Current ratio vs quick ratio

Answer 1

Quick ratio is a measure of company's ability to meet short term obligation with liquid assets. Quick ratio= (current assets â?? inventories) / current liabilities. While current ratio also called liquidity ratio measures the ability of a company to pay short term obligations. It is calculated as: Current Ratio= Current Assets / Current Liabilities.

Answer 2

Current Ratio:

The current ratio is calculated by dividing a company's current assets by its current liabilities.

Current assets include cash, cash equivalents, accounts receivable, inventory, and other assets that are expected to be converted into cash or used up within one year.

Current liabilities include short-term debts, Accounts Payable, and other obligations that are due within one year.

The current ratio provides a broader view of a company's short-term liquidity and is less conservative than the quick ratio.

Formula: Current Ratio = Current Assets / Current Liabilities

Quick Ratio (Acid-Test Ratio):

The quick ratio is a more conservative measure of short-term liquidity. It excludes inventory from current assets because inventory may not be as easily convertible to cash in a short period.

Quick assets, which are included in the numerator, typically include cash, cash equivalents, and accounts receivable (net of allowances for doubtful accounts).

Like the current ratio, the quick ratio is used to assess a company's ability to cover its short-term obligations, but it focuses on the most liquid assets.

Formula: Quick Ratio = (Cash + Cash Equivalents + Marketable Securities + Accounts Receivable) / Current Liabilities

Key Differences:

The main difference between the two ratios is that the current ratio includes inventory in its calculation, while the quick ratio excludes inventory. Inventory can take time to sell and convert into cash, making the quick ratio a more conservative measure of a company's ability to meet its short-term obligations quickly.

The current ratio tends to be higher than the quick ratio for most companies because it includes a broader range of assets in the calculation.

A current ratio above 1 indicates that a company has more current assets than current liabilities, while a quick ratio above 1 indicates that a company can meet its short-term obligations without relying on inventory.

Generally, a quick ratio is considered a more stringent test of liquidity, making it particularly useful for companies with slow-moving or obsolete inventory, or those in industries where inventory can be difficult to convert to cash quickly.

Both ratios are valuable tools for assessing a company's financial health, but the choice between them depends on the specific circumstances and the level of conservatism desired in the analysis.