The Complete Guide to Working Capital Management
What you'll learn
- Learn what working capital is and why working capital management is critical to a business
- Calculate the number of days it takes a company to sell inventory, collect receivables, and pay suppliers
- Measure the length of the cash conversion cycle and see how it affects the need for financing
- Understand how better working capital management can shorten the cash conversion cycle and improve cash flow
- Analyze real-world companies to see how different business decisions affect working capital
- Identify trends in working capital ratios and interpret whether these trends suggest a worsening financial position.
- Learn specific strategies to optimize receivables, inventory, and payables turnover and improve cash flow
- Optimize cash management to reduce borrowing costs
Requirements
- No previous knowledge is required, but understanding the basics of accounting would be helpful
Description
Welcome to an in-depth journey into the heart of cash flow optimization! In this comprehensive course, we'll explore how to calculate, analyze, and optimize working capital, identifying each component of the cash conversion cycle and providing you with actionable strategies to improve cash flow.
Understanding Working Capital: We kickstart the course by unraveling the essence of working capital. Learn its pivotal role in business operations and how it fuels day-to-day activities.
Navigating the Cash Conversion Cycle: Dive into the relationship between working capital and the cash conversion cycle. Gain insights into each part of this cycle and understand how it impacts a company's need for external financing.
Days Sales Outstanding (DSO) Demystified: Learn how to calculate and interpret trends in days sales outstanding, as well as tips for collecting receivables faster.
Days Sales in Inventory (DSI) Explained: Calculate how many days it takes a company to sell inventory, identify troublesome trends in inventory turnover, and learn specific techniques for reducing the number of days it takes to sell through inventory.
Days Payable Outstanding (DPO) Decoded: Assess how a long a company is waiting to pay its suppliers and learn when it is advantageous to take an early-payment discount instead of delaying payment.
Cash Management Strategies: Explore the reasons behind holding cash and equip yourself with tools and approaches to efficiently manage your cash reserves.
Real-world Applications and Case Studies: Throughout this course, we'll explore real-world case studies and practical examples, allowing you to apply the concepts you're learning in actual business scenarios.
Whether you're a business owner, a finance executive, or a curious learner who is simply passionate about improving cash flow, this course will give you the skills and insights needed to analyze and optimize working capital management.
Who this course is for:
- Executives or managers interested in reducing borrowing costs and improving cash flow.
- Business owners who want to avoid a cash shortfall or liquidity crisis due to poor working capital management.
- Suppliers who want to assess the creditworthiness of their customers.
- Banking analysts who want to assess the creditworthiness of potential borrowers.
- Financial analysts or hedge fund analysts who hope to spot deteriorating financial performance at an early stage.
- Students interested in corporate finance, working capital management, or financial statement analysis.
Instructor
- 4.7 Instructor Rating
- 11 Reviews
- 34 Students
- 1 Course
Michael McLaughlin is an award-winning professor and CPA. Michael obtained his PhD from Washington University in St. Louis, where he won every teaching award for which he was eligible, and is currently a clinical associate professor of accounting at the University of Illinois at Chicago.
Michael enjoys taking complex topics and making them easier to understand. He was an early adopter of video-based education and loves bringing a high level of energy and enthusiasm to each lecture, whether it be online or in-person.