The ability to analyse financial statements using ratios and percentages to assess the performance of organisations is a skill that will be tested in many of ACCA’s exam papers. It will also be regularly used by successful candidates in their future careers.
通過使用比率和百分比評估組織績效來分析財務報表的能力將會在ACCA考試中被測試到。這在成功的考試者的職業(yè)生涯中也經常被用到。
The Paper F2/FMA syllabus introduces candidates to performance measurement and requires candidates to be able to 'Discuss and calculate measures of financial performance (profitability, liquidity, activity and gearing) and non-financial measures'. This article will focus on measures of financial performance and will detail the skills and knowledge expected from candidates in the Paper F2/FMA exam.
F2/FMA的教學大綱給候選者引進了績效管理，并且要求他們能夠“探討、測評財務績效（盈利性、流動性、營運效率和 杠桿率 ）和非財務績效”。這篇文章關注于財務績效，并會詳細介紹將在F2/FMA考試中所用到的技能。
Paper F2/FMA candidates are expected to be able to calculate key accounting ratios, to know what they measure, and to explain what particular values mean. The syllabus categorises ratios into four headings: profitability, liquidity, activity and gearing.
F2/FMA要求考試者能計算主要的會計比率，了解其計算對象，解釋其意味著的特殊價值。教學大綱將這些比率分成四種：盈利性、流動性、營運效率和 杠桿
Profitability  盈利性
Profitability ratios, as their name suggests, measure the organisation’s ability to deliver profits. Profit is necessary to give investors the return they require, and to provide funds for reinvestment in the business. Three ratios are commonly used.
盈利比率，顧名思義，是衡量該組織能否產生利潤的能力。利潤對于給投資者所要求的回報來說是必要的，以提供在企業(yè)的再投資資金。其中有三個比率常用到
1. Return on capital employed (ROCE):  operating profit ÷ (non current liabilities +total equity) %
盈利能力（資本回報率）=營業(yè)利潤/（非流動負債+所有者權益）
2. Return on sales (ROS): operating profit÷ revenue %
銷售回報率=營業(yè)利潤/銷售額
3. Gross margin: gross profit÷ revenue %
毛利率=（營業(yè)收入-營業(yè)成本）/營業(yè)收入=毛利潤/營業(yè)收入
Return on capital employed  資本回報率
Return on capital employed (sometimes known as return on investment or ROI) measures the return that is being earned on the capital invested in the business. Candidates are sometimes confused about which profit and capital figures to use. What is important is to compare like with like. Operating profit (profit before interest) represents the profit available to pay interest to debt investors and dividends to shareholders. It is therefore compared with the long-term debt and equity capital invested in the business (non current liabilities + total equity). By similar logic, if we wished to calculate return on ordinary shareholders funds (the return to equity holders), we would use profit after interest and tax divided by total equity).
資本回報率（有時也被稱為投資回報額或投資回報率），是衡量資本投資于企業(yè)的收益的措施?？荚囌哂袝r會對使用哪些利潤和資本數(shù)字感到困惑。重要是如何區(qū)分相近的比例計算公式。營業(yè)利潤（息前利潤）代表的是可支付利息給債權人和支付股息給股東的利潤。因此，要比較投資于公司的長期負債和股權資本（非流動負債+所有者權益）相比。通過類似的邏輯，如果我們希望計算普通股股東的收益（即股本回報率），我們將利用息稅后利潤除以所有者權益。
A return on capital is necessary to reward investors for the risks they are taking by investing in the company. Generally, the higher the ROCE figure, the better it is for investors. It should be compared with returns on offer to investors on alternative investments of a similar risk.
資本回報對于回報投資者因投資公司所承擔的風險是非常必要的。一般來說，投資回報率的數(shù)值越高，對投資者越好。它應該與其他風險相當?shù)耐顿Y方案的投資回報率比較。
Return on sales 銷售回報率
Return on sales (sometimes known as operating margin) looks at operating profit earned as a percentage of revenue. Again, in simple terms, the higher the better. Poor performance is often explained by prices being too low or costs being too high.
銷售回報率（有時稱為營業(yè)利潤率）關注的是經營利潤占營業(yè)額的百分比。同的，簡單來說，這個數(shù)值也是越高越好。數(shù)值結果不佳往往是因為價格太低或成本太高。
The ROCE and ROS ratios are often considered in conjunction with the asset turnover ratio. (The asset turnover ratio is discussed later). They are considered at the same time because:
資本回報率和銷售回報率比常常與資產周轉率一起考慮。（資產周轉率稍后討論）。這是因為：
ROCE                               = ROS                              x                 asset turnover
資本回報率=銷售回報率   x      資產周轉天數(shù)
operating profit                 = operating profit              x                 revenue
capital employed                 revenue                                            capital  employed
This relationship can be useful in exam calculations. For example, if you are told that a business has a return on sales of 5% and an asset turnover of 2, then its ROCE will be 10% (5% x 2). This is more than a mathematical trick. It means that any change in ROCE can be explained by either a change in ROS, or a change in asset turnover, or both.
這個關系在考試中非常有用。例如，假如你被告知一個公司的銷售回報率為5%，資產周轉天數(shù)為2，那么它的資本回報率將是10%（5%×2）。這不僅僅是一個數(shù)學技巧。這意味著，在資本回報率的任何變化可以通過改變銷售回報率，或改變資產周轉率，或兩者同時改變來解釋。
Gross margin 毛利率
Return on sales looks at profits after charging non-production overheads. Gross margin on the other hand focuses on the organisation’s trading activities. Once again, in simple terms, the higher the better, with poor performance often being explained by prices being too low or costs being too high.
銷售回報率關注的是去掉非生產費用后的利潤。毛利率關注的是該企業(yè)的交易活動。同樣的，該數(shù)值越高越好，但如果績效不好，則可能是價格太低成本太高。
Liquidity 流動性
This measures the ability of the organisation to meet its short-term financial obligations.
流動性衡量了企業(yè)償還其短期負債的能力
Two ratios are commonly used:
有兩種比率常被用到
4. Current ratio  current assets ÷ current liabilities
流動比率=流動資產/流動負債
5. Acid test (current assets – inventory) ÷ current liabilities
速動比率=（流動資產-存貨）/流動負債
Current ratio 流動比率
The current ratio compares liabilities that fall due within the year with cash balances, and assets that should turn into cash within the year. It assesses the company’s ability to meet its short-term liabilities. Traditionally textbooks tell us that this ratio should exceed 2.0:1 for a company to be able to safely meet its liabilities. However, acceptable current ratios vary between industrial sectors, and many companies operate safely at below the 2:1 level.
流動比率比較的是一年內到期的負債的余額和一年內可以轉換為現(xiàn)金的資產。它評估公司滿足其短期負債的能力。傳統(tǒng)的教科書告訴我們，這個比例應該超過2.0:1，可以說一個公司能夠安全地償還其負債。但是，可接受的流動比率在不同行業(yè)之間是不同的，并且許多企業(yè)的安全運行在低于2:1的水平。
A very high current ratio is not necessarily good. It could indicate that a company is too liquid. Cash is often described as an ’idle asset‘ because it earns no return, and carrying too much cash is considered wasteful. A high ratio could also indicate that the company is not making sufficient use of cheap short-term finance.
一個非常高的流動比率比不一定是好的。它可以表明，一個公司流動性太強（閑置資產沒有得到充分利用）?，F(xiàn)金通常被稱為“閑置資產”，因為它沒有回報，所以持有過多的現(xiàn)金被認為是一種浪費。一個過高的比例可能也表明，該公司沒有充分利用短期融資
Acid test 速動比率
The acid test (or quick ratio) recognises that inventory often takes a long time to convert into cash. It therefore excludes inventory values from liquid assets. Traditionally textbooks tell us that this ratio should exceed 1:1 but once again many successful companies operate below this level.
速動比率承認庫存通常需要很長的時間來轉換成現(xiàn)金。因此，其流動資產不包括存貨價值。傳統(tǒng)的教科書告訴我們，這個比例應該超過1:1，但許多成功的公司低于這個水平。
In practice a company’s current ratio and acid test should be considered alongside the company’s operating cashflow. A healthy cashflow will often compensate for weak liquidity ratios.
In practice a company’s current ratio and acid test should be considered alongside the company’s operating cashflow. A healthy cashflow will often compensate for weak liquidity ratios.
在實踐中，公司的流動比率和速動比率應與經營現(xiàn)金流相結合一起考慮。一個健康的現(xiàn)金流經常會彌補萎靡的流動性比率。
Activity ratios 營運效率比例
6. Asset turnover: revenue ÷ (non current liabilities + total equity) ×365 days
資產周轉率=營業(yè)收入/（非流動負債+所有者權益）x365天
7. Receivables days: receivables ÷ credit sales × 365 days
應收賬款周轉天數(shù)=應收賬款/賒銷×365天
8. Inventory days: inventory ÷ cost of sales × 365 days
存貨周轉天數(shù)=存貨/銷售成本×365天
9. Payable days: payables ÷ purchases (or cost of sales) × 365 days
應付賬款周轉天數(shù)=應付賬款/銷售成本×365天
Activity ratios measure an organisation’s ability to convert balance sheet items into cash or sales. They measure the efficiency of the business in managing its assets.
營運效率比例衡量了一個企業(yè)將資產負債表項目轉換為現(xiàn)金或銷售出去的能力。他們衡量企業(yè)資產管理的效率。
Asset turnover
This measures the ability of the organisation to generate sales from its capital employed. A possible variant is non-current asset turnover (revenue ÷ non-current assets). Generally the higher the better, but in later studies you will consider the problems caused by overtrading (operating a business at a level not sustainable by its capital employed). Commonly a high asset turnover is accompanied with a low return on sales and vice versa. Retailers generally have high asset turnovers accompanied by low margins: Jack Cohen, the founder of Tesco, famously used the motto ’Pile it high and sell it cheap’!
他衡量了一個企業(yè)從可動用資本中產生銷售的能力。另一個變體是非流動資產周轉天數(shù)（收入÷非流動資產）。一般來說，這個數(shù)值越高越好，但在后來的研究中你會考慮超額運營（過度交易）所造成的問題（在一個可動用資本不可持續(xù)的水平上經營經營）。通常一個高的資產周轉天數(shù)是伴隨著低的銷售回報率，反之亦然。零售商通常有較高的資產周轉天數(shù)，并伴隨著較低的利潤：杰克科恩，樂購的創(chuàng)始人，有一個著名的格言“物多而賤賣！”
Receivable days
This is also known as debtor days. If a company has average accounts receivable of $20,000 on annual credit sales of $40,000 then on average 50% of its annual credit sales are uncollected. If credit sales are spread evenly over the year, then this represents 50% of a year’s sales, equivalent to 183 days, to collect cash from customers. ($20,000/$40,000 ÷ 365 days = 183 days). For liquidity purposes the faster money is collected the better. Also, generally, the longer customers are given to pay, the higher the level of bad debts. However, too much pressure on customers to pay quickly may damage a company’s ability to generate sales.
這也被稱為應收賬款天數(shù)。如果一個公司在每年40000美元的信賒銷中有平均20000美元的應收賬款，那么在其年度賒銷中有平均50%的賬收不回來。如果賒銷在一年內平均分布，那么這代表了50%的年銷售額，相當于183天，用來收集來自客戶的現(xiàn)金。（20000美元/ 40000美元÷365天= 183天）。根據(jù)流動性的含義，我們知道錢被收集得越快越好。此外，一般而言，給客戶越長的支付時間，這筆錢越有可能變成壞賬。然而，給客戶在快速支付上造成太多的壓力很可能影響到企業(yè)的銷售數(shù)額。
Inventory days
Also known as stock days. This is calculated in a very similar way to receivable days. It measures how long a company carries inventory before it is sold. Again for liquidity purposes the shorter this period the better, as less cash is tied up in inventory. Also long inventory holding periods can result in obsolete inventory. On the other hand, too little inventory can result in production stoppages and dissatisfied customers.
這也被稱為存貨周轉天數(shù)。它在計算上與應收賬款周轉天數(shù)非常相似。它計算從存貨到銷售出去的時間長度。同樣根據(jù)流動性的意義，這一時期越短越好，因為這表示越少的現(xiàn)金被占用在庫存商品。同樣較長的庫存商品持有期可能導致過時的庫存商品。另一方面，庫存太少會導致生產中斷和不滿意的客戶無法滿足客戶需求。
Payable days
Also known as creditor days. Once again this is calculated in a similar way to receivable days. Because the purchases figure is often not available to analysts external to the business, the cost of sales figure is often used to approximate purchases. Payable days measures the average amount of time taken to pay suppliers. Long payment periods are good for the customer’s liquidity, but can damage relationships with suppliers.
這也被稱為應付賬款天數(shù)。同樣 它在計算上與應收賬款周轉天數(shù)非常相似。由于采購的數(shù)據(jù)對于外部分析師來說不是很容易獲得，所以銷售成本的數(shù)額通常被用來近似于采購數(shù)據(jù)。應付賬款周轉天數(shù)用來衡量支付給供應商的平均時間。較長的付款期對客戶的流動性很好，但會損害與供應商的關系。
Gearing
This relates to an organisation’s ability to meet its long-term debts. Two ratios are commonly used.
杠桿比率與企業(yè)償還其長期負債的能力有關，有兩個比率常被用到
10. Capital gearing: non-current liabilities ÷ ordinary shareholders funds % (this is sometimes described as the debt to equity ratio)
Or non-current liabilities ÷ (ordinary shareholders funds + non current liabilities % (sometimes described as debt to equity + debt)
資金借貸比率=非流動負債/.普通股股東資本回報，常被稱為債務股本比或者是 非流動負債/.（普通股股東資本回報+非流動負債），有時也寫作債務比上所有者權益加上債務
11. Interest cover: operating profit ÷ finance costs
利息償付比率=營業(yè)利潤/財務費用
Capital gearing
Also known as leverage. Capital gearing looks at the proportions of owner’s capital and borrowed capital used to finance the business. Many different definitions exist; the two most commonly used ones are given above. When necessary in the exam, you will be told which definition to use.
也被稱為杠桿。資金借貸比例關注的是所有者的資本和借貸資本用來營運企業(yè)的比例。它存在許多不同的定義，最常用的是上述。在考試中，你會被告知使用的定義。
A large proportion of borrowed capital is risky as interest and capital repayments are legal obligations and must be met if the company is to avoid insolvency. The payment of an annual equity dividend on the other hand is not a legal obligation.  Despite its risks, borrowed capital is attractive to companies as lenders accept a lower rate of return than equity investors due to their secured positions. Also interest payments, unlike equity dividends, are corporation tax deductible.
大比例的借入資本是危險的，因為利息和資本償還是法律義務，并且公司為了避免破產這項義務必須滿足。而另一方面，每年的股權分紅并不是一種法律義務。盡管存在風險，但借貸資金對公司來說是有吸引力的，因為債權人由于其擔保地位要接受一個比股權人要低的收益率。另外利息支付，不同于股票股利，是可扣除企業(yè)所得稅的
Levels of capital gearing vary enormously between industries. Companies requiring high investment in tangible assets are commonly highly geared. Consequently, it is difficult to generalise about when capital gearing is too high. However, most accountants would agree that gearing is too high when the proportion of debt exceeds the proportion of equity.
杠桿比率水平差異很大。公司要求有形資產是高投資。因此，很難一概而論什么時候杠桿比率太高。然而，大多數(shù)會計人員同意，當負債比例大于權益的比例時，杠桿比率過高。
Interest cover
This is sometimes known as income gearing. It looks at how many times a company’s operating profits exceed its interest payable. The higher the figure, the more likely a company is to be able to meet its interest payments. Anything in excess of four is usually considered to be safe.
這有時被稱為收入負債。它關注于一個公司的經營利潤超過應付利息多少倍。這個數(shù)字越高，公司越有可能滿足其支付利息。.一般超過4是安全的，能夠償付利息。
Typical question
You are unlikely to be asked a question of the nature of ’Current assets are $3,000 and current liabilities are $1,000, what is the current ratio?’
流動資產為3000，流動負債為1000，那么流動比率是多少？
This is considered too low level for Paper F2/FMA. The question (see 'Related link'), from the December 2011 examiner’s comments, demonstrates the standard of understanding of ratios that is required.
在F2/FMA考試中這被認為是非常簡單的題。這個問題在2011年12月考試綱要中被認定是達到比率的理解要求的。
Written by a member of the Paper F2/FMA examining team