The object of this research was to determine the risks and the rewards of providing reverse factoring as a financing technology for small and mediumsized enterprises (SMEs) in South Africa. There have been a number of financing technologies provided to SMEs in South Africa and reverse factoring has not been taken advantage of. The financing technologies that have been offered range from trade credit, to collateralised loans, overdraft facilities, etc. Most if not all of these technologies are based on some form of security which is usually the SME’s immovable assets. This research project contributes to the body of knowledge that deals with SME finance. A survey was done to find out the views of SME owners, procurement managers, finance managers and financiers concerning the risks and rewards of providing reverse factoring to SMEs. Ten propositions were formulated. A qualitative research methodology, using semi-structured interviews was used to rate the risks and rewards associated with providing reverse factoring. The results showed that the rewards far outweigh the risks by a ratio of 1: 0.6. For reverse factoring as a financing technology this is positive and is worth pursuing. The risks of lack of collateral and the risk of fraudulent invoices are the most prevalent. A boost in economic activity in the SME space and the provision of much needed liquidity were the most noted rewards of providing reverse factoring to SMEs in South Africa. Copyright / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2012. / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / unrestricted

Abstract Master Thesis in Business Finance, School of Economics, Linnaeus University Authors: Adis Cikotic and Eric Hörnell Supervisor: Magnus Willesson Examiner: Andreas Jansson   Title: "Liquidity is not a matter of life and death, it is more important than that"   Background: One of the biggest concerns for Swedish small and medium businesses is their lack of capital, which might lead to lower profitability. A significant reason behind this is said to be the buyer's long payment terms contrary to the supplier's payment terms for their own expenses, which increases the risk of an imbalance between the inflows and outflows of money. This situation occurs due to, for example, power relations and institutional factors, which might affect a firm's Cash Conversion Cycle and furthermore the firm's profitability.    Purpose: The primary purpose of the thesis is to examine whether the length of a firm's Cash Conversion Cycle has an impact on the profitability of Swedish SMEs. Moreover, the purpose is to determine if the presence of Buyers Power affects a firm's profitability.    Method: The thesis has a deductive research approach where the theories applied, Cash Conversion Cycle and Buyers Power, lead to the formulated hypotheses. The quantitative research methodology is based on a data set of approximately 38 000 Swedish SME's between the years 2015-2018.    Conclusions: It could be seen that there is a concave relationship between firm's Cash Conversion Cycle and a firm's profitability for Swedish SMEs. The interpretation is therefore that both too short and too long Cash Conversion Cycle is not optimal, and the optimal length of the Cash Conversion Cycle is 36 days for Swedish SMEs. Moreover, the result showed that a presence of Buyers Power has a positive relationship with profitability, meaning that a larger ratio between a firm's accounts receivables and accounts payables increases the firm's profitability.