Accounting Liquidity - Calculating Liquidity

Calculating Liquidity

For a corporation with a published balance sheet there are various ratios used to calculate a measure of liquidity. These include the following:

• the current ratio, which is the simplest measure and is calculated by dividing the total current assets by the total current liabilities. A value of over 100% is normal in a non-banking corporation. However, some current assets are more difficult to sell at full value in a hurry.
• the quick ratio - calculated by deducting inventories and prepayments from current assets and then dividing by current liabilities - gives a measure of the ability to meet current liabilities from assets that can be readily sold. A better way for a trading corporation to meet liabilities is from cash flows, rather than through asset sales, so;
• the operating cash flow ratio can be calculated by dividing the operating cash flow by current liabilities. This indicates the ability to service current debt from current income, rather than through asset sales.