TRENDS IN WORKING CAPITAL MANAGEMENT AND ITS IMPACT ON FIRMS, PERFORMANCE: AN ANALYSIS OF MAURITIAN SMALL MANUFACTURING FIRMS

A well designed and implemented working capital management is expected to contribute positively to the creation of a firm’s value The purpose of this paper is to examine the trends in working capital management and its impact on firms’ performance. The trend in working capital needs and profitability of firms are examined to identify the causes for any significant differences between the industries. The dependent variable, return on total assets is used as a measure of profitability and the relation between working capital management and corporate profitability is investigated for a sample of 58 small manufacturing firms, using panel data analysis for the period 1998 – 2003. The regression results show that high investment in inventories and receivables is associated with lower profitability. The key variables used in the analysis are inventories days, accounts receivables days, accounts payable days and cash conversion cycle. A strong significant relationship between working capital management and profitability has been found in previous empirical work. An analysis of the liquidity, profitability and operational efficiency of the five industries shows significant changes and how best practices in the paper industry have contributed to performance. The findings also reveal an increasing trend in the short-term component of working capital financing.