Accounts Receivable Turnover Case Study

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Accounts Receivable Turnover
Description: Accounts Receivable (A/R) Turnover tells the firm how fast it is collecting on credit sales. It is found by dividing the firm’s net credit sales by its average net accounts receivable (for this calculation, we assumed that all sales were made on credit). A more helpful metric is the number of days it takes on average to collect on credit sales, which is found using the A/R turnover. The average collection period is found by dividing 365 by the A/R turnover number. The results of these two calculations must be compared to the firm’s credit policy in order for a determination to be made.
Present Position: These calculations are less important in Zynga’s case mainly because Zynga does not have to maintain inventory. Inventory is an asset which normally must be floated with cash, which comes in part from collecting on Accounts Receivable. This is part of the cash conversion cycle. Zynga’s current accounts receivable management is also less important because accounts receivable is a very small portion of Zynga’s total current assets. Also, when Zynga’s products are sold online, cash payment is received instantaneously through one of the major credit card companies, a user’s bank account, or through a third-party online payment service such as PayPal. The company may extend trade credit to other businesses as they purchase ads on Zynga games. Zynga is well ahead of the industry average in this area. This suggests that Zynga is more efficient at collecting on credit sales than its competitors. It should be noted that Zynga has been consistently improving in this area, as their A/R turnover has increased and the average collection period has decreased year after year since 2011. It should also ...

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...ive for the first few years of existence. Looking at the statement of cash flows, Zynga has experienced significant growth. The most eventful year was when they announced their IPO in Dec. of 2011. When it comes to cash flow, the company is on target with most companies in its industry. The statement of cash flows is a very important when evaluating a company because it is a statement where it’s harder to skew the numbers. The fact that over the past few years, Zynga was able to produce positive cash flows in operations is good sign of healthy growth. It means that they were able to turn a profit just from their operations versus dependent solely on marketable securities. Although its cash flow from operations have fallen over the past few years, mostly because of the stock based expense accumulated when it went public, the company still maintains a good position.

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