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Research Originality: This study investigates the relationship between inventory management and profitability within the textiles industry in Bangladesh, emphasizing the key factors that significantly enhance the industry's profitability. Research Objectives: This analysis investigates how various factors, including total assets, total equity, total revenue, share capital, retained earnings, finished items, work in progress, and raw materials, impact profit after tax (PAT). Research Methods: The data spans from 2011 to 2023 and encompasses 46 textile companies listed on the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE). To conduct this study, different models like Pooled Ordinary Least Square (POLS), Second Stage Least Square (2SLS), Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) are utilized. Empirical Results: Through the application of techniques including Pooled Ordinary Least Squares (POLS), Two-Stage Least Squares (2SLS), and the Generalized Method of Moments (GMM), we have established that total assets exhibit a significant negative correlation with PAT in both the POLS and 2SLS models. On the other hand, there is a notable positive correlation between total revenue and retained earnings on PAT across all 2SLS, POLS, and GMM models. The share capital shows a negative correlation with PAT in all three models: 2SLS, POLS, and GMM. The main independent variable, which is our fundamental focus, shows that finished goods have a positive correlation with PAT; however, this correlation lacks significance. The raw materials exhibited a negative correlation with PAT, and this relationship is significant. The correlation between Packing Materials and PAT is notably positive. This study highlights the importance of strategies that could facilitate sustainable growth in the textile industry.

This paper searches the impact of trade credit on firms’ performance in 15 sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries. In particular, we also examine whether trade credit can advance in an environment of higher financial inclusion rate. We achieve this by using a fixed effect estimation model and solving endogeneity by GMM and IV-2SLS methods by utilizing firm level data from the Bloomberg terminal from 2010 to 2023. Baseline results summarize that firm performance grows with the level of trade credit finance. We find a firm’s industry and SSA blocs heterogeneity the trade credit-firm performance nexus. Additionally, financial inclusion alone is positive and when interacted with trade credit it becomes significant. The major implication among others is that trade credit facilitates more firm performance in a situation of higher financial inclusion level.

The coal industry in Indonesia is a capital-intensive sector characterized by long operating cycles and high dependence on global commodity price fluctuations. These conditions create substantial liquidity needs, making efficient working capital management crucial. This study aims to examine the effect of Supply Chain Finance (SCF) on firm performance in Indonesia’s coal production sub-industry. SCF in this study is measured using the Cash Conversion Cycle (CCC) and its components, Days Sales Outstanding (DSO), Days Inventory Outstanding (DIO), and Days Payable Outstanding (DPO). Firm performance is proxied by Return on Assets (ROA), while the control variables include firm size (SIZE), leverage (LEV), and sales growth (SALEG). The main hypothesis proposes that SCF has a positive effect on firm performance. This research employs secondary data from 19 coal production companies listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX) during the 2020-2024 period. The analysis is conducted using panel data regression with the Random Effect Model (REM) approach, estimated through the Generalized Least Square (XTGLS) method.The results show that SCF has no significant effect on firm performance, while leverage (LEV) and sales growth (SALEG) have a negative and significant effect. The coefficient of determination (R²) of 27.06% indicates that the model explains 27.06% of the variation in firm performance. These findings suggest that SCF efficiency in the coal industry does not directly enhance profitability, likely due to the long cash conversion cycle and high capital requirements inherent in this sector.

This paper aims to analyse the challenges and outcomes of “selling-to-finish” by small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in South Africa. “Selling-to-finish” is a global problem that threatens SMEs everywhere. It entails an unconventional business strategy that deviates from the main goal of most businesses, which is to make profit. In South Africa, “selling-to-finish” in SMEs has a detrimental effect on the country’s economic development, growth, and efforts to combat poverty. The misunderstanding of “selling-to-finish” hinders the growth of SMEs. This is because SME owenrs mistakenly believe that having more clients who buy products and service equates to selling for a profit without doing the necessary calculations. “Selling-to-finish” puts at risk not only the expansion and advancement of SMEs but also the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 1, which is to eradicate poverty and National Development Plan (NDP) vision 2030, which is to build a good economy and provides employment to all citizens. This chapter employed a desktop-based qualitative research. The paper argues that improper application of selling-to-finish causes major downfall of SMEs in South Africa. It found that the achievement of economic growth, development, and poverty reduction is seriously jeopardized by “selling-to-finish” in SMEs. As a result of “selling-to-finish”, SMEs face difficulties such as financial unsustainability, cash flow problems, decreased investment capacity, and competitive disadvantage. It recommends that SME owners should prepare well-informed monthly, quarterly, or annual cash flow statements. It goes on to advise SMEs to contract with outside firms to ensure that their cash flow figures are accurately prepared.

As the 3D printing industry continues to gain momentum in South Africa's SME sector, issues about their financing and financial management need to be investigated. This is due to the capital-intensive nature of the business as well as the financing challenges encountered by 3D printing SMMEs. This study aimed to contribute to research on financial management practices and sources of finance as predictors of performance for 3D printing small and medium enterprises (SMMEs) in terms of profitability and increase in client base. The study adopted the interpretivist research paradigm, exploratory research design, inductive research approach and qualitative research method to achieve the objectives of the study. A total of twenty (20) 3D printing firms participated in the study. Employees and managers were purposefully selected to participate in the study. The participants comprised finance managers, senior managers and managers of the twenty (20) 3D printing firms that participated in the study. Structured interviews served as the instrument for data collection based on the objectives of the study. Data gathered from interviews were transcribed and analysed using thematic analysis. The study revealed that effective working capital management practices boost the profitability of 3D printing SMMEs, particularly through adopting no-credit policies and hiring competent finance officers. These practices also help expand the client base by ensuring timely delivery of products and services, with customer relationship management being a strategic approach. The study also revealed that liquidity management practices significantly boost the profitability of 3D printing firms by ensuring sufficient cash flow to meet financial obligations, managing financial risks, and ensuring timely product delivery, thereby enhancing customer satisfaction and contributing to growth in the customer base. The study recommends the need for 3D printing SMMEs to prioritise cash flow management and develop robust systems to monitor and control working capital components, including inventory, receivables, and payables.  

Given the critical role of financial characteristics in determining Micro and Small Enterprises (MSEs’) access to debt finance, it is essential to understand how these characteristics influence lending decisions, particularly from a developing market context. This study aims to examine the key financial characteristics that significantly influence MSEs’ ability to access debt finance. Using systematic sampling technique, we collect data from 171 Ghanaian MSEs that are registered with Ghana Enterprise Agency. The data was analyzed using SPSS linear regression version 24. The result shows financial management experience and profitability as the significant financial characteristics that influence MSEs ability to access debt finance. The result further shows that equity structure and financial statement have negative significant influence on MSEs ability to access debt finance. Asset tangibility, liquidity, debt service coverage ratio, and working capital has no significant influence on MSEs’ access to debt financing.

This study examines the correlation between inventory and accounts payable management and the profitability of construction companies listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE). The annual financial statements of all 13 listed construction businesses from 2009 to 2019, including statements of financial position and financial performance, were obtained from an external database for statistical analysis. The study employed multiple linear regression to assess the impact of working capital management on the financial performance of construction companies listed on the JSE. Additionally, a correlation model was utilised to investigate any potential relationships among the variables being examined. The study's findings indicate that the management of working capital has a notable impact on the profitability of construction companies listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) in South Africa. Despite contradicting findings from other studies that support the opposite conclusion, this study demonstrates that effective management of working capital does not necessarily lead to a positive relationship with financial performance for financial managers of construction companies. Therefore, it is crucial to consider other aspects of management in addition to working capital.

Cash(liquidity) management is at the heart of a firm’s financial management. It is a silver lining between the bankruptcy and the success story of a company. Therefore, this study intends to contribute some insights into cash management practices and how firms can use them to achieve sound financial performance. This study provides a comprehensive literature review on existing theories and cash management practices that are useful in decision making. After the analysis of the available literature, the study highlights important theories including trade-off theory (TOT), transaction model, precautionary measures, financial hierarchy, and cash flow theory. Furthermore, management practices such as stochastic cash management model, speeding up cash collections, centralization & decentralization of management, asset portfolio diversification, and cash disbursement are discussed.  The study suggests that a sound financial performance can be achieved through a hybrid approach and through adaptation and embracing innovations in cash management systems.

Collapse of companies in Kenya has been on the rise in the recent past. Far reaching endeavors to resuscitate these liquidating and ailing firms have generally been attributed on their corporate financial management decisions.  Multinationals and KTDA managed tea firms in Kenya have been performing poorly in the recent past where audited financial statements and reports revealed a warning signal on its financial performance. Specific objectives of the study were to determine the effect of the accounts receivables period, accounts payables period, inventory conversion period, cash conversion cycle, financing policy, investing policy and moderating effect of ownership structure on financial performance. The study illustrated that accounts receivables collection period is negatively related to return on assets (? = -0.1299, p=0.0160),  accounts payables payment period is negatively related to return on assets (? = -0.0843, p = 0.0070), inventory conversion period is negatively related to return on assets (?= -0.0623, p=0.0180), cash conversion cycle is negatively related to return on assets (? = -0.1107, p = 0.0030), financing policy is positively related to return on assets (? = 0.1589, p = 0.0000), investing policy is positively related to return on assets (? = 0.0291, p = 0.0000).

This study examines the effect of working capital management on the financial performance of Non-financial companies quoted on the Nigerian Stock Exchange over the period 2014 – 2018 while using a panel research design. This work is unique because it considers a sample of 71 companies drawn from all the 10 non-financial sectors of the NSE. Unlike most extant studies, financial performance was captured by earnings per share as a proxy, while the right-hand side variable being working capital management was denominated by Accounts receivable period, Inventory turnover period, and Accounts payable period. This study also considered the effect of some control variables namely annual capital expenditure, age of firm, GDP,  firm size, growth of the company, and firm leverage on EPS.  Data were retrieved from the Nigerian Stock Exchange 2019 Factbook. The model estimation technique adopted was the Pooled Ordinary Least Squares, fixed effect, and random-effect methods. Results from this study are consistent with the theoretical position that all aspects of working capital management have a significant effect on financial performance. While ITP and ACP were negatively related to EPS, APP was found to have a positive relationship with EPS. The research results also reveal that although all the control variables were found to be significant, only the age of the firm was deemed to be positively related to EPS. Based on the findings, the research recommends that firms should focus their managerial attention on lowering their ITP and ACP while increasing their APP, as results indicate that management of these elements of working capital can translate into liquidity and higher profitability.  

This paper examined the effect of working capital management practices on the operational performance of selected supermarkets with the national network in Kenya focusing on inventory and creditors’ management as well as receivables and liquidity practices. The paper was pegged on Agency Theory, Iceberg Theory of Money Management and Cash Management Theory. Guided by descriptive research design, 52 branch managers were sampled from four major supermarkets using both the stratified and random sampling methods. Data were analyzed using both descriptive and inferential statistical analysis. Findings revealed that inventory and creditors management practices had a very low effect on the operational performance of supermarkets in Kenya. The study, therefore, recommends that supermarkets should introduce a system where managers are fully equipped with working capital management skills. This should be done continuously to prevent the occurrence of severe liquidity challenges which have witnessed in the past.

This study examines the relationship between the working capital management practices and sustainability of Barangay Micro Business Enterprises (BMBEs) in Ilocos Norte, Philippines. This study employed a correlational-descriptive research design. Data were gathered using a self-constructed questionnaire, which has been pre-tested to 30 other microenterprises and validated using Cronbach alpha. The participants were the owners of the 301 registered BMBEs in Ilocos Norte. This study was conducted from July to December 2020. The findings demonstrated that most of the BMBEs belong to the wholesale and retail trade sector, are registered as single proprietorships, and have no employees. The results also showed that the BMBEs have low economic, social, and environmental sustainability. Moreover, the study revealed that cash management was significantly related to economic and social sustainability, while accounts receivable and inventory management were significantly related to economic, social, and environmental sustainability.

Short-term debt is regarded as an important source of financing for Small and Medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). This is because it can be easily accessed and useful during times of emergent working capital shortage. However, short-term debt is the least researched among the components of capital structure, which explains why its contribution to the financial performance of small and medium-sized businesses still lacks empirical validation especially in the Ugandan context. This paper sought to determine the effect of short-term debt on financial performance of Small and Medium Enterprises in Uganda. The study adopted a descriptive cross-sectional research design to collect and analyse the data. Stratified random sampling technique was used to select SMEs while purposive sampling technique was used to select one key respondent from each of the sampled 453 SMEs in Uganda. Primary data was collected using survey questionnaire. Data was analysed using descriptive statistics and simple linear regression analysis. The findings indicted that short-term debt had a negative and significant effect on financial performance of SMEs as measured by return on assets. The study provides empirical evidence to support the propositions in the extant literature that short-term debt significantly hampers financial performance of SMEs. The study recommends that SMEs should adopt low cost operation procedures to improve profitability. This would lead to accumulated profits that can be used for investment purposes as a means of driving growth among the SMEs without resorting to borrowing. This paper suggests that further research should be conducted to establish the justification for the negative and significant effect of short-term debt on financial performance using qualitative approaches.

This research aims to analyze the impact of efficient working capital management on the profitability of the manufacturing firm in Bangladesh. Fifty-two manufacturing companies listed with Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) have been selected randomly from 2012 to 2017. Return on Assets (ROA) and Return on Equity (ROE) are used as indicators of profitability, while the inventory conversion period (ICP), the average collection period (ACP), the average payment period (APP), and the Cash Conversion Cycle (CCC) are used as the independent variables which are used as a measurement of working capital management of the firm. Ordinary Least Squares regression models and Pearson's Correlation are used to establish the relationship between working capital management and profitability. The results revealed a significant negative relation between ROA and CCC, ACP; a significant negative relationship exists between ROE and CCC, APP. Manufacturing companies can increase profitability by decreasing the cash conversion cycle, average payment period, and average collection period. It also revealed that ICP is also positively related to ROA and ROE. Therefore, this research concludes that efficiently and effectively managing working capital is very important for increasing manufacturing companies' profitability.

The study investigated the whether the default measures of liquidity and solvency are associated and whether default measures are related to firm profitability. A total of 41 firms were selected to be in the study sample out of 46 non-financial listed firms in the Nairobi Securities Exchange during years 2013 to 2017 and panel data regression analysis was employed. The findings revealed that liquidity and solvency are significantly and negatively associated while the default measures lacked a significant relationship with profitability in Kenyan listed companies. The findings implied that there is no need for firms to focus too much on the relationship between default and profitability including invest heavily in liquidity in order to meet short term obligations as nowadays it is possible for firms to either convert non-cash assets quickly or borrow on short notice from financial institutions in case of an urgent need to meet liquidity shortages. These findings are consistent with the shitability theory.

The financial system and capital market in developed countries are more developed as compare to emerging countries. Firms like small and medium enterprise (SMEs) needs finance to operate their business and make a competitive position in the market. In an emerging country like Pakistan, SMEs face a lot of financial and non-financial obstacles that may relate to the poor performance of SMEs. This study investigates the relationship between commercial loans, retain earnings, trade credit, managerial activities, and SME's performance. This study also investigates the interaction effect of managerial activities between independent variables and dependent variables.  A survey was conducted in a small and medium enterprise of KPK Pakistan. Data were collected from 362 employees. SPSS (Statistical Package for the Social Sciences) software was employed for data analysis for descriptive and regression analysis. The finding confirmed that commercial loans, trade credit, retained earning have a positive and significant impact upon SME's performance. It is also found that managerial activities have played a mediating role and increased the performance of SMEs. Among variables under study, the more trade credit activities, the higher the performance of the SMEs is observed. Based on this study's results, Leaders, supervisors, and managers are those employees having a substantial role in the performance, development, failure, and success of an organization. Managerial activities are vital for a manager for the purpose to know what should be done in different circumstances and improve overall performance and accomplish organizational goals.

This paper observes the impact of working capital management on profitability of industrial sector in Iraq. Four companies based in Iraq namely: Iraqi Date processing, Iraqi carton manufactories, Baghdad soft drinks and Iraqi for tufted carpets randomly selected and analyzed for the present study over the period 2007 to 2016.  Annual reports of these companies have been studied and significant ratios calculated. The variables that were identified as independent for working capital were, current ratio and quick ratio, while return on equity ROE as dependent variable for profitability. The Ordinary Least Square (OLS) model used to examine the impact of working capital management on profitability. Results indicate that ROE is positively related with working capital variables.

This paper studied how Zoomlion Company Limited manages its accounts receivables. Based on multiple linear regression analysis, Kendall coefficient of concordance and One sample t-test, the result shows effective credit control systems by the company. However, poor monitoring and lack of effective follow up measures were the key challenges to debt management. The paper recommend stricter adherence to the credit policy and vigorously pursued effective recovery strategies and further prescribed best practices in accounts receivables management.