Kitchener Crystal, a Canadian manufacturer of fine crystal products and art installations, has landed a significant contract to supply a chain of retail stores in the U.K. As well, sales in several foreign markets have exploded in the last several months including a significant crystal sculpture installation for the lobby of an office building in Paris which will take several months to complete. Part of the reason for the success is the generous short-term accounts receivable or credit terms offered to its customers of full invoice price paid within 60 days rather than the industry norm of 30 days. They also offer generous terms for their larger projects like the installation. This has resulted in a large amount of both short term and medium term accounts receivable to build up. While happy with this great success the Chief Financial Officer, Olivia Gonzalez is concerned because the longer payment terms are straining cash flow needed to manufacture and meet this growth. She is also concerned that some of the accounts may not be collectible the longer they are unpaid and she would like to protect against losing that money. Working capital is so strained that the CFO worries that they may not have the funds to continue to finance manufacturing and build inventory to meet demand. 

What options does Kitchener Crystal have to improve or protect its cash flow and finance this fantastic sales growth?

Answer rating: 100% (QA)

ANSWER I Kitchener Crystal can consider several options to i... View the full answer