RicherFin Education

Corporate Finance

Working Capital and Corporate Liquidity

The working capital requirement converts operating lead times into capital employed. This course connects inventories, receivables, suppliers and cash forecasting to business continuity.

The decision examined

A profitable business can run out of cash when inventories and receivables grow before sales are collected. Reducing working capital is not automatically value creating if it causes shortages, lost customers or damaged supplier terms.

Learning outcomes

  • Calculate operating working capital.
  • Translate operating days into funding needs.
  • Build a dated liquidity forecast.

Key concepts

  • Working capital requirement
  • DSO
  • DIO
  • DPO
  • Cash conversion cycle
  • Cash budget

Course structure

  1. Working-capital mechanics
  2. Growth
  3. Operating days
  4. Customers
  5. Inventory
  6. Suppliers
  7. Liquidity forecast

Analytical framework

Measure capital tied up in operations

Operating working capital reconciles assets funded by the company with operating resources provided by counterparties:

Working capital requirement

WCR = Inventories + Trade receivables − Trade payables − Other operating liabilities

An increase in WCR consumes cash. The analysis should separate volume growth, price effects and deterioration in operating days.

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