Programme overview
Introduction:
Working capital management often breaks down between functions: sales grants longer customer terms, operations holds safety stock for every SKU, procurement pays suppliers early, and the cash conversion cycle lengthens without anyone owning it. This Core Concept course equips finance managers and controllers to diagnose DSO, DIO and DPO, benchmark against peers, select order-to-cash, inventory and procure-to-pay levers, weigh supply chain finance, and set targets and incentives. Participants build a Working Capital Improvement Programme with a cash-release business case for their own organisation.
Course Objectives:
- Calculate and decompose the cash conversion cycle into DSO, DIO and DPO drivers by business unit, customer and supplier segment
- Benchmark working capital performance against sector peers and size the cash opportunity from top-quartile gaps
- Select order-to-cash, inventory and procure-to-pay levers and agree their policy changes with sales, operations and procurement
- Compare supply chain finance, dynamic discounting and receivables finance on cost, risk and supplier impact
- Set working capital targets, KPI scorecards and management incentives that hold improvements in place
- Build a cross-functional working capital programme and a cash-release business case for executive approval
Target Audience:
- Finance managers who answer for cash generation, working capital targets and balance sheet performance
- Controllers who report DSO, DIO and DPO and explain working capital movements to senior management
- CFO office and finance business partners who lead improvement initiatives with sales, operations and procurement
- Financial planning leads who forecast working capital and set balance sheet targets for business units
- Shared service and process owners who run order-to-cash or procure-to-pay and must deliver cash release
Course Outline:
Day 1: Working Capital Foundations and Current-State Diagnostic
- Working Capital Components and the Return on Capital Employed Link
- Cash Conversion Cycle Calculation with DIO, DSO and DPO Formulas
- Trade Working Capital Baseline from Balance Sheet and Ledger Extracts
- Peer Benchmarking of the Cash Conversion Cycle by Sector and Business Model
- Working Capital Heat Map by Business Unit, Customer and Supplier Segment
Day 2: Diagnostic Models and Cash Opportunity Sizing
- DSO Bridge Analysis: Terms Mix, Overdue Days and Dispute Days
- DIO Decomposition by Raw Material, Work in Progress and Finished Goods
- DPO Analysis by Supplier Category, Contract Terms and Early Payment Leakage
- Cash Opportunity Sizing Against Best-Practice Days and Top-Quartile Gaps
- Driver-Based Working Capital Forecast with Seasonality and Growth Adjustments
Day 3: Order-to-Cash, Inventory and Procure-to-Pay Levers
- Customer Payment Terms Policy and Terms Harmonisation by Segment
- Billing Timeliness and Collection Strategy Design at Policy Level
- Inventory Policy: Safety Stock, Reorder Points and Service Level Targets
- SKU Rationalisation with ABC-XYZ Analysis and Sales and Operations Planning Links
- Supplier Payment Terms Negotiation Playbook and Payment Run Discipline
Day 4: Working Capital Financing, Risk and Performance Governance
- Supply Chain Finance: Reverse Factoring Structures and Platform Models
- Dynamic Discounting Versus Supply Chain Finance Cost and Supplier Impact Comparison
- Receivables Finance Overview: Factoring, Invoice Discounting and Securitisation
- Supplier Finance Risks: Debt Reclassification, Disclosure and Supplier Dependency
- Working Capital Targets, Management Incentives and KPI Scorecard Design
Day 5: Working Capital Programme Build and Cash-Release Business Case
- Multi-Sector Case: Distribution and Manufacturing Group with a Lengthening Cash Cycle
- Cash-Release Business Case Model Build: One-Off Cash, Recurring Savings and Costs
- Cross-Functional Programme Governance: Sales, Operations, Procurement and Finance Roles
- Programme Roadmap with Quick Wins, Structural Levers and Sustainment Controls
- Business Case Presentation to a Peer Steering Committee
Skills You Will Gain:
- Cash Conversion Cycle Analysis
- Working Capital Benchmarking
- Cash Opportunity Sizing
- Inventory Policy Design
- Payment Terms Strategy
- Supplier Finance Evaluation
- Working Capital Target Setting
- Cash-Release Business Case Modelling
Why Attend This Course:
- Return with a Working Capital Improvement Programme and cash-release business case built on your own balance sheet data
- Show sales, operations and procurement leaders exactly how many days and how much cash each of their decisions ties up
- Judge supplier finance and receivables finance offers from funders with a clear view of cost, risk and disclosure
- Test your targets and levers with finance peers from distribution, manufacturing, construction and services organisations
Conclusion:
Working capital improves only when sales, operations, procurement and finance act on one set of targets. Across five days, participants move from measuring the cash conversion cycle and benchmarking it, through diagnostic bridges and opportunity sizing, to order-to-cash, inventory and procure-to-pay levers, supplier and receivables finance, and target and incentive design. The final day turns this work into a Working Capital Improvement Programme and a cash-release business case ready for steering committee review.