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Just as your pulse is checked during a routine physical, free cash flow is used as an indicator of a company's health. It equals the cash brought in from operations minus the money needed to pay the bills. Think about leftover money in your checking account after you pay this month's bills.
Investors and analysts see this leftover money as a gauge of a company's ability to perform. It is available for transactions such as handing out dividends and working on new products.
Some argue free cash flow is wrongly overshadowed by the emphasis often placed on earnings. Earnings numbers can be manipulated and don't always tell the whole story -- and earnings don't mean much if there's nothing left over after a company pays its expenses. Even if you bring in a six-figure salary, but no money left after paying the bills, are you in great financial shape?
You don't have to be Einstein to figure out free cash flow. To calculate the number, subtract the company's expenditures and dividends from its operating cash flow.
If the free cash flow is written in red ink, it doesn't necessarily signal curtains. This is common for young companies looking to grow. It also could be a result of heavy investments, which in the long run could be worth a standing ovation.
Home / Markets / Industries / Finance
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Assurant Employee Benefits Adds to Senior Leadership Team
Comtex
KANSAS CITY, Mo., July 22, 2008 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ ----Kansas City-based Assurant Employee Benefits adds a ninth member to its senior leadership team with the hiring of Tim Knott as Vice President - Insurance Operations, effective July 21. With more than 24 years of insurance experience, Knott will lead the insurance carrier's Life and Disability teams, as well as its subsidiary, Social Security Disability Consultants. He will report directly to John Roberts, Assurant Employee Benefits' interim president and CEO.
Knott's new position with Assurant Employee Benefits is a return to the company and Kansas City. He worked for the company for 13 years in various management roles. He was appointed actuary in 1995 and was responsible for the profitability, pricing, valuation and financial reporting of life, disability and dental products.
"My family and I are excited to be returning to Kansas City," said Knott. "I'm looking forward to working with some old friends and establishing new relationships."
Most recently, Knott was the Vice President of Group Operations at Principal Financial Group located in Des Moines. There he was responsible for the product management, underwriting, and administration of a $1.4 million block of specialty benefits, and oversaw the development and implementation of several key initiatives, including long-term disability and dental product rollouts.
"I am excited about what his level of expertise will do for our business," said John Roberts, interim president and CEO.
Knott is a graduate of the University of Central Missouri with a degree in Mathematics. He is a native of Carrollton, Mo., and he will reside in Lee's Summit with his wife, Laura and their children Kara, Jake, and Luke.
About Assurant Employee Benefits
Assurant Employee Benefits specializes in quality employee benefits and services, including long-term and short-term disability, life and accidental death and dismemberment insurance, dental coverage, and disability reinsurance management services. Assurant Employee Benefits also offers voluntary (employee-paid) disability, life, and dental plans. Products and services marketed by Assurant Employee Benefits are underwritten or provided by Union Security Insurance Company or an affiliated prepaid dental company.
In New York, group insurance products and services are marketed by Assurant Employee Benefits and underwritten by Union Security Life Insurance Company of New York, which is licensed in New York and has its principal place of business in Syracuse, New York. Plans contain limitations and exclusions. Underwriting flexibility allows Assurant Employee Benefits to market tailor- made benefit plans for groups of most any size. Assurant Employee Benefits is located in Kansas City, Missouri.
Assurant Employee Benefits is part of Assurant, a premier provider of specialized insurance products and related services in North America and selected international markets. Its four key businesses -- Assurant Solutions; Assurant Specialty Property; Assurant Health; and Assurant Employee Benefits -- have partnered with clients who are leaders in their industries and have built leadership positions in a number of specialty insurance market segments worldwide.
Assurant, a Fortune 500 company and a member of the S&P 500, is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol AIZ. http://www.assurant.com.
SOURCE Assurant Employee Benefits
http://www.assurant.com
Copyright (C) 2008 PR Newswire. All rights reserved ********************************************************************** As of Friday, 07-18-2008 23:59, the latest Comtex SmarTrend� Alert, an automated pattern recognition system, indicated a DOWNTREND on 07-16-2008 for AIZ @ $65.10. For more information on SmarTrend, contact your market data provider or go to www.mysmartrend.com SmarTrend is a registered trademark of Comtex News Network, Inc. Copyright � 2004-2008 Comtex News Network, Inc. All rights reserved.
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