S H O R T- T E R M
CREDITORS
Current Ratio
Short-term debt-paying
ability without regard to
the liquidity of current
assets.
Does this customer
have sufficient cash
o r o t h e r l i q u i d
assets to cover its
s h o r t - t e r m
obligations?
Quick Ratio
Short-term debt-paying
ability without having to
rely on sale of inventory.
Does this customer
have sufficient cash
o r o t h e r l i q u i d
assets to cover its
s h o r t - t e r m
obligations?
L O N G - T E R M
CREDITORS
D e b t - t o -
Equity Ratio
A m o u n t s o f a s s e t s
provided by creditors for
each dollar of assets
provided by owner(s).
Is the company’s
d e b t l o a d
excessive?
Time Interest
Earned
Ability to pay fixed charges
for interest from operating
profits.
Are earnings and
c a s h fl o w s
sufficient to cover
interest payments
and some principal
repayments?
Cash Flow to
Liabilities
To t a l d e b t c o v e r a g e
general debt-paying ability.
Are earnings and
c a s h fl o w s
sufficient to cover
interest payments
and some principal
repayments?
Source: VSBDC (2004) Financial Statement Analysis for Small Businesses; A Resource Guide. Virginia Small
Business Development Centre Network, pp 22
Figure 3 and table 2 show several most frequently used financial ratios which are not
exclusive in assessing SMEs’ business quality (towards Zager et al., 2008). Moreover,
analysts calculate some other ratios, other the above mentioned once.
Table 2: Financial ratios
RATIO WHAT IT MEASURES
1. Liquidity ratios measure company’s capability to pay its
payable current liabilities
2. Leverage ratios measure how the company is financed
from creditors’ resources
3. Activity ratios measure how efficiently company uses its
own resources.
4. Economy ratios measure relation between revenues and
expenses, that is, they show how much
revenue is achieved per unit of expenses.
5. Profitability ratios measure the return of the invested capital
and show the highest managerial
efficiency