Question

SNC is considering evaluating the payment profile of its customer base, especially focusing on customers who are chronically delinquent in paying invoices. Super Sports Centers-a national, mall-based, upscale fitness network and a key SNC customer (accounting for 20% of SNC's overall sales)-routinely takes almost 200 days to pay its invoices. That far exceeds the 90-day average collection period for SNC's other customers. If SNC drops Super Sports Centers from its customer base, sales will decrease by $2 million. However, the cash-flow measure of days sales outstanding (DSO) will quickly improve. What would you like to do about this opportunity?

2013 2014 2015 Post 2015
Incremental Summary
Income Statement
($ in thousands)
Sales -$2,000 -$2,000 -$2,000 -$2,000
Cost of Sales -$1,870 -$1,870 -$1,870 -$1,870
EBIT -$130 -$130 -$130 -$130
Incremental Balance Sheet
($ in thousands)
Accounts Receivable -$1,096 -$1,096 -$1,096 -$1,096
Inventories -$461 -$461 -$461 -$461
Accounts Payable -$210 -$210 -$210 -$210

Answer 1

I would decline the proposal to drop Super Sports Centers.

Step-by-step explanation:

In order to be able to accept or decline dropping SSC as a customer we must first calculate the cost of being paid after 200 days.

If you analyze it from an accounting point of view, dropping SSC will decrease your operating profits by $130,000 and that might result in your firm not being able to make a profit anymore.

In my opinion, the cost analysis is not complete because in order to calculate EBIT your are simply subtracting COGS from revenue (which is correct but incomplete). When you make important business decisions, you must determine which is the least of evils. Is reducing your DSO so important that you will risk going bankrupt? How much does financing SSC costs? Since SCC takes so long to pay, you should probably record the present value of the sale (similar to a non-interest bearing note).

You must also remember that if your total sales decrease by 20%, your COGS will increase since fixed costs per unit will increase. Probably the best way to understand this is to analyze the situation like a special order sale. SNC should probably calculate their manufacturing (or retailing) costs without SSC and that way they will be able to determine the real advantage or disadvantage of having SSC as a client.