Abstract

Profits of a company depend upon its frequency of reinvestment, or turnover, of its capital. Frequent turnover would not
be possible if collections are slow as they deny the company the use of its own capital. Credit collection period is, therefore,
an important factor that may influence a company’s overall performance. Hence, this study explores the average collection
period profile of 279 small and medium-sized manufacturing companies in Malaysia using the companies’ financial statements
from 1999 through 2002. This paper also examines if different industry sector has different collection period. Then the
study relates the average collection period to company financial performance as measured by operating profit on total
assets. Finally, the study investigates if there is any relationship between collection period and company size. These
relationships are then examined again after taking industry sub-sector into consideration.

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