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Microlesson · 5-min read

Operating Efficiency and Liquidity Ratios

# Operating Efficiency and Liquidity Position

## Operating Efficiency (Activity / Turnover Ratios)

Ratio analysis throws light on the degree of efficiency with which management uses and utilises its assets.

  • Activity ratios = turnover ratios that measure operational efficiency.
  • They show the frequency of sales in relation to assets — capital assets, working capital, or average inventory.
  • A firm's solvency ultimately depends on sales revenues generated by use of its assets (total and component-wise).

## Liquidity Position

Liquidity ratios reveal whether a firm can meet its current obligations when they fall due.

### Importance

  • Inability to pay short-term liabilities damages credibility and credit rating.
  • Continuous default leads to commercial bankruptcy, which can trigger sickness and dissolution.

### Key Liquidity Ratios

RatioFormula
Current RatioCurrent Assets / Current Liabilities
Liquid (Quick) Ratio(Current Assets − Inventory − Prepaid) / Current Liabilities
Cash to Current Liability RatioCash & Equivalents / Current Liabilities

### Who Uses Them?

Particularly useful in credit analysis by banks and other suppliers of short-term loans.

⚠️ Common exam mistakes

  • Confusing liquidity with solvency — liquidity is short-term ability to pay; solvency is long-term.
  • Treating activity ratios as profitability ratios — they measure efficiency of asset use, not profit.
  • Including inventory in the Quick Ratio numerator.
Reference:
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