DEBT RATIO measures the percent of total funds provided by creditors. Debt includes both current liabilities and long-term debt. Creditors prefer low debt ratios because the lower the ratio, the greater the cushion against creditors losses in liquidation. Owners may seek high debt ratios, either to magnify earnings or because selling new stock would mean giving up control. Owners want control while "using someone elses money." Debt Ratio is best compared to industry data to determine if a company is possibly over or under leveraged. The right level of debt for a business depends on many factors. Some advantages of higher debt levels are:
Some disadvantages can be:
Formula: Total Liabilities / (Total Liabilities + Stockholders Equity)
LINE ITEM BUDGET is a budget initiated by government entities in which budgeted financial statement elements are grouped by administrative entities and object. These budget item groups are usually presented in an incremental fashion that is in comparison to previous time periods. Line item budgets are also used in private industry for comparison and budgeting of selected object groups and their previous and future expenditure levels within an organization.
PRIME RATE is the interest rate that banks charge to their preferred customers. Changes in the prime rate influence changes in other rates; mortgage interest rates for example.
Enter a term, then click the entry you would like to view.