working-capital ratio

Cash Asset Ratio

A ratio of a company's cash and liquid assets to its total liabilities. A cash asset ratio measures a company's liquidity and how easily it can service debt and cover short-term liabilities if the need arises. As a result, potential creditors use this ratio in determining whether or not to make short-term loans. It is also called the liquidity ratio and the current ratio.

Working Capital Ratio

Cash and short-term assets expected to be converted to cash within a year as a percentage of the amount of annual sales. Because expansion requires capital on hand, the working capital ratio is considered a prime indicator of a company's ability to expand its operations without taking on additional debt. Perhaps more straightforwardly, it is often known as the working capital to sales ratio.

working-capital ratio

a measure of a firm's ability to pay its short-term liabilities out of CURRENT ASSETS, which expresses the firm's current assets as a ratio of CURRENT LIABILITIES. See also CURRENT RATIO, WORKING CAPITAL, CASH FLOW.