Ch.19 – short-term financing is concerned w/ the analysis of decisions that affect CA & CL (Networking capital=CA-CL) *Short term financial management is called working capital management * The most important difference btwn short-term and long-term is the timing of the cash flows (short term – cash inflows and outflows within a year or less) * Cash = LT – debt + Equity + CL - CA other than cash – Fixed Assets ⇒activities that increase cash: 1.  long term debt 2.  equity (selling some stock) 3.  CL 4.  CA other than cash (selling some inventory for cash) 5.  fixed assets (selling some property). * Activities that decrease cash (opposite of above) * Operating Cycle – the period between the acquisition of inventory and the collection of cash from receivables. 1. Inventory period – the time it takes to acquire and sell inventory. 2. Accounts receivable period – The time between sale of inventory and collection of receivables. (Operating cycle = Inventory Period + Accounts Receivable Period) * The operating cycle describes how a product moves through the CA accounts moving closer to cash. * Accounts Payable Period – The time btwn receipt of inventory & payment for it. *Cash Cycle – The time btwn cash disbursement and cash collection. The Cash Cycle is the number of days that pass before we collect the cash from a sale, measured from when we actually pay for the inventory. (Cash Cycle = Operating Cycle – Accounts Payable Period) * Cash Flow Timeline - A graphical representation of the operating cycle and the cash cycle. * The operating cycle is the period from inventory purchase until the receipt of cash. It may not include the time from placement of the order until arrival of the stock. The cash cycle is the period from when the cash is paid out to when the cash is received. * The gap btwn short term inflows & outflows can be filled either by borrowing or by