A guide to working capital excellence: strategies for efficient financial management

Working capital is the top concern of most CFOs

Against a backdrop of rising interest rates and increasingly tight lending conditions, financing operations is a growing concern for senior leadership. 89 % of CFOs now claim they need more working capital to cover their organization's day-to-day operating expenses and drive strategic growth initiatives. What’s more, 84 % see cash reserves as a major concern for the future, and are either proactively managing cash flows or taking steps to build up strategic cash reserves.

This means that how you manage and utilize your organization’s working capital will be increasingly essential to your organization’s survival and success as uncertainty continues to dominate the business environment. We’ve created this guide to help you understand how you can take fuller control of your working capital and the steps you can take to unlock the third of it that’s typically tied up in organizations’ financial  processes.
 

What is working capital: Defining and calculating working capital

Working capital is a fundamental financial metric that serves as a measure of a company's operational liquidity and its ability to meet short-term financial obligations. In essence, it reflects the resources a company has available to fund day-to-day operations – including purchasing inventory and paying suppliers. It serves as a vital indicator of a company's financial health and operational efficiency. And by managing working capital effectively, businesses can ensure smooth operations, mitigate liquidity risks, and sustain long-term growth.

The working capital formula is simple, and you can use it to calculate your available funds:

Working capital = current assets − current liabilities

1.  Current Assets: Assets expected to be converted into cash or used up within one year or the operating cycle of the business, whichever is longer. Typical current assets include cash, accounts receivable, inventory, and short-term investments.

2.  Current Liabilities: Obligations due within one year or the operating cycle of the business, whichever is longer. Current liabilities include accounts payable, short-term loans, accrued expenses, and any portion of long-term debt due within the next year.

A positive working capital indicates that a company has more current assets than liabilities, which suggests sufficient liquidity to cover all short-term obligations. This further implies efficient management of day-to-day operations without relying heavily on external financing.

Conversely, a negative working capital occurs when current liabilities exceed current assets. This doesn’t necessarily indicate financial distress, but it could imply that the company will struggle to meet its short-term obligations without additional financing. Negative working capital may be common in certain industries with high inventory turnover or extended accounts payable periods.
 

Working capital meaning and significance for your organization

An organization’s working capital represents a cornerstone of financial stability in terms of operational and strategic success. Having cash available to fund operations is crucial, but working capital also represents a powerful metric that provides insight into a range of financial health indicators, including:

1. Operational Liquidity: Working capital represents the funds readily available to a business to cover its day-to-day operating expenses – and thereby offers a snapshot of business resilience.

2. Inventory Management: Effective working capital management allows businesses to optimize inventory and resource levels. By maintaining an appropriate balance between inventory levels and customer demand, companies can minimize carrying costs, reduce inventory obsolescence, and improve cash flow. This enables more efficient allocation of resources, and, ultimately, increased profitability.

3. Cash Flow Management: Working capital management is integral to maintaining healthy cash flow. By monitoring and controlling the timing of cash inflows and outflows, businesses can ensure sufficient liquidity to cover their financial commitments and pursue growth opportunities. Effective cash flow management enables businesses to weather economic downturns, invest in strategic initiatives, and generate sustainable long-term value.

4.  Creditworthiness and financing: Adequate working capital is essential for demonstrating creditworthiness to lenders and investors. A strong working capital position signals financial stability and helps to offset risks associated with making major financial commitments. This enhances a company's ability to access external financing options – such as bank loans, lines of credit, or equity investments – to support growth objectives and strategic initiatives.

5.  Business growth and expansion: Working capital plays a crucial role in supporting business growth and expansion initiatives. Whether it's launching new products, entering new markets, or scaling operations, sufficient working capital provides the necessary financial resources to fund these endeavors. By strategically managing working capital, businesses can seize growth opportunities, enhance market competitiveness, and drive long-term success.

6. Risk management: Effective working capital management helps mitigate financial risks and vulnerabilities associated with economic uncertainties, supply chain disruptions, or unforeseen events. By maintaining adequate liquidity buffers and contingency plans, businesses can navigate challenges more effectively and safeguard their financial sustainability.
 

The 3 working capital strategies

Working capital strategies play a crucial role in shaping a company's financial operations and strategic decision-making. These strategies determine how businesses manage their current assets and liabilities to maintain optimal levels of liquidity while maximizing profitability and mitigating risks. There are three major working capital strategies: aggressive, moderate or hedging, and conservative. 

Each approach has its advantages and trade-offs, and the optimal choice depends on various factors, including industry dynamics, business objectives, risk tolerance, and market conditions.
 

Aggressive working capital strategy

An aggressive working capital strategy involves minimizing current assets and maximizing current liabilities to free up cash for investment in growth opportunities or to reduce financing costs. Companies following this approach maintain low levels of inventory and accounts receivable while extending payment terms to suppliers.

The primary objective of an aggressive strategy is to maximize return on investment by deploying excess cash into income-generating activities, such as expanding operations, launching new products, or pursuing strategic acquisitions.

While this strategy can potentially enhance profitability and efficiency, it also exposes the business to higher liquidity and operational risks, as it may struggle to meet short-term obligations if cash flows are disrupted or if unexpected expenses arise.
 

Moderate or hedging working capital strategy

A moderate or hedging working capital strategy strikes a balance between liquidity and profitability by maintaining moderate levels of current assets and liabilities.

Companies adopting this approach aim to mitigate risks associated with both excess and insufficient working capital, focusing on preserving financial flexibility and stability. They maintain sufficient inventory levels to meet customer demand promptly, manage accounts receivable efficiently to ensure timely collections, and negotiate favorable payment terms with suppliers to optimize cash flow. This makes them more adaptable to changing market conditions and better able seize growth opportunities and withstand economic downturns.

While this strategy may result in lower returns compared to an aggressive approach, it offers greater resilience and risk mitigation, making it suitable for businesses operating in industries with moderate levels of volatility or uncertainty.
 

Conservative working capital strategy

A conservative working capital strategy prioritizes liquidity and financial stability over maximizing returns or growth. Companies following this approach maintain high levels of current assets, such as cash, inventory, and accounts receivable, while minimizing current liabilities. This ensures the business has sufficient liquidity to meet all short-term obligations along with any unforeseen contingencies.

Maintaining ample liquidity buffers and conservative financing structures, businesses can minimize the risk of liquidity shortages, financial distress, or bankruptcy. But a conservative strategy may result in underutilization of resources and lower returns on investment, as excess cash remains idle instead of being deployed into income-generating activities.
 

The most important factors influencing your organization’s working capital

Many factors influence an organization's working capital position. Understanding them is crucial as you work to optimize your position to ensure stability and sustainable growth. 
 

1. Industry Dynamics

Each industry has its own unique working capital requirements driven by factors such as seasonality, demand variability, and supply chain characteristics. For example, industries with high inventory turnover rates, such as retail and manufacturing, may require substantial working capital to support inventory levels and meet customer demand. In contrast, service-based industries or technology firms may have lower working capital needs due to shorter cash conversion cycles and lower reliance on physical assets.
 

2. Growth and expansion strategies

As businesses expand operations, they may need to invest in additional inventory, equipment, and infrastructure to support increased production or service delivery. Expanding into new markets or launching new product lines may also require upfront investments in marketing, distribution, and working capital to penetrate new markets and capture share effectively.
 

3. Seasonality and demand fluctuations

Seasonal variations in demand can affect inventory levels, sales volumes, and cash flows, thereby influencing working capital needs. Businesses operating in seasonal industries such as retail, hospitality, or agriculture may experience fluctuations in working capital requirements throughout the year. Effective forecasting and inventory management are essential for aligning working capital levels with anticipated fluctuations in demand and revenue.
 

4. Supplier and customer relationships

The terms you negotiate with suppliers and customers can have a huge impact on your working capital positions – with many organizations seeing as much as a third of their working capital locked in the order to cash cycle at any time. Lengthening payment terms with suppliers can help preserve cash flow but may increase accounts payable and interest expenses. Conversely, offering discounts for early payment or implementing efficient AR management practices can accelerate cash inflows and reduce the need for external financing.
 

5. Operating efficiency and inventory management

Optimizing your processes and management practices can help improve working capital utilization by minimizing excess inventory levels, reducing carrying costs, and improving inventory turnover rates. Streamlining production processes, implementing just-in-time systems, and leveraging technology for demand forecasting can all enhance operational efficiency.
 

6. Market conditions and economic environment

Macroeconomic factors such as interest rates, inflation, and economic growth, can influence working capital requirements. In times of economic downturns or recessions, businesses may experience reduced sales volumes, tighter credit markets, and increased pressure on liquidity – all of which may mean making adjustments to working capital management strategies.
 

7. Capital structure and financing policies

Heavy reliance on short-term debt or revolving credit facilities may increase interest expenses and financial risk but provide flexibility in managing liquidity. Optimal capital structure and financing decisions should balance the trade-offs between cost, risk, and flexibility to support working capital needs effectively.
 

8. Finance technology and software

The technology that underpins your financial operations can have a profound impact on your net working capital, as it plays a huge role in moving funds through various departments at every stage, and can represent a severe bottleneck to liquidity. This is especially true for organizations still relying on manual financial processes and siloed legacy systems.
 

9. Ways to improve or optimize working capital

With organizations generally having a third of their working capital locked in their order to cash cycle and facing mounting cost pressures, optimizing your processes to maximize capital availability is key to your financial strength and growth potential.

Optimizing your working capital requires you to pay close attention to a number of financial and operational basics, improving, remodeling, and where necessary retiring processes to ensure a clear picture of cash flows across the organization, and the analytics and forecasting capacity to understand how and when to make use of your capital in the best way to advance strategic goals.

1. Inventory management: For inventory-intensive industries, effective controls are essential to improving working capital by minimizing excess inventory that ties up cash. Techniques such as just-in-time inventory, ABC analysis, and regular inventory audits can help achieve this.

2. Accounts receivable management: Organizations should strive to collect accounts receivable as quickly as possible to improve cash flow. Implementing clear credit policies, offering discounts for early payments, and actively following up on overdue payments can help reduce the average collection period.

3. Accounts payable management: Extending payment terms with suppliers without negatively affecting supplier relationships can help preserve cash. Negotiating favorable payment terms, taking advantage of early payment discounts, and optimizing payment scheduling can all contribute to better accounts payable management.

4. Cash flow forecasting: Developing accurate cash flow forecasts enables organizations to anticipate cash shortages or surpluses and take proactive measures to manage working capital effectively. Regularly updating cash flow projections based on current financial data and market conditions is crucial for informed decision-making.

5. Streamlining processes: Streamlining operational processes can reduce inefficiencies and free up working capital. This may involve automating repetitive tasks, eliminating unnecessary steps, and improving coordination between departments to enhance productivity and reduce costs.

6. Supplier relationship management: Developing strategic relationships with key suppliers can lead to favorable terms, discounts, and priority access to critical inventory. Building strong vendor partnerships based on trust and mutual benefit can positively impact working capital management.

7. Capital expenditure control: Carefully evaluating capital expenditure projects and prioritizing those that offer the highest return on investment can help conserve cash and prevent overcommitment of resources. Implementing strict approval processes and regularly reviewing capital budgets can ensure capital expenditures align with strategic objectives.

8. Working capital metrics monitoring: Monitoring KPIs related to working capital, such as days sales outstanding (DSO), days inventory outstanding (DIO), and days payable outstanding (DPO), provides insights into the effectiveness of working capital management efforts. Regularly analyzing these metrics and benchmarking against industry standards can identify areas for improvement.

9. Continuous improvement: Working capital optimization is an ongoing process that requires continuous monitoring, evaluation, and adjustment. Organizations should foster a culture of continuous improvement and innovation to adapt to changing market conditions and optimize working capital over time.
 

Automation technologies are essential to staying on top of working capital in a digital age

Automation can remove much of the strain inherent in handling many of the tasks and workflows described above, in turn helping to make the job of improving your working capital position simpler and more streamlined. It achieves this by easing the strain on your people by taking care of manual tasks in the AR and AP processes, consolidating information to create a single source of truth, unifying and simplifying redundant, obsolete, and time-consuming processes, and enhancing communication and visibility across the entire finance department. All of which helps to reduce errors, make forecasting and planning easier, and realizing the value of your projects and sales simpler and faster.
 

How can Serrala help you?

Serrala’s AI-powered financial automation solutions are trusted by over 2,800 world-leading brands to optimize their financial operations workflows. Eliminating manual effort from many of their most important accounting functions and saving weeks’ worth of time across their financial operations processes, and facilitating the improved working capital position that allows them to make key strategic investments and decisions more quickly and more confidently.

Our solutions are fully integrated with your current SAP environment (S/4HANA or previous systems like ECC) and embedded in SAP, which means you can post and update data in SAP in real-time. 

If you’re interested in learning more about what we can do for you and how our solutions can help you improve your working capital position, get in touch with us today to book a demo.

FAQs

What is working capital, and why is it important?

Working capital represents the difference between a company's current assets and current liabilities. It's crucial because it reflects a company's ability to meet its short-term financial obligations and fund its day-to-day operations. Effective management of working capital ensures that a company maintains liquidity and operational efficiency.

How do you calculate working capital?

Working capital is calculated by subtracting current liabilities from current assets. The formula is: Working Capital = Current Assets - Current Liabilities.

What are the components of working capital?

Current assets and current liabilities are the two main components of working capital. Current assets include cash, accounts receivable, inventory, and other assets that are expected to be converted into cash within one year. Current liabilities include accounts payable, short-term debt, and other obligations due within one year.

What are the risks of inadequate working capital?

Inadequate working capital can lead to liquidity problems, making it difficult for a company to cover its short-term obligations such as paying suppliers, employees, and creditors. This situation may result in missed opportunities, damaged relationships with stakeholders, and ultimately, financial distress or bankruptcy.

How can a company improve its working capital position?

Companies can improve their working capital position by implementing strategies such as optimizing inventory levels, accelerating accounts receivable collection, extending accounts payable terms, and efficiently managing cash flow. Additionally, reducing unnecessary expenses and improving operational efficiency can help free up cash and enhance working capital.

What are the consequences of excessive working capital?

Excessive working capital can indicate inefficient use of resources, as it means that a company has more assets tied up in short-term investments than necessary to support its operations. While having a healthy buffer of working capital is important, excessively high levels may suggest missed investment opportunities or ineffective management of cash flow.

How does working capital management differ across industries?

Working capital management can vary significantly across industries due to differences in business models, operating cycles, and capital requirements. For example, industries with longer sales cycles or high inventory turnover may require different working capital strategies compared to service-based industries with shorter cash conversion cycles.

What role does working capital play in financial planning and analysis (FP&A)?

Working capital is a key component of financial planning and analysis (FP&A) as it directly impacts cash flow, profitability, and overall financial health. FP&A professionals analyze working capital trends, identify areas for improvement, and develop strategies to optimize working capital management in alignment with the organization's goals and objectives.

How does working capital management affect a company's creditworthiness?

Effective working capital management positively influences a company's creditworthiness by demonstrating its ability to meet short-term financial obligations and maintain liquidity. Lenders and creditors often evaluate working capital ratios and trends when assessing a company's credit risk and determining its borrowing capacity.

What are some common working capital ratios used for analysis?

Common working capital ratios include the current ratio (current assets divided by current liabilities), the quick ratio (quick assets divided by current liabilities), and the cash conversion cycle (average number of days it takes to convert inventory and receivables into cash minus the average payment period for payables). These ratios provide insights into a company's liquidity, solvency, and efficiency of working capital management.