Cash Budgeting and Profitability of Quoted Small and Medium Scale Enterprises: A Panel Data Study from Nigeria

Using cross-sectional data from 2015–2024 derived from the financial statements of the cited SMEs, this study examined the impact of cash budgeting on the profitability of these businesses. We modelled operating cash flow, estimated cash inflow and outflow, calculated cash balance and net cash flow to determine earnings per share. Collective statistics The methods of ordinary least squares were employed. Cash budgeting accounted for 54.3% of the variance in EPS for the listed companies, according to the study's fixed effect model. With a probability level well below the 5% significance level, the coefficients demonstrated that all cash budgeting variables used by enterprises have a strong tendency to increase earnings per share of employed firms. A negative coefficient is shown by expected cash inflow and estimated cash balance on earnings per share, whereas a positive coefficient is shown by operating cash flow, anticipated cash outflow, and net cash flow. The research shows that cash budgeting factors impact diluted earnings for publicly traded companies in different ways. According to the research, in order for small and medium-sized businesses to achieve long-term financial success, stability, and profitability, they should adopt and strictly adhere to solid cash budgeting methods.