Course Details

This course is appropriate for a wide range of professionals but not limited to:

• Financial Analysts and Controllers
• Treasury and Liquidity Managers
• Senior Accountants and Financial Reporting Specialists
• Business Planners and Forecasting Analysts
• CFOs and Finance Directors

• Expert-led sessions with dynamic visual aids
• Comprehensive course manual to support practical application and reinforcement
• Interactive discussions addressing participants’ real-world projects and challenges
• Insightful case studies and proven best practices to enhance learning

By the end of this course, participants should be able to:

• Prepare and interpret the Statement of Cash Flows (SCF) using both direct and indirect methods reliably.
• Analyze the quality of earnings by effectively reconciling net income and operating cash flow successfully.
• Build accurate short-term and long-term cash flow forecast models using multiple methodologies competently.
• Implement strategic working capital management techniques to maximize cash conversion efficiency.
• Utilize advanced cash flow metrics (e.g., Free Cash Flow) for business valuation and capital allocation decisions accurately.
• Identify and mitigate cash flow risks, and develop contingency funding plans proactively.

DAY 1

Fundamentals of Cash Flow Statement and Analysis

• Welcome and Introduction
• Pre-test
• Importance of cash flow: why cash is superior to profit for business survival
• Structure and components of the Statement of Cash Flows (SCF)
• Detailed analysis of cash flows from Operating, Investing, and Financing activities
• Preparing the SCF using the indirect method and key adjustments
• Analyzing the quality of earnings: linking net income to operating cash flow

DAY 2

Preparing the Direct Method SCF and Advanced Metrics

• Preparing the SCF using the direct method and its strategic advantages
• Reconciling the direct and indirect methods successfully
• Introduction to key cash flow metrics: Free Cash Flow (FCF) and Free Cash Flow to Equity (FCFE)
• Analyzing FCF trends and its application in investment capacity assessment
• The concept of sustainable cash flow and identifying non-recurring cash items
• Benchmarking cash flow performance against industry peers

DAY 3

Short-Term Cash Forecasting and Working Capital Management

• Techniques for short-term daily and weekly cash flow forecasting
• The role of Accounts Receivable (AR) in cash flow optimization
• Strategies for minimizing DSO (Days Sales Outstanding) and managing credit policies
• Optimizing Accounts Payable (AP): managing DPO (Days Payable Outstanding) strategically
• Inventory management's impact on cash flow (DIO) and the cash conversion cycle
• Building and maintaining a 13-week rolling cash flow forecast model

DAY 4

Long-Term Cash Flow Planning and Budgeting

• Developing comprehensive long-term (annual/multi-year) cash flow projection models
• Integrating operating budgets and capital expenditure plans into the cash flow forecast
• Scenario planning and sensitivity analysis for key cash flow drivers
• Using cash flow for capital budgeting decisions (NPV/IRR refresher in a cash flow context)
• Determining optimal capital structure and sustainable debt capacity based on cash flow
• Cash flow budgeting and variance analysis: comparing actual cash flow to forecast

DAY 5

Risk Management, Funding, and Final Review

• Identifying and quantifying cash flow risks (e.g., currency, interest rate, commodity)
• Developing cash flow contingency plans and emergency funding strategies
• Overview of short-term financing options (lines of credit, commercial paper)
• Using cash flow analysis for investor and lender communication
• Review of case studies and advanced cash flow analysis techniques
• Post-test
• Certificate ceremony