By Rich Bond
Many large public companies are spending millions of dollars to mobilize their working capital as they prepare for further interest rate increases and possible credit restrictions. I learned this because I’m currently recruiting for a Big 4 Accounting Firm’s Treasury Consulting practice. The public companies are scrambling.
If you own or run a business, you should be, too.
I’ll let you in on a secret: Working capital mobilization succeeds by taking a thousand small steps in the same direction. It is NOT a quick fix, but when it works, it is like emerging into bright sunlight after having slogged through a dark unpleasant jungle.
Here are some of those thousand steps, which are really quite simple. The person who heads up finance needs to:
- Set up metrics and targets
- Days Sales Outstanding (DSO),
- Days Payables Outstanding (DPO),
- Inventory Turns by SKU,
- Reporting of Aged Receivables to identify problems as they are developing.
- Monitor the targets
- Analyze the results
- Identify problems as they are developing
- Make forecasts
- Communicate the information with the management team
Without these metrics and practices, it is hard – if not impossible – to proactively manage your working capital.
If you’re looking for a working capital solution, contact me, tell me your story, and we’ll figure out a way to work together to get you a financial expert who can free up working capital and help your business thrive – not just survive. richard.bond@bondandcompany.com.
