Role of Working Capital Management in Enhancing Firm Profitability: An Empirical Study on the Manufacturing Companies of Pakistan

Abstract

Working capital management is a crucial instrument and one of the key aspects of any business management. It is considered as an accounting technique to maintain the organization's liquidity and financial balance and is regarded as a critical part of financial management in the company. This study emphasizes on investigating the role played by working capital management in enhancing the profitability of companies from the manufacturing sector listed in Pakistan stock exchange during the period 2018-2022. Return on equity and return on assets are used as the profitability measures; however, account receivable turnover, inventory turnover and cash conversion cycle are used as the measures of working capital management. To evaluate the results, the least square regression model is used. The results show that inventory turnover has a significant positive association with both ROA and ROE, which implies that inventory management and sales acceleration have a positive effect on the company's return on assets and return on equity. Similarly, the association of accounts receivable turnover with ROA and ROE is also significant and positive, demonstrating that good credit management and prompt receivables collection improve the return on equity and assets. The research also reveals a significant positive association of both ROA and ROE with the cash conversion cycle. Higher returns on assets and equity are connected with a higher cash conversion cycle. The results suggested that the managers should speed up the collection of receivables as quickly as possible and quickly sell the inventory so that the cash thus generated can be reinvested in productive assets, which can increase the company’s profitability. The study's findings provide an important guideline to financial managers in managing the appropriate level of working capital to enhance firms’ profitability.