Financial working capital - management and measurement

Unexpected changes in cash flow have started to occur more frequently after the financial crisis. The capital structures of companies have also changed, and financial flexibility as well as flexible asset management have therefore become more important. This thesis aims at presenting financial working capital management, a part of flexible asset management, as a possibility to gain financial flexibility and survive the changes. This thesis operates in the interface of corporate finance, strategic management and management accounting, and it has two main objectives: to examine financial working capital management and to develop measures of financial working capital. The research in this thesis has been conducted using archival research and design science. Qualitative comparative analysis and model building are used to formulate tools and strategies for financial working capital management. The tools are tested with simulations, case studies and statistical analysis. The empirical data is collected from companies listed in the Helsinki Stock Exchange. The results of this thesis indicate that there are several possible financial working capital management strategies. FOCAL matrix is created in the thesis to assist in the selection of a strategy. The results also imply that profitability can be improved by reducing financial working capital, which creates a need to change the financial working capital management strategy. Financial flow cycle, and its modification, is developed in this thesis to measure financial working capital. Financial working capital as a concept is presented in this thesis with an orientation towards the management view. New dimensions have also been produced to financial management and working capital management, while providing a holistic approach to financial flexibility. Financial working capital management strategies are presented to managers and practical tools are provided for decision-making.

Solution Methods for Service Network Design with Resource Management Consideration

La gestion des ressources, équipements, équipes de travail, et autres, devrait être prise en compte lors de la conception de tout plan réalisable pour le problème de conception de réseaux de services. Cependant, les travaux de recherche portant sur la gestion des ressources et la conception de réseaux de services restent limités. La présente thèse a pour objectif de combler cette lacune en faisant l’examen de problèmes de conception de réseaux de services prenant en compte la gestion des ressources. Pour ce faire, cette thèse se décline en trois études portant sur la conception de réseaux. La première étude considère le problème de capacitated multi-commodity fixed cost network design with design-balance constraints(DBCMND). La structure multi-produits avec capacité sur les arcs du DBCMND, de même que ses contraintes design-balance, font qu’il apparaît comme sous-problème dans de nombreux problèmes reliés à la conception de réseaux de services, d’où l’intérêt d’étudier le DBCMND dans le contexte de cette thèse. Nous proposons une nouvelle approche pour résoudre ce problème combinant la recherche tabou, la recomposition de chemin, et une procédure d’intensification de la recherche dans une région particulière de l’espace de solutions. Dans un premier temps la recherche tabou identifie de bonnes solutions réalisables. Ensuite la recomposition de chemin est utilisée pour augmenter le nombre de solutions réalisables. Les solutions trouvées par ces deux méta-heuristiques permettent d’identifier un sous-ensemble d’arcs qui ont de bonnes chances d’avoir un statut ouvert ou fermé dans une solution optimale. Le statut de ces arcs est alors fixé selon la valeur qui prédomine dans les solutions trouvées préalablement. Enfin, nous utilisons la puissance d’un solveur de programmation mixte en nombres entiers pour intensifier la recherche sur le problème restreint par le statut fixé ouvert/fermé de certains arcs. Les tests montrent que cette approche est capable de trouver de bonnes solutions aux problèmes de grandes tailles dans des temps raisonnables. Cette recherche est publiée dans la revue scientifique Journal of heuristics. La deuxième étude introduit la gestion des ressources au niveau de la conception de réseaux de services en prenant en compte explicitement le nombre fini de véhicules utilisés à chaque terminal pour le transport de produits. Une approche de solution faisant appel au slope-scaling, la génération de colonnes et des heuristiques basées sur une formulation en cycles est ainsi proposée. La génération de colonnes résout une relaxation linéaire du problème de conception de réseaux, générant des colonnes qui sont ensuite utilisées par le slope-scaling. Le slope-scaling résout une approximation linéaire du problème de conception de réseaux, d’où l’utilisation d’une heuristique pour convertir les solutions obtenues par le slope-scaling en solutions réalisables pour le problème original. L’algorithme se termine avec une procédure de perturbation qui améliore les solutions réalisables. Les tests montrent que l’algorithme proposé est capable de trouver de bonnes solutions au problème de conception de réseaux de services avec un nombre fixe des ressources à chaque terminal. Les résultats de cette recherche seront publiés dans la revue scientifique Transportation Science. La troisième étude élargie nos considérations sur la gestion des ressources en prenant en compte l’achat ou la location de nouvelles ressources de même que le repositionnement de ressources existantes. Nous faisons les hypothèses suivantes: une unité de ressource est nécessaire pour faire fonctionner un service, chaque ressource doit retourner à son terminal d’origine, il existe un nombre fixe de ressources à chaque terminal, et la longueur du circuit des ressources est limitée. Nous considérons les alternatives suivantes dans la gestion des ressources: 1) repositionnement de ressources entre les terminaux pour tenir compte des changements de la demande, 2) achat et/ou location de nouvelles ressources et leur distribution à différents terminaux, 3) externalisation de certains services. Nous présentons une formulation intégrée combinant les décisions reliées à la gestion des ressources avec les décisions reliées à la conception des réseaux de services. Nous présentons également une méthode de résolution matheuristique combinant le slope-scaling et la génération de colonnes. Nous discutons des performances de cette méthode de résolution, et nous faisons une analyse de l’impact de différentes décisions de gestion des ressources dans le contexte de la conception de réseaux de services. Cette étude sera présentée au XII International Symposium On Locational Decision, en conjonction avec XXI Meeting of EURO Working Group on Locational Analysis, Naples/Capri (Italy), 2014. En résumé, trois études différentes sont considérées dans la présente thèse. La première porte sur une nouvelle méthode de solution pour le "capacitated multi-commodity fixed cost network design with design-balance constraints". Nous y proposons une matheuristique comprenant la recherche tabou, la recomposition de chemin, et l’optimisation exacte. Dans la deuxième étude, nous présentons un nouveau modèle de conception de réseaux de services prenant en compte un nombre fini de ressources à chaque terminal. Nous y proposons une matheuristique avancée basée sur la formulation en cycles comprenant le slope-scaling, la génération de colonnes, des heuristiques et l’optimisation exacte. Enfin, nous étudions l’allocation des ressources dans la conception de réseaux de services en introduisant des formulations qui modèlent le repositionnement, l’acquisition et la location de ressources, et l’externalisation de certains services. À cet égard, un cadre de solution slope-scaling développé à partir d’une formulation en cycles est proposé. Ce dernier comporte la génération de colonnes et une heuristique. Les méthodes proposées dans ces trois études ont montré leur capacité à trouver de bonnes solutions.

Collection and Assets Management: One University Library’s Journey to the Future

Academic libraries worldwide have witnessed a number of trends and paradigm shifts over the last decade. It is vital for university libraries to develop a collection of high standards to satisfy academics and researchers for supporting the vision and mission of a university. The area of collection development and management is the most important part of any library. This paper reports on the problems and prospects of collection and asset management of the University Library of Cochin University of Science and Technology (CUSAT). The insight for the paper comes from the authors’ first-hand experience supported by literature review. Detailed information regarding the purchase of books, serials, policies regarding the acquisition, and changing trends and problems were collected from the official records with the help of a structured data sheet. The study discovers the current trends in collection and asset management in CUSAT and point out the changes likely to be adopted in future.

Retos y alternativas de inversión para las compañías aseguradoras en Colombia

En este documento se explica el rol de las compañías aseguradoras colombianas dentro del sistema pensional y se busca, a través de la comprensión de la evolución del entorno macroeconómico y del marco regulatorio, identificar los retos que enfrentan. Los retos explicados en el documento son tres: el reto de la rentabilidad, el reto que plantean los cambios relativamente frecuentes de la regulación, y el reto del “calce”. El documento se enfoca principalmente en el reto de la rentabilidad y desarrolla un ejercicio de frontera eficiente que utiliza retornos esperados calculados a partir de la metodología de Damodaran (2012). Los resultados del ejercicio soportan la idea de que en efecto los retornos esperados serán menores para cualquier nivel de riesgo y sugiere que ante tal panorama, la relajación de las restricciones impuestas por el Régimen de inversiones podría alivianar los preocupaciones de las compañías aseguradoras en esta materia. Para los otros dos retos también se sugieren alternativas: el Algorithmic Trading para el caso del reto que impone los cambios en la regulación, y las Asociaciones Público-Privadas para abordar el reto del “calce”.

Análisis del impacto del tamaño de los activos en la cuenta de resultados mediante la utilización de espacios de fase y análisis de recurrencia

Los resultados financieros de las organizaciones son objeto de estudio y análisis permanente, predecir sus comportamientos es una tarea permanente de empresarios, inversionistas, analistas y académicos. En el presente trabajo se explora el impacto del tamaño de los activos (valor total de los activos) en la cuenta de resultados operativos y netos, analizando inicialmente la relación entre dichas variables con indicadores tradicionales del análisis financiero como es el caso de la rentabilidad operativa y neta y con elementos de estadística descriptiva que permiten calificar los datos utilizados como lineales o no lineales. Descubriendo posteriormente que los resultados financieros de las empresas vigiladas por la Superintendencia de Sociedades para el año 2012, tienen un comportamiento no lineal, de esta manera se procede a analizar la relación de los activos y los resultados con la utilización de espacios de fase y análisis de recurrencia, herramientas útiles para sistemas caóticos y complejos. Para el desarrollo de la investigación y la revisión de la relación entre las variables de activos y resultados financieros se tomó como fuente de información los reportes financieros del cierre del año 2012 de la Superintendencia de Sociedades (Superintendencia de Sociedades, 2012).

Definition of an it project portfolio management methodology for a pharmaceutical company

Con la creciente popularidad de las soluciones de IT como factor clave para aumentar la competitividad y la creación de valor para las empresas, la necesidad de invertir en proyectos de IT se incrementa considerablemente. La limitación de los recursos como un obstáculo para invertir ha obligado a las empresas a buscar metodologías para seleccionar y priorizar proyectos, asegurándose de que las decisiones que se toman son aquellas que van alineadas con las estrategias corporativas para asegurar la creación de valor y la maximización de los beneficios. Esta tesis proporciona los fundamentos para la implementación del Portafolio de dirección de Proyectos de IT (IT PPM) como una metodología eficaz para la gestión de proyectos basados en IT, y una herramienta para proporcionar criterios claros para los directores ejecutivos para la toma de decisiones. El documento proporciona la información acerca de cómo implementar el IT PPM en siete pasos, el análisis de los procesos y las funciones necesarias para su ejecución exitosa. Además, proporciona diferentes métodos y criterios para la selección y priorización de proyectos. Después de la parte teórica donde se describe el IT PPM, la tesis aporta un análisis del estudio de caso de una empresa farmacéutica. La empresa ya cuenta con un departamento de gestión de proyectos, pero se encontró la necesidad de implementar el IT PPM debido a su amplia cobertura de procesos End-to-End en Proyectos de IT, y la manera de asegurar la maximización de los beneficios. Con la investigación teórica y el análisis del estudio de caso, la tesis concluye con una definición práctica de un modelo aproximado IT PPM como una recomendación para su implementación en el Departamento de Gestión de Proyectos.

Limitaciones y obstáculos de MINUSTAH en materia de cooperación humanitaria y desarrollo en Haití (2000-2014)

Este estudio de caso pretende analizar las limitaciones y obstáculos a los que la misión de estabilización, MINUSTAH, se ha enfrentado en el proceso de reconstrucción de Haití antes, durante y después del terremoto de 2010. Además, busca identificar los elementos que han hecho de MINUSTAH una misión cuyo objetivo inicial de carácter político y estabilización se orientó hacia la asistencia humanitaria a causa de una catástrofe natural tal como el terremoto de 2010. En esta medida y bajo el marco de cooperación internacional para el desarrollo, este estudio de caso avanza por un proceso evaluativo del papel de MINUSTAH en la consolidación del Estado haitiano.

Liquidity in commercial property markets: deconstructing the transaction process

This paper draws from a wider research programme in the UK undertaken for the Investment Property Forum examining liquidity in commercial property. One aspect of liquidity is the process by which transactions occur including both how properties are selected for sale and the time taken to transact. The paper analyses data from three organisations; a property company, a major financial institution and an asset management company, formally a major public sector pension fund. The data covers three market states and includes sales completed in 1995, 2000 and 2002 in the UK. The research interviewed key individuals within the three organisations to identify any common patterns of activity within the sale process and also identified the timing of 187 actual transactions from inception of the sale to completion. The research developed a taxonomy of the transaction process. Interviews with vendors indicated that decisions to sell were a product of a combination of portfolio, specific property and market based issues. Properties were generally not kept in a “readiness for sale” state. The average time from first decision to sell the actual property to completion had a mean time of 298 days and a median of 190 days. It is concluded that this study may underestimate the true length of the time to transact for two reasons. Firstly, the pre-marketing period is rarely recorded in transaction files. Secondly, and more fundamentally, studies of sold properties may contain selection bias. The research indicated that vendors tended to sell properties which it was perceived could be sold at a ‘fair’ price in a reasonable period of time.

Why do research on commercial property management? Somebody HAS to!

This paper identifies some significant gaps in our knowledge of the configuration and performance of the property asset management sector. It is argued that, as many leading academic property researchers have focussed on financial vehicles and modelling, in-depth analysis of property assets and their management has been neglected. In terms of potential for future in-depth research, three key broad preliminary research themes or questions are identified. First, how do the active management opportunities presented, costs of management and the key management tasks vary with market conditions, asset type and life-cycle stage? Second, how is property asset management delivered and what are the main costs and benefits of different models of procurement? Finally, what are the appropriate metrics for measuring the performance of different property managers and approaches to property management? It is concluded that the lack of published materials addressing these issues has implications for educating property students.

Local space for local people? Trends in the provision and management of urban outdoor recreation in the UK

This paper examines the growing trend in the UK towards the effective privatisation of formerly public open space and the relationship of this trend to the recent shifts in public sector management. A case study of Reading, England, illustrates the growing cultural and spatial dysfunction, particularly in terms of the declining knowledge and use of the town's urban gardens by the local population. Where once the gardens were a focus of social activity, therefore, they are now a largely irrelevant site of urban decline. In contrast to central urban space, it is clear that other types of open space in other areas can still assume a significance in peoples' lives. In many cases the use of these areas illustrates a counter cultural position in which the consumerism of the city management is actively being resisted. The paper concludes that while there appear to be ways in which local space could be reclaimed for local people, the power to achieve this lies predominantly in the same hands as those responsible for appropriating central space to the imperative of the market in the first instance

Effective Data Management Enables Intelligent Utility Management

Instrumentation and automation plays a vital role to managing the water industry. These systems generate vast amounts of data that must be effectively managed in order to enable intelligent decision making. Time series data management software, commonly known as data historians are used for collecting and managing real-time (time series) information. More advanced software solutions provide a data infrastructure or utility wide Operations Data Management System (ODMS) that stores, manages, calculates, displays, shares, and integrates data from multiple disparate automation and business systems that are used daily in water utilities. These ODMS solutions are proven and have the ability to manage data from smart water meters to the collaboration of data across third party corporations. This paper focuses on practical, utility successes in the water industry where utility managers are leveraging instantaneous access to data from proven, commercial off-the-shelf ODMS solutions to enable better real-time decision making. Successes include saving $650,000 / year in water loss control, safeguarding water quality, saving millions of dollars in energy management and asset management. Immediate opportunities exist to integrate the research being done in academia with these ODMS solutions in the field and to leverage these successes to utilities around the world.

Análise da gestão patrimonial de empresa pública

O projeto destina-se a analisar a gestão dos bens patrimonias na empresa pública. Procurar-se-á obter um diagnóstico de como as empresas públicas, em especial empresas situadas no município de São Paulo, conduzem a gestão o seu patrimônio, relativamente a eficiência e produtividade, diante de uma economia globalizada e da privatização emergente.A pesquisa será fundamentada em levantamentos de conceitos e práticas da gestão pública, comparando-a com a gestão da empresa privada. Será realizado também, um inquérito (pesquisa) através de entrevistas pessoais, em algumas empresas públicas, para se levantar e avaliar as dificuldades, e as práticas reais conduzidas.Torna-se oportuno ressaltar que este não será um trabalho que focará os aspectos contábeis e de legislação que a empresa pública está submetida, ainda que tais aspectos estão contemplados no estudo.

Os tribunais de contas e o controle social : a proposta de criação de uma ouvidoria para o Tribunal de Contas do Estado do Rio de Janeiro e sua importância no processo democrático fluminense

The aim of this dissertation is to study the contribution given by the Brazilian court of accounts, with the creation of the ombudsman on those institutions, to the exercise of the social control made by its citizens. Being considered one of the key inventions in the field of the external control of the public management, the ombudsman of the court of accounts is the most important means of control the society may use over the public management, as well as the place where the society and court of accounts might debate and get to an agreement concerning on how to spend the public asset in a way that will benefit the citizens. In order to fulfill the aim of the dissertation, the concepts of citizenship, particularly the deliberative citizenship, were recaptured, as well as the means of control in the public management and the role of the court of accounts as a participant in the external control of the public accounts. Lastly, some of the 18 ombudsman linked to Brazilian courts of account are presented in the dissertation. The Ombudsman of the Courts of Accounts of the states of Paraná and Pernambuco are emphasized once it is understood that they are in the path of transcending the concept of popular participation to the popular sovereignty, in which the debate with the society might, in a near future, decide possibly the course of the audits of those entities.

What is the role of bookbuilding in bond allocation ? : evidence from Brazil

A dissertação tem como objetivo analisar dois aspectos do processo de bookbuilding nas emissões de debêntures no mercado brasileiro. O primeiro aspecto é verificar se o underwriter utiliza, a exemplo do que ocorre no Initial Public Offering (IPO) de ações, o poder discricionário nas alocações das debêntures entre os investidores. O segundo consiste em encontrar as características, tanto do emissor quanto do investidor, que influenciam na eficiência do bidder no processo de bookbuilding. Para realizar os testes empíricos foi utilizada uma base de dados composta por 40 books1 (totalizando 727 bids) fornecidos por um banco de investimento.Verifica-se que o underwriter não beneficia nenhum investidor na alocação final das debêntures. Essa afirmação fica evidenciada quando se calcula a diferença entre alocação final (efetivamente recebida pelo investidor) e alocação teórica (estimada com base no método pro-rata) para os 27 books (totalizando 557 bids) que apresentam demanda superior a oferta. A diferença é nula para 96.6% da amostra, sendo que das 19 observações não nulas, 15 possuem diferença absoluta de uma debênture entre a alocação teórica e a final, resultado explicado em função do arredondamento das alocações.Contrariando a teoria de leilão de titulos públicos, onde autores, como Scott and Wolf (1979), defendem que os investidores devem utilizar o step bid como estratégia ótima de bid, este trabalho verificou que no caso de bookbuilding de debêntures no mercado brasileiro, os investidores usuários de step bid posssuem menos chances de ter seu bid atendido plenamente pelo underwriter. Quando o investidor é um gestor de recursos de terceiros (asset management), aumenta-se a possibilidade de ter sua demanda atendida. O maior sucesso do asset management no bookbuilding deve-se às peculiaridades do mercado brasileiro: (i) somente investidores locais participam dos bookbuilding, já que investidores estrangeiros possuem preferência e incentivos por títulos públicos; (ii) gestores de recursos de terceiros representam 75% da demanda por debêntures; (iii) o mercado de gestão de recursos é concentrado: os 5 maiores gestores concentram 60% da indústria. Com isso os gestores de recursos podem desenvolver uma expertise própria, já que são os principais demandadores e frequentemente participam dos bookbuilding. As características do emissor também influenciam no desempenho dos bidders: as debêntures de baixo e médio risco aumentam a possibilidade do bidder ter seu pedido atendido na íntegra. Além disso, como era esperado, quanto maior for a demanda do título, mais dificil é para o investor conseguir a quantidade desejável.