最近在阅读英文版的金融类书籍，以下是今天中午阅读的内容，并附上中文翻译，翻译不妥之处，欢迎指正！
Liquidity is the extent to which a company is able to meet its short-team obligations using assets that can be readily transformed into cash. When we evaluate the liquidity of an asset, we focus on two dimensions: the type of asset and the speed at which the asset can be converted to cash, either by sale or financing. Unlike many aspects of corporate finance, corporate liquidity management does not involve a great deal of theory or generally accepted principles. For companies that have the luxury of large excesses of cash, liquidity management to ensure solvency. Unfortunately, this recognition comes too late for some companies, with bankruptcy and possible liquidation representing the company's final choice.
Defining Liquidity Management
Liquidity management refers to the ability of an organization to generate cash when and where it is needed. Liquidity refers to the resources available for an entity to tap into cash balances and to convert other assets or extend other liabilities into cash for use in keeping the entity solvent (i.e., being able to pay bills and continue in operation). For the most part, we associate liquidity with short-term assets and liabilities, yet longer-team assets can be converted into cash to provide liquidity. In addition, longer-term liabilities can also be renegotiated to reduce the drain on cash, thereby providing liquidity by preserving the limited supply of cash. Of course, the last two methods may come at a price as they tend to reduce the company's overall financial strength.
The challenges of managing liquidity include developing, implementing, and maintaining a liquidity policy. To do this effectively, a company must manage all of its key sources of liquidity efficiently. These key sources may very from company to company, but they generally include the primary sources of liquidity, such as cash balances, and secondary sources of liquidity ,such as selling assets.
Primary Sources of Liquidity
Primary sources of liquidity represent the most readily accessible resources available. They may be held as cash or as near-cash securities. Primary sources include:
Ready cash balances, which is cash available in bank accounts, resulting from payment collections, investment income, liquidation of near-cash securities (i.e., those with maturities of less than 90 days), and other cash flows.
Short-term funds, which may include items such as trade credit, bank lines of credit, and short-term investment portfolios.
Cash flow management, which is the company's effectiveness in its cash management system and practices, and the degree of decentralization of the collections or payments processes. The more decentralized the system of collections, for example, the more likely the company will be to have cash tied up in the system and not available for use.
These sources represent liquidity that is typical for most companies. The represent funds that are readily accessible at relatively low cost.
Secondary Sources of Liquidity
The main difference between the primary and secondary sources of liquidity is that using a primary source is not likely to affect the normal operations of the company, whereas using a secondary source may result in a change in the company's financial and operating positions. Secondary sources include:
negotiating debt contracts, relieving pressures from high interest payments or principal repayments;
liquidating assets, which depends on the degree to which short-term and/or long-term assets can be liquidated and converted into cash without substantial loss in value; and
filing for bankruptcy protection and reorganization.
Use of secondary sources may signal a company's deteriorating financial health and provide liquidity at a high price——the cost of giving up a company asset to produce emergency cash. The last source, reorganization through bankruptcy, may also be considered a liquidity tool because a company under bankruptcy protection that generates operating cash will be liquid and generally able to contine business operations until a restructuring has been devised and approved.
Drags and Pulls on Liquidity
Cash flow transactions ——that is, cash receipts and disbursements——have significant effects on a company's liquidity position. We refer to these effects as drags and pulls on liquidity. A drag on liquidity is when receipts lag, creating pressure from the decreased available funds; a pull on liquidity is when disbursements are paid too quickly or trade credit availability is limited, requiring companies to expend funds before they receive funds from sales that could cover the liability.
Major drags on receipts involve pressures from credit management and deterioration in other assets and include:
Uncollected receivables. The longer these are outstanding, the greater the risk that they will not be collected at all. They are indicated by the large number of days of receivables and high levels of bad debt expenses. Just as the drags on receipts may cause increased pressures on working capital, pulls on outgoing payments may have similar effects.
Obsolete inventory. If inventory stands unused for long periods, it may be an indication that it is no longer usable. Slow inventory turnover ratios can also indicate obsolete inventory. Once identified, obsolete inventory should attend to as soon as possible in order to minimize storage and other costs.
Tight credit. When economic conditions make capital scarcer, short-term debt becomes more expensive to arrange and use. Attempting to smooth out peak borrowings can help blunt the impact of tight credit as can improving the company's collections.
In many cases, drags may be alleviated by stricter enforcement of credit and collection practices.
However, managing the cash outflows may be as important as managing the inflows. If suppliers and other vendors who offer credit terms perceive a weakened financial position or are unfamiliar with a company, they may restrict payment terms so much that the company's liquidity reserves are stretched thin. Major pulls on payments include:
Making payments early. By paying vendors, employees, or others before the due dates, companies forgo the use of funds. Effective payment management means not making early payments. Payables managers typically hold payments until they can made by the due date.
Reduced credit limits. If a company has a history of making late payments, suppliers may cut the amount of credit they will allow to be outstanding at any time, which can squeeze the company's liquidity. Some companies try to extend payment periods as long as possible, disregarding the possible impact of reduced credit limits.
Limits on short-term lines of credit. If a company's bank reduces the line of credit it offers the company, a liquidity squeeze may result. Credit line restrictions may be government-mandated, market-related, or simply company-specific. Many companies try to avert this situation by establishing credit lines far in excess of what they are likely to need. This "over-banking" approach is often commonplace in emerging economies or even in more-developed countries where the banking system is not sound and the economy is shaky.
Low liquidity positions. Many companies face chronic liquidity shortages, often because of their particular industry or from their weaker financial position. The major remedy for this situation is, of course, to improve the company's financial position, or else the company will be heavily affected by interest rates and credit availability. Most companies facing this situation have to deal with secured borrowing to obtain any working capital funds. Therefore, it is important for these companies to identify assets that can be used to help support the company's short-term borrowing activities.
It is critical that these drags and pulls be identified as soon as possible, often when they have not yet happened or have just arisen.
流动性是指企业能够使用可以随时转化为现金的资产履行短期团队义务的程度。当我们评估资产的流动性时，我们关注两个方面：资产类型和资产可以通过销售或融资转化为现金的速度。与公司财务的许多方面不同，公司流动性管理不涉及大量的理论或普遍接受的原则。对于那些拥有大量现金的流动性管理公司来确保偿付能力。不幸的是，对于一些公司来说，这种认可来得太晚，破产和可能的清算代表了公司的最终选择。
界定流动性管理
流动性管理是指组织在需要的时间和地点生成现金的能力。流动性是指实体可用于获取现金余额，转换其他资产或将其他负债延伸至现金以用于保持实体偿付能力（即能够支付账单并继续运作）的资源。大部分情况下，我们将流动性与短期资产和负债联系在一起，但较长时间的团队资产可以转换为现金以提供流动性。此外，还可以重新谈判长期负债以减少现金流失，从而通过保留有限的现金供应来提供流动性。当然，最后两种方法可能会降低公司整体财务实力。
流动性管理的挑战包括制定，实施和维持流动性政策。为了有效地做到这一点，公司必须有效管理其所有主要流动资金来源。这些关键来源可能在公司间很不相同，但通常包括流动性的主要来源，如现金余额和流动性的次要来源，如出售资产。
流动性的主要来源
流动性的主要来源是最容易获得的资源。它们可能是现金或近现金证券。主要来源包括：
准备好的现金余额，即银行账户中可用的现金，来自付款收集，投资收入，清算近现金证券（即期限少于90天的证券）和其他现金流量。
短期资金，其中可能包括贸易信贷，银行信贷额度和短期投资组合等项目。
现金流量管理是公司在其现金管理系统和实践中的有效性，以及收款或支付流程的分散程度。例如，收集系统越分散，公司越有可能将现金捆绑在系统中而不能使用。
这些来源代表了大多数公司的典型流动性。这些资金可以以相对较低的成本获得。
流动性的次要来源
流动性的主要来源和次要来源之间的主要区别在于，使用主要来源不会影响公司的正常运营，而使用次要来源可能会导致公司的财务和运营状况发生变化。
次要来源包括：
谈判债务合同，减轻高利息支付或偿还本金的压力;
清算资产，这取决于短期和/或长期资产可以在多大程度上被清算并转换成现金而没有重大的价值损失;和
申请破产保护和重组。
二手资源的使用可能表明公司恶化的财务状况并以高价提供流动性 - 这是放弃公司资产生产紧急现金的成本。最后的来源，通过破产进行重组，也可以被视为流动性工具，因为破产保护公司获得经营性现金将是流动性的，并且通常能够控制业务运营，直到重组被设计和批准。
拖拽流动性
现金流量交易 - 即现金收支 - 对公司的流动性头寸有重大影响。我们将这些影响称为拖累和拉动流动性。流动性的拖累是收入滞后，从可用资金减少中产生压力;当支付过快或贸易信贷可用性有限时，要求公司在从销售中获得可用于支付责任的资金之前花费资金。
主要拖欠收入包括来自信贷管理的压力和其他资产的恶化，包括：
未收回的应收账款。这些突出的时间越长，他们根本不会被收集的风险就越大。它们表现为应收账款天数较多，坏账费用水平较高。正如收据上的拖拽可能会增加营运资本的压力一样，拖拽付款也可能产生类似的效果。
已过时的广告资源。如果库存长时间未被使用，可能表明它不再可用。缓慢的库存周转率也可能表明库存过时。一旦确定，应尽快处置过时库存，以尽量减少存储和其他费用。
信用紧。当经济状况使资本稀缺时，短期债务的安排和使用变得更加昂贵。试图平息高峰借款有助于减轻信贷紧张的影响，从而改善公司的收入。
在很多情况下，拖延可能通过更严格的信贷和收款惯例来缓解。
但是，管理现金流出可能与管理流入同等重要。如果提供信贷条件的供应商和其他供应商认为财务状况不佳或对公司不熟悉，他们可能会限制付款条款以至于公司的流动性储备被细化。主要的支付包括：
尽早付款。通过在交付日期前支付供应商，员工或其他人，公司放弃使用资金。有效的支付管理意味着不提前支付。应付账款管理人员通常会持有付款，直到他们在截止日期前完成付款。
减少信用额度。如果一家公司有延迟付款的历史，供应商可能随时减少他们允许的未付信用额度，这可能会挤压公司的流动性。一些公司试图尽可能延长付款期限，而不考虑信用额度减少可能带来的影响。
限制短期信贷额度。如果公司的银行降低了向公司提供的信贷额度，则可能导致流动性紧缩。信用额度限制可能是政府规定的，与市场相关的，或者仅限于公司特定的。许多公司试图通过建立远远超过他们可能需要的信用额度来避免这种情况。这种“过度银行”方式在新兴经济体甚至银行体系不健全，经济不稳定的较发达国家常见。
低流动性头寸。许多公司面临着长期的流动性短缺，通常是因为他们的行业或财务状况较差。当然，这种情况的主要补救办法是改善公司的财务状况，否则公司将受到利率和信贷可用性的严重影响。面临这种情况的大多数公司必须处理有担保借款以获得任何周转资金。因此，这些公司很重要的是找出可用于支持公司短期借款活动的资产。
尽快确定这些拖拽和拉扯至关重要，通常在他们尚未发生或刚刚兴起时。
思考题：
你认为财务报表中哪些参数与流动性管理密切相关？