A consistent cash flow is crucial for any business. Almost every company, irrespective of its size, relies upon financing from banks to ensure timely bill and salary payments and adequate inventory levels. Financial institutions are often concerned with their borrowing organization’s financial health. Consequently, they demand regular financial reports from organizations to stay updated about their performance relating to debt agreements. That is when they need covenant analysis services. Let’s understand more about these services and how they affect banking activities.
Why is Covenant Analysis Necessary?
Covenant reports provide creditors with a routine assurance that the borrowing company meets its obligations for the loan agreement and is healthily positioned to repay the debt on time and in full. Most credit lines and loan agreements require borrowers to fulfill certain operational and financial targets. If it does not meet those targets, the lending institution might impose penalties or restrictions to enforce monetary discipline in the organization. That might mean the company can no longer engage in certain activities or make new investments unless it brings its operations back to compliance.
Even worse, the creditor might demand full repayment, leaving the borrower without cash it requires for operation. A business management team must provide periodic proof to lenders that they comply with their loan covenants. Covenant analysis typically provides key financial measures concerning solvency, profitability, and other measures to make the company’s performance visible. These often include the following:
- Important financial indicators, such as capital expenditures, total revenue, cash outflows and inflows, net profit, and EBITDA
- Solvency and liquidity ratios
- Current ratio (the ratio of current assets in relation to current liabilities)
- Quick ratio (includes cash equivalents, cash, marketable securities, and accounts receivable in relation to current liabilities)
- Debt to equity ratio (the ratio of total debt in relation to total equity)
- Debt to assets ratio (the ratio of total debt in relation to total assets)
- Interest coverage ratio (the ratio of operating income in relation to interest expense)
- Profitability ratios that measure returns and margins, including operating profit margin and gross profit margin
- EBITDA Margin (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization divided by revenue)
Some common margins to measure returns include return on equity, assets, and invested capital. The lenders may also ask for any other information required to ensure a company’s loan repayment capacity.
Importance of Covenant Analysis for Compliance
Reports based on covenant analysis enable an organization to stay on favorable terms with the lenders. It increases their likelihood of getting credit when needed and reduces the chance of creditors calling for existing debt before the due date.
Generally, when an organization borrows money from a financial institution, it enters a legal agreement to follow certain provisions. Loan companies commonly demand regular covenant reports outlining the financial metrics expected from the borrowing organization. They outline the terms the borrowers must maintain to sustain the loan under favorable terms. Companies failing to deliver timely and accurate reports negatively impact their organization’s financial health and reputation.
Besides sending negative signals to lenders, non-compliance also results in monetary penalties. Producing timely and accurate reports helps a company mitigate any risks associated with non-compliance, avoid loan defaults, and avoid events that adversely affect a company’s ability to operate optimally and efficiently.
Compiling a Covenant Analysis Report
Companies typically produce covenant reports at the end of their closing process monthly, quarterly, or annually. The format and content largely depend on the loan agreement and the lender’s expectations. There are several reporting tools that have ERP and account software to create reports in an understandable and customizable format. However, the key is to choose a toolset that produces accurate, meaningful, and flexible financial statements without highly trained technical experts. It must give indicative ratios for a business and calculate them efficiently. It must allow data customization and align it in the organization around the most significant KPIs.
Business leaders can transform their businesses by utilizing financial intelligence. They can use real-time analytics and reporting tools to automate the processes and empower their finance team. If an organization needs support to handle covenant analysis and reporting, an analytical tool and covenant monitoring solution can help.