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Financial Flexibility

Moneyzine Editor
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Moneyzine Editor
1 mins
January 18th, 2024
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Financial Flexibility

Definition

The accounting term financial flexibility is used to describe a company's ability to react to unexpected expenses and investment opportunities. Financial flexibility is usually assessed by examining the company's use of leverage as well as cash holdings.

Explanation

Companies with superior financial flexibility are both able to survive tough economic times as well as take advantage of unexpected investment opportunities. Companies that are unable to respond adequately to unforeseen setbacks may lack the resources to survive longer-term economic downturns.

While the exact measure of financial flexibility may vary among analysts and investors, universally accepted categories of flexibility include:

  • Leverage: the use of debt to increase the total profits returned to the company's equity holders.

  • Cash Holdings: includes paper money, coins, checks, money orders, and money on deposit with banks.

The most common measures of leverage include:

Debt Ratio = Total Liabilities / Total Assets

Debt to Equity = Total Liabilities / Owner's Equity

As the above ratios increase, the risk associated with financial hardships grows. High ratios can also limit the company's ability to borrow, thereby lowering the company's financial flexibility. When drawing conclusions about the relative performance or risk of a company, benchmark comparisons should be made with competitors in the same industry

Related Terms

  • Leverage
    The financial term leverage refers to the use of debt to increase the total profits returned to the company's equity holders.
    Moneyzine Editor
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  • Cash
    As it applies to the accounting discipline, cash includes paper money, coins, checks, money orders, and money on deposit with banks. In general, an item is classified as cash if a bank will accept it for deposit.
    Moneyzine Editor
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  • The debt ratio is a simple indicator of the leverage used by a company. The debt ratio measures the proportion of the total assets that are financed by debt, and not by stockholders.
    Moneyzine Editor
    Moneyzine Editor
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  • Debt to Equity Ratio
    The debt to equity ratio is an indicator of the leverage used by a company. The debt to equity ratio is considered a more stringent measure than the related debt ratio, since this metric tells the analyst how much debt is used to finance the company's assets relative to equity.
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    Moneyzine Editor
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  • Assets
    The accounting term used to describe an economic resource, which is owned by the corporation and expected to provide future benefits to its operation, is asset. Appearing on the balance sheet, assets are typically broken down into two categories:
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  • Liabilities
    The financial accounting term liability is used to describe the debt of a corporation that results from a transaction involving the transfer of an asset or the provision of a service. Liabilities are reported on a company's balance sheet.
    Moneyzine Editor
    Moneyzine Editor
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