Bank finance articles and tips

In 2005 Congress reformed the Bankruptcy Code and created what is called the Means Test. One of the key components of the Means Test is the calculation of current monthly income to determination if someone has monthly disposable income. Disposable income is theoretically the amount of money someone can afford to pay back their debts each month. If there is disposable income, then that income should be paid to creditors in a Chapter 13 bankruptcy case and a Chapter 7 bankruptcy should not be filed. So what is income when filling out the Means Test?

Generally all income earned or received during the six-month period prior to a bankruptcy case being filed must be included in the Means Test, or "All figures must reflect average monthly income received from all sources, derived during the six calendar months prior to filing the bankruptcy case, ending on the last day of the month before the filing. If the amount of monthly earnings varied during the six months, you must divide the six-month total by six, and enter the result on the appropriate line." The earnings listed is therefore a six-month average. The result of the six-month average can vary widely depending upon whether income is received from self-employment, or someone is employed and receives a salary that stays the same each month.

There's a saying in purchasing that when the inventory in the warehouse is lean, sales is doing a great job. When the warehouse is overstocked, there must be a problem with purchasing. That's the world we live in.

Running a profitable company in this economy is as much about keeping inventory lean as it is about boosting sales. But as everyone knows, that's easier said than done. With demand fluctuations, supplier issues and tightening wallets, keeping the right balance of inventory is tricky to say the least.