizing the amount of funds tied up in current assets. We provide insights into the performance of surveyed firms across key components of working capital management by using the CFO magazine’s annual Working Capital Management Survey. We discover that significant differences exist between industries in working capital measures across time. In addition, we discover that these measures for working capital change significantly within industries across time.IntroductionThe importance of efficient working capital management is indisputable. Working capital is the difference between resources in cash or readily convertible into cash (Current Assets) and organizational commitments for which cash will soon be required (Current Liabilities). The objective of working capital management is to maintain the optimum balance of each of the working capital components. Business viability relies on the ability to effectively manage receivables, inventory, and payables. Firms are able to reduce financing costs and/or increase the funds available for expansion by minimizing the amount of funds tied up in current assets. Much managerial effort is expended in bringing non-optimal levels of current assets and liabilities back toward optimal levels. An optimal level would be one in which a balance is achieved between risk and efficiency.A recent example of business attempting to maximize working capital management is the recurrent attention being given to the application of Six Sigma® methodology. Six Sigma® methodologies help companies measure and ensure quality in all areas of the enterprise. When used to identify and rectify discrepancies, inefficiencies and erroneous transactions in the financial supply chain. Six Sigma® reduces Days Sales Outstanding(DSO)，accelerates the payment cycle, improves customer satisfaction and reduces the necessary amount and cost of working capital needs. There appear to be many success stories, including Jennifer Towne’s (2002) report of a 15 percent decrease in days that sales are outstanding, resulting in an increased cash flow of approximately $2 million at Thibodaux Regional Medical Center. Furthermore, bad debts declined from $3.4 million to $600.000. However, Waxer’s (2003) study of multiple firms employing Six Sigma® find s that it is really a “get rich slow” technique with a rate of return hovering in the 1.2 – 4.5 percent range.Even in a business using Six Sigma® methodology, an “optimal” level of working capital management needs to be identified. Industry factors may impact firm credit policy, inventory management and bill-paying activities. Some firms may be better suited to minimize receivables and inventory, while others maximize payables. Another aspect of “optimal” is the extent to which poor financial results can be tied to sub-optimal performance. Fortunately, these issues are testable with data published by CFO magazine, which claims to be the source of “tools and information for the financial executive.” and are the subject of this research.In addition to providing mean and variance values for the working capital measures and the overall metric, two issues will be addressed in this research. One research question is “are firms within a particular industry clustered together at consistent levels of working capi tal measures?” For instance, are firms in one industry able to quickly transfer sales into cash, while firms from another industry tend to have high sales levels for the particular level of inventory. Th e other research question is “D oes working capital management performance for firms within a given industry change from year-to-year?”The following section presents a brief literature review. Next, the research method is described, including some information about the annual Working Capital Management Survey published by CFO magazine. Findings are then presented and conclusions are drawn.Related Literature第2页（共6页）The importance of working capital management is not new to the finance literature. Over twenty years ago, Largay and Stickney (1980) reported that the then-recent bankruptcy of W.T. Grant, a nationwide chain of department stores, should have been anticipated because the corporation had been running a deficit cash flow from operations for eight of the last ten years of its corporate life. As part of a stu dy of the Fortune 500’s financial management practices, Gilbert and Reichert (1995) find that accounts receivable management models are used in 59 percent of these firms to improve working capital projects, while inventory management models were used in 60 percent of the companies. More recently, Farragher, Kleiman and Sahu (1999) find that 55 percent of firms in the S&P Industrial index complete some form of a cash flow assessment, but did not present insights regarding accounts receivable and inventory management, or the variations of any current asset accounts or liability accounts across industries. Thus, mixed evidence exists concerning the use of working capital management techniques.Theoretical determination of optimal trade credit limits are the subject of many articles over the years (e.g. Schwartz 1974; Scherr 1996) with scant attention paid to actual accounts receivable management. Across a limited sample, Weinraub and Visscher (1998) observe a tendency of firms with low levels of current ratios to also have low levels of current liabilities. Simultaneously investigating accounts receivable and payable issues. Hill·Sartoris and Ferguson (1984) find differences in the way payment dates are defined. Payees define the date of payment as the date payment is received, while payors view payment as the postmark date. Additional WCM insight across firms, industries and time can add to this body of research.Maness and Zietlow (2002. 51. 496) presents two models of value creation that incorporate effective short-term financial management activities. However, these models are generic models and do not consider unique firm or industry influences. Maness and Zietlow discuss industry influences in a short paragraph that includes the observation that “An industry a company is located in may have more influence on that company’s fortunes than ov erall GNP” (2002. 507). In fact, a careful review of this 627-page textbook finds only sporadic information on actual firm levels of WCM dimensions, virtually nothing on第3页（共6页）industry factors except for some boxed items with titles such as “Should a Retailer Offer an In-House Credit Card” (128) and nothing on WCM stability over time. This researchwill attempt to fill this void by investigating patterns related to working capital measures within industries and illustrate differences between industries across time.An extensive survey of library and Internet resources provided very few recent reports about working capital management. The most relevant set of articles was Weisel and Bradley’s (2003) article on cash flow management and one of inventory control as a result of effective supply chain management by Hadley (2004).Research MethodThe first annual CFO Working Capital Survey, a joint project with REL Consultancy Group, was published in the June 1997 issue of CFO (Mintz and Lezere 1997). REL is a London, England-based management consulting firm specializing in working capital issues for its global list of clients. The original survey reports several working capital benchmarks for public companies using data for 1996. Each company is ranked against its peers and also against the entire field of 1000 companies. REL continues to update the original information on an annual basis.REL uses the “cash flow from operations” value l ocated on firm cash flow statements to estimate cash conversion efficiency (CCE). This value indicates how well a company transforms revenues into cash flow. A “days of working capital” (DWC) value is based on the dollar amount in each of the aggregate, equally-weighted receivables, inventory and payables accounts. T he “days of working capital” (D WC) represents the time period between purchases of inventory on account from vendor until the sale to the customer, the collection of the receivables and payment receipt. Thus, it reflects the company’s ability to finance its core operations with vendor credit. A detailed investigation of WCM is possible because CFO also provides firm and industry values for days sales outstanding (A/R), inventory turnover and days payables outstanding (A/P).Research Findings：Average and Annual Working Capital Management Performance Working capital management component definitions and average values for the entire 1996 – 2000 period. Across the nearly 1.000 firms in the survey, cash flow from operations,第4页（共6页）defined as cash flow from operations divided by sales and referred to as “ca sh conversion efficiency” (CCE). Averages 9.0 percent. Incorporating a 95 percent confidence interval, CCE ranges from 5.6 percent to 12.4 percent. The day’s working capital (DWC), defined as the sum of receivables and inventories less payables divided by daily sales, averages 51.8 days and is very similar to the days that sales are outstanding (50.6). Because the inventory turnover rate (once every 32.0 days) is similar to the number of days that payables are outstanding (32.4 days). In all instances, the standard deviation is relatively small, suggesting that these working capital management variables are consistent across CFO reports.Industry Rankings on Overall Working Capital Management Performance CFO magazine provides an overall working capital ranking for firms in its survey, using the following equation: Industry-based differences in overall working capital management are presented for the twenty-six industries that had at least eight companies included in the rankings each year. In the typical year, CFO magazine ranks 970 companies during this period. Industries are listed in order of the mean overall CFO ranking of working capital performance. Since the best average ranking possible for an eight-company industry is 4.5 (this assumes that the eight companies are ranked one through eight for the entire survey). It is quite obvious that all firms in the petroleum industry must have been receiving very high overall working capital management rankings. In fact, the petroleum industry is ranked first in CCE and third in DWC (as illustrated in Table 5 and discussed later in this paper). Furthermore, the petroleum industry had the lowest standard deviation of working capital rankings and range of working capital rankings. The only other industry with a mean overall ranking less than 100 was the Electric & Gas Utility industry, which ranked second in CCE and fourth in DWC. The two industries with the worst working capital rankings were Textiles and Apparel. Textiles rank twenty-second in CCE and twenty-sixth in DWC. The apparel industry ranks twenty-third and twenty-fourth in the two working capital measuresConclusions第5页（共6页）The research presented here is based on the annual ratings of working capital management published in CFO magazine. Our findings indicate a consistency in how industries “stack up” against each other over time with respect to the working capita l measures. However, the working capital measures themselves are not static (i.e. averages of working capital measures across all firms change annually); our results indicate significant movements across our entire sample over time. Our findings are important because they provide insight to working capital performance across time and on working capital management across industries. These changes may be in explained in part by macroeconomic factors. Changes in interest rates, rate of innovation and competition are likely to impact working capital management. As interest rates rise, there would be less desire to make payments early, which would stretch accounts payable, accounts receivable and cash accounts.The ramifications of this study include the finding of distinct levels of WCM measures for different industries, which tend to be stable over time. Many factors help to explain this discovery. The improving economy during the period of the study may have resulted in improved turnover in some industries, while slowing turnover may have been a signal of troubles ahead. Our results should be interpreted cautiously. Our study takes places over a short time frame during a generally improving market. In addition, the survey suffers from survivorship bias – only the top firms within each industry are ranked each year and the composition of those firms within the industry can change annually.Further research may take one of two lines. First, there could be a study of whether stock prices respond to CFO magazine’s publication of working cap ital management ratings. Second, there could be a study of which, if any, of the working capital management components relate to share price performance. Given our results, these studies need to take industry membership into consideration when estimating stock price reaction to working capital management performance.第6页（共6页）。