Introduction
Cash is quite important in global corporate finance since it reveals both the company’s and the shareholders ability to meet their immediate and long term financial obligations. In today’s chaotic and volatile financial world business enterprises and investors have to ensure they have enough cash to fund their working capital necessities invest in various opportunities and control risks.
Actually cash is the most liquid form of an asset which can be converted to cash quickly with minimum cost which means that cash is very important in the short run as well as in the long run. This article gives a comprehensive insight into the subject of cash holding with regard to its significance causes advantages and disadvantages of management in corporate finance.
Role of Cash in Firms Finance
Cash holdings are critical for several reasons
Operational Liquidity
Companies require money for the operation which includes the payment of employee wages acquisition of raw materials and the payment of other short term expenses. This may lead to liquidity problems firms with low cash balances might experience financial problems which sometimes would culminate into insolvency.
Financial Flexibility
Having cash on hand allows firms to be ready for a change in market situations or in the overall macro environment such as changes in demand economic fluctuations or even the existence of pandemics as has been seen in the COVID19 situation. Businesses with sufficient cash supply security can better ensure the financial crises more so than a business with limited liquid assets.
Investment Opportunities
A large number of businesses have small cash reserves which can be beneficial in great investment opportunities including mergers and acquisitions forming strategic partnerships or capital expenditure that contributes to business development in the long run. Cash enables organisations to prepare for these opportunities and seize them spectacularly within short notice mostly without requiring a financial injection from other sources.
Debt Service
Cash resources can also be useful in paying a company’s debt and preventing the possibility of default. It can be used to satisfy the interest or repay the outstanding amount on the loans thus enhancing the credit rating of the company and reducing capital costs.
Risk Management
Working capital is also useful for hedging several possible financial risks such as possible movements in the interest rate changes in the exchange rate or even conditions within the domestic economy. It may also have the added advantage of minimising the risk from external financing and the ability to lessen a firm’s reliance on the capriciousness of the financial market.
Determinants of Cash Holdings
The following are factors that determine the quantity of cash that a company holds internal factors and external factors. These determinants are industry and region specific yet most commonly they encompass firm specific macroeconomic factors and those concerning the financial markets.
Firm Specific Characteristics
Firm Size
Thus larger firms tend to have a smaller ratio of cash to total assets because they have greater capability to access capital markets. Thus they have easier access to funds. Larger firms therefore invested less in cash in order to manage risks since it is easier to access internal funds than to approach the external market for funding.
Profitability
More profitable firms have more internal cash flows which makes them able to build up cash reserves. Larger cash reserves may also be maintained by more profitable firms so that they can be used for reinvestment in new projects or to pay cash to shareholders in the form of dividends or share repurchases.
Investment Opportunities
Academic literature also shows there is a positive association between growth opportunities and investment requirements such as R&D where firms with more investment in R&D will have more cash. These companies require cash inflows to be used in future expansionary ventures and for exploiting business opportunities without having to rely on Investors or other sources of funds.
Leverage
Leverage firms tend to carry more cash on their balance sheets to enable them to meet interest payments and mitigate the risks of a default. However low cash might be more frequent in highly leveraged firms if they need to pay out debt or face problems with cash flow management.
Dividend Policy
Companies that have a policy of returning cash to the shareholders in the form of dividends or buybacks may comprise a lower amount of cash as they pass back some of the profits. That said firms that adhere to less generous dividend policies might retain larger amounts of cash.
Capital Expenditures
Companies with huge capital investments that operate in industries such as manufacturing energy or technology need more cash to finance their capital investments. This is especially the case with firms that provide long term finance for longterm and huge investments that cannot be financed through short term debt.
External Factors
Macroeconomic Conditions
It is evident that the broader economy has a relative influence on the amount of cash that is held by the business. When firms operate under conditions of uncertainty or during a recession they may keep more money in their coffers. On the other hand during economic prosperity the cash reserves may be decreased in order to fund various growth strategies.
Interest Rates
The interest rate on the one hand determines the cost of borrowing while on the other hand it determines the returns on cash holdings. In low interest rate environments the opportunity cost of holding cash is lower and therefore companies might embrace them. On the other hand in high interest rate environments a firm uses the excess cash to invest in higher return earning assets or to pay off debts with the aim of minimising interest costs.
Market Volatility
The financial markets may come up as a reason as to why some companies have made alterations to their amounts of cash. In situations such as when capital markets get unstable the firms will be in a position to hold more cash as a form of insurance against situations where they might flood in short of liquidity or face some form of interruptions when it comes to financing.
Other factors that affect cash holding include tax policies financial regulations and industry specific regulations where the firm operates. For instance firms may want to build up their cash balance in view of fluctuations in corporate taxation or to meet regulatory agencies capital adequacy ratios.
Industry Specific Factors
Industry Cyclicality Companies in cyclical industries including construction automobile or consumer products industries may for instance retain more cash in their business. These firms require enough cash balance during these periods of decrease in revenues for them to be able to operate effectively.
Technological Intensity
Holders of more cash are usually companies in technology or R&D intensive industries since such businesses call for a lot of preliminary spending as well and the prospects of a project are inconclusive. These firms also require ample liquidity to fund the growth research and development and patenting of their products.
Theories Behind Cash Holdings
Various theories provide reasons in relation to corporate reasons for holding cash and each theory gives differential information on what factors determine the amount of cash that a firm should hold. There are three main finance theories the tradeoff theory the pecking order theory and the free cash flow theory.
TradeOff Theory
The tradeoff theory on the other hand affirms that companies have to decide on the best amount of cash and they should keep taking into consideration the pros and cons of doing so. On the one hand cash is a source of funds that is easily portable flexible and acts as firms insurance against financial troubles. That way holding too much cash causes firms to forego possible returns that they can get from investing in better yielding assets or paying out the excess cash as dividends.
According to the tradeoff theory the optimal amount of cash to be held is that for which the marginal benefits of holding an extra dollar say enhanced financial flexibility are equal to the marginal cost of reduced returns or high agency costs.
Pecking Order Theory
The pecking order theory proposed by Myers and Majluf in 1984 posits that firm’s sources of financing are ranked with internal financing taking precedence over external financing be it debt or equity. This theory avers that cash is kept in the balance to curb the costs endemic to external financing for example transaction costs and interests among other costs such as dilution of control.
This means that on the basis of the pecking order theory firms with high internal cash flows will retain more cash than the firms with restricted internal funds available and the latter will have more debt or equity finance. Consequently cash reserves play the role of a shock absorber firms use it to fund investments thus avoiding expensive external financing.
Free Cash Flow Theory
On this account the free cash flow theory advanced by Jensen in 1986 postulates that management might retain more cash to undertake self indulgent projects instead of promoting shareholders wealth. Allying with this theory companies with a high free cash flow (i.e. volatile cash flow in excess of needed funds for investment in fixed assets) may decide to conserve this cash for management related perks for instance empire building or over remunerations.
According to the free cash flow theory free cash flows are likely to cause agency issues because managers may engage in value reducing exercises by using excess cash balances. To manage agency costs firms may put in place some controls known as governance structures or else pay out excess cash through dividends or share repurchases.
Advantages & Disadvantages of Cash Management
However as we have seen earlier holding cash has its benefits but it also has benefits at a cost. Corporate management needs to look at the management of cash balances with a lot of scrutiny to establish where to get the correct balance between being liquid and being profitable.
Benefits of Holding Cash
Liquidity Cash gives the firm a bargaining power to pay current liabilities and can also be used to cater for such additional costs that are not anticipated when making business decisions or taking opportunities that may arise in the short term in the business.
Financial Flexibility
Cash is a very useful component for corporations because it helps firms respond to the changes in the business environment invest in promising opportunities and mitigate financial risks. The most important thing is the flexibility that it provides in periods of economic insecurity and fluctuation.
Risk Mitigation
Inventorying cash also allows a firm to avoid dependence on capital markets and consequently lower the risks associated with changes in capital markets interest rates and currency exchange rates.
Lower Financing Costs
Depending on cash position firms can save a number of costs linked with external financing for instance underwriting fees interests and even degradation of equity ownership.
Improved Creditworthiness
Firms with greater cash balances are considered to be less risky than firms with low balances by lenders and investors. This can result in reduced borrowing costs and improved credit within future credit markets.
Costs of Holding Cash
Opportunity Cost Cash has costs of opportunity and this is because firms forgo the cost of returns which would have been generated if cash was invested in higher yielding securities or other projects. Again suppose low interest rates characterise the external environment. In that case the opportunity cost of holding cash is modest while if high interest rates characterise the environment the cost is high.
Agency Costs
Too much cash depreciates the concept of the agency since the managers on the right side of the table end up using the excess cash for their projects or deals. This can therefore lead to improper capital allocation and hence damage the shareholder value.
Inflation Erosion
However one has to note that cash holdings are generally subject to an inflation risk because the purchasing power of money fades as time passes. Therefore firms need to consider inflation when deciding the appropriate level of cash they need to hold.
Tax Inefficiencies
There is also a tax disadvantage since large amounts of cash may be deposited in hence foreign subsidiaries to avoid repatriation taxes. This can lead to the money being locked up abroad and the firm is not able to employ it for domestic investment or distribution among shareholders.
Cash Management Strategies
Efficient management of cash is critical towards maximising cash balances and ensuring the availability of sufficient cash to firms in their operations and key strategic initiatives. Cash management consists of keeping track of cash receipts and cash disbursements predicting future cash requirements and making decisions on the use of surplus cash.
Several strategies can help firms optimise their cash holdings
Cash Flow Forecasting
Cash flow projections play a very important role in letting firms know the amount of cash they should hold so as to honour their financial commitments and undertake new value added investments. It is done by using historical records of past cash flows and predicting future cash flows thus managing cash reserves in light of such records.
Cash Concentration
The concentration of cash is a process of consolidation of cash from one or many accounts subsidiaries in an account. This makes it possible for firms to conveniently store all their cash balances minimize balances that may not be productively used and enhance liquidity management.
Cash Investment
When they identify that they have too much cash they can take this surplus and invest it in some other short term and highly liquid instruments that will be able to earn a decent amount of return while at the same time conserving capital. Some of the instruments that can be bought through cash include money market funds and short term Treasury bills.
Currency Hedging
Companies that have investments in several countries or those that have foreign exchange risk factors use currency options to offset risks accruing from holding cash in different currency denominations. It may include dealing with such values utilising different kinds of derivatives depending on the power of a currency such as forward contracts or options.
Dividend and Share Buyback Programs
Companies with cash can decide to pay back shareholders either through dividends or share buybacks. Such measures can be useful in the management of cash reserves and the shareholders/investors incentives as well as the enhancement of capital utilisation.
Current Industrial Observations of Corporate Cash
Over the last decade corporate cash holdings have been shaped by several major trends including changes in tax regulations changes in technology and the COVID19 pandemic.
Increase of Cash Stock
Technology players especially large ones like Apple Google and Microsoft among others have over the recent past held large amounts of cash. These firms have high free cash flow in their primary business activities and have enough cash reserves to finance research and development activities acquisitions and other strategic initiatives.
Significantly the level of cash holdings in the technology sector has increased and there is a question of the efficiency of capital and returns to shareholders. Some investors believe that firms in the technology industry should pay shareholders a greater amount of profits by paying them dividends or repurchasing some of their shares. In contrast others believe that they should retain more cash to support their growth.
Impact of Tax Reform
The U. S. Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 affects cash holdings in the following ways:
It is the reduction of the corporate tax rate which allows firms to repatriate foreign earnings at a lower tax. Thus many multinationals invested overseas cash by transferring it back to their home country for the purpose of share buybacks dividend distribution debt rolls and capital investments.
The general trend that emerged from the tax reform was the reduction in local cash for some firms especially for those with a lot of trapped overseas cash. However other companies have remained focused on accumulating cash reserves and this is prevalent in environments with a high level of uncertainty or fluctuating demand.
COVID19 Pandemic and Cash Reserve Situations
The increase in cash holdings was observed especially during the COVID19 pandemic as the companies were disrupted in their operations supplies and revenue sources. Across industries the companies sought ways of financing their operations and balance sheets sought funds through every available method of credit new debts and shove costs to stand a chance at maintaining their working capital.
COVID19 highlighted the significance of cash in having the firm prepared to formulate future shocks due to these firms having shifted towards reconsidering their cash management practices. Therefore some organisations have less aggressive cash policies which improve their cash cushion in a bid to prepare for future shocks.
Conclusion
Cash resources are one of the basic tools of corporate finance supplying the companies with ready money and variability. Thus holding cash has its advantages such as enhanced risk control and lower financing costs though it has its weaknesses such as the cost of foregone profits and agency costs.
Companies are therefore faced with trade offs when it comes to cash holding since this has implications on the firm’s profitability overall growth leverage and macro factors. Basically cash management refers to the best way for a firm to manage its cash reserves in a way that can adequately meet its existing and future obligations most effectively. The best management of cash in an organisation can enable the firm to replenish its supplies pursue better investment opportunities and offer maximum returns to the shareholders.