Determinants of Working Capital Requirements in Selected Quoted Companies in Nigeria

Abstract

In this article, the author investigates the determinants of working capital requirements of 66 firms in Nigeria using panel data for the period 1997–2007. The results suggest that sales growth, firms’ operating cycle, economic activity, size, and permanent working capital are firm specific characteristics that positively drive working capital policy. Leverage, however, is inversely related to working capital requirements. Essentially, the results imply that traditional valuation methods used to quantify the efficiency of corporate working capital policy may be suspect as increased investments in operating working capital may be necessitated by increased business uncertainties. In general, the findings suggest that some of the insights from modern finance theory are potable to Nigeria.