Working capital - why it matters

Tools and techniques to improve cash flow.

Accountants and treasurers at all levels - directors, senior managers, heads of finance - plus lawyers, project/programme managers, credit control, sales and purchase ledger staff, buyers and sales professionals. The course will be valuable to anyone responsible for managing any part of the working capital pipeline.

The course is aimed at all organisations that want to optimise their working capital and improve cash flow reporting; understand how working capital drivers will enhance the cash conversion cycle and ensure investors and stakeholders are viewing the right metrics.

The issues addressed by the course apply to manufacturing businesses, the services sector, logistics and retail, and to complex project/programme scenarios in the construction, engineering and oil and gas sectors, plus the consulting services to these sectors. 

Help your company to make more of their cash flow through:

• recovering cash from debtors, creditors, stock and work in progress by utilising credit control effectively, checking for discounts/rebates/retentions and duplicate payments for suppliers, reducing stock by JIT/Kanban techniques and understanding unbilled work in progress
• improving customer demand chain, supply chain/reverse supply chain relationships - the right metrics and the right time
• lowering overhead and increasing billable costs
• presenting disclosure requirements that make investors/stakeholders take notice
• improving your credit rating and liquidity.

The course will clarify how:

• accountants, lawyers, treasurers, managers and directors at all levels can impact the whole working capital pipeline of creditors, debtors, work-in-progress, process costs and product/customer margins
• a rigorous approach to analysing the pipeline can uncover where actions to improve working capital should be focused.
• the treatment of working capital significantly impacts not only the accounting information of an organisation but how it is perceived by analysts and the marketplace in general
• issues beyond the current credit easing loom as future risks to working capital, such as corporate social responsibility, green issues and the cost of dealing with enhanced security, natural disasters, economic and political turmoil
• management teams can deliver improvements to working capital, including appointment of champions and using lean/six sigma hybrid techniques
• understanding factoring /securitisation of debtors, supplier chain finance / dynamic discounting and even payroll finance could assist working capital.

John Mardle

John has held senior executive positions in blue chip companies such as Bombardier, Parsons, ABB, Alstom, Wimpey, Kent Group and Hayward Tyler (Peerless Pumps), where he delivered world wide programmes of strategic importance.

He was responsible for the delivery of Fifoots and Aberthaw power stations, Central Tube Line rolling stock and the Channel Tunnel Rail Link signalling. He also acted as world wide project controller for Adtranz (ABB Daimler Benz joint venture) and finance director for Parsons Engineering Consulting. His interaction and involvement with all stakeholders in major projects and in major company change management programmes bring invaluable insights into how people behave when faced with adversity, impossible timelines and insurmountable challenges.

John designed and implemented the 'full cost model' to achieve working capital optimisation which was rolled out worldwide in ABB and Bombardier. He also designed and developed 'CapCut', a facilitation tool which enables clients to optimise working capital.

How working capital optimisation (WCO) impacts on cash flow.

• Case studies - debtors, creditors, WIP, stock.

Obstacles to optimising working capital.

• Risk reviews.

What are the behavioural issues?

• Capacity, capability, maturity of the function, department, entity, organisation.

Tools to optimise working capital - major work steps.

• Analysing and improving the working capital pipeline.
• Product, service, customer net margin analysis.
• Timescales and project resources.

Future risks to working capital.

• CSR - the impact of new types of stakeholders.
• Green.
• Security threats.
• Single European Payments Area.
• Natural (tsunami / drought), economic and political turmoil.

Financing of working capital.

• Debtors through factoring, securitisation.
• Creditors through dynamic discounting / supply chain finance.
• Stock via suppliers JIT / Kanban.
• Work in progress through instalments / progress payments / milestones.

Bank / government views of working capital funding - Genesis Committee of Bank of England.

• Project Merlin; Business Growth Fund; Big Society Bank.

General information

6 CPD hours (where applicable)

CIMA Mastercourses held in partnership with BPP 

Find out more
If you have any queries please email or phone us on +44 (0)845 026 4722.

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