When firms enter into loan agreements with their bank it is very common for the agreement to have a restriction on the minimum current ratio the firm has to maintain. So, it is important that the firm be aware of the effects of their decisions on the current ratio. Consider the situation of Advanced Auto parts (AAP) in 2009. The firm had total current assets of $1,807,626,000 and current liabilities of $1,364,994,000.
a. What is the firm's current ratio?
b. If the firm were to expand its investment in inventory and finance the expansion by increasing accounts payable, how much could they increase their inventory without reducing the current ratio below 1.2?
c. If the company needed to raise its current ratio to 1.5 by reducing its investment in current assets and simultaneously reducing accounts payable and short-term debt, how much would it have to reduce current assets to accomplish this goal?