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This page lists recent articles related to corporate finance on this website.

Should you consider cash and cash equivalents as part of current assets when computing working capital?

Current assets are cash and other assets used in the operations of a business that are expected to be converted into cash within a 12 month period. Examples of current assets include accounts receivable, inventories, etc. Cash and cash equivalents that are required for the smooth functioning of the business is considered part of current assets.

In this post we discuss if you should consider cash and cash equivalents as part of current assets when computing working capital?

How is excess cash treated in your DCF valuation?

Any cash and cash equivalents more than required in the operations of the business is considered as excess cash.

You can estimate the cash required in the operations of the business is considered as excess cash in two ways. We discuss “How is excess cash treated in your DCF valuation?”

What is excess cash? How do you estimate excess cash amounts?

Any cash and cash equivalents more than required in the operations of the business is considered as excess cash.

You can estimate the cash required in the operations of the business is considered as excess cash in two ways. We discuss the two ways you can estimate excess cash in this article.

What types of liabilities are considered as part of current liabilities when computing working capital?

No, short-term debt should not be included in working capital when estimating cash flows in a DCF valuation. Shor- term debt is an interest-bearing liability and so should be considered as debt. Only non-interest-bearing liabilities such as accounts payables, supplier credit, accrued expenses such as rent, salaries, etc. should be part of current liabilities. This page answers this question: What types of liabilities are considered as part of current liabilities when computing working capital?

Is short-term debt showing up as part of current liabilities included in working capital when estimating cash flows in a DCF valuation?

Working capital is an essential part of cash flows. So it plays an important part in the estimation of cash flows. It’s impact on valuation is quite significant in many situations.

This page discusses this question: Is short term debt showing up as part of current liabilities included in working capital when estimating cash flows in a DCF valuation?

What tax rate would you use if your company currently has operating losses.

Taxes and tax rates are important to understand when you do DCF valuation. Taxes and tax rates impact your net income, cash flows, capital structure, cost of capital and therefore valuation. Tax rates are applied to operating profits before taxes in your DCF model. But what happens if you do not have any operating profits!?

This page addresses the question: What tax rate would you use if your company currently has operating losses.

What tax rate would you use if your cash flows are international and have different tax rates in different jurisdictions?

Countries operate in multiple countries and every country and state that a company is domiciled in has a tax rates prescribed by law. There is no one size fits all tax rate that is best when valuing a company using the DCF valuation approach. Multiple tax rates apply to a company. Federal /state statutory tax rates, Effective tax rates, marginal tax rates, etc.

This page addresses the question: What tax rate would you use if your cash flows are international and have different tax rates in different jurisdictions?

Can we use the actual tax paid to estimate future tax expenses?

We do not use the actual tax paid to estimate future tax expense because the actual tax paid will be materially different due to one or more of the following reasons. • The taxes paid accounts for the deductions and deferred tax provisions that apply to a company’s net income. The deferred tax benefits and costs reverse over time. • The taxes paid is lower than effective operating tax liability when a company has debt due to the debt tax shields. This will double count the benefit of tax shields if we also incorporate the tax shield benefits in our discount rate.

Why don’t we use the statutory tax rate in forecasting cash flows?

There is no one size fits all tax rate that is best when valuing a company using the DCF valuation approach. Multiple tax rates apply to a company. Federal /state statutory tax rates, Effective tax rates, marginal tax rates, etc.

Federal /State Statutory Tax Rate: Every country and state that a company is domiciled in has a tax rates prescribed by law. In most countries, different tax rates apply based on the level of income or size of the company, type of income, etc.

Effective Tax Rate: Effective tax rate is the tax expense divided by the pretax income of a specific year. The taxes expense of a company is arrived at according to the statutory tax rates and tax slabs applicable to the company. If the company earns income from multiple countries, multiple statutory tax rates and tax slabs will apply to different portions of income according to local laws and intercountry tax agreements such as double tax avoidance agreements.

Marginal Tax Rate: The marginal tax rate is the tax rate applicable to the last dollar (marginal income). This marginal tax rate is usually the tax rate applicable to the highest slab that applies to the tax-payer. There is no one size fits all tax rate that is best when valuing a company using the DCF valuation approach.

On this page, we address the question: What are the drawbacks of using the statutory tax rate in forecasting cash flows?

What are the drawbacks of using an effective tax rate in forecasting cash flows?

There is no one size fits all tax rate that is best when valuing a company using the DCF valuation approach. Multiple tax rates apply to a company. Federal /state statutory tax rates, Effective tax rates, marginal tax rates, etc.

Federal /State Statutory Tax Rate: Every country and state that a company is domiciled in has a tax rates prescribed by law. In most countries, different tax rates apply based on the level of income or size of the company, type of income, etc.

Effective Tax Rate: Effective tax rate is the tax expense divided by the pretax income of a specific year. The taxes expense of a company is arrived at according to the statutory tax rates and tax slabs applicable to the company. If the company earns income from multiple countries, multiple statutory tax rates and tax slabs will apply to different portions of income according to local laws and intercountry tax agreements such as double tax avoidance agreements.

Marginal Tax Rate: The marginal tax rate is the tax rate applicable to the last dollar (marginal income). This marginal tax rate is usually the tax rate applicable to the highest slab that applies to the tax-payer. There is no one size fits all tax rate that is best when valuing a company using the DCF valuation approach.

On this page, we address the question: What are the drawbacks of using an effective tax rate in forecasting cash flows?