Our cash management experts are helping organisations to improve and optimise their cash position, enabling them to create capital for further growth and transformation.
More than half of the companies in our ‘Act Now: From recovery to growth’ survey anticipate a liquidity shortfall in the next 12 months. In light of the volatility and uncertainty in the current macro environment, for many businesses the need for visibility, planning and control over short and medium term cash will be paramount to prevent real cash crises from crystallising over the next few years.
Based on our experience of working with companies to improve their cash and liquidity, CEOs, CFOs, treasurers or shareholders are likely to identify the following challenges:
- unreliable cash flow reporting and forecasting;
- difficulty in reliable scenario planning;
- absence of a cash focus and a cash conscious culture across all areas of the business to optimise cash;
- lack of visibility of working capital performance across the organisation;
- covenants at risk of breach and high levels of debt;
absence of realistic downside scenarios and associated mitigating action plans; - unexpected funding requirements with limited understanding of tactical cash levers that can be pulled in the short to medium term; and/or
- lack of clarity of what other organisations within the same sector are doing to optimise cash.
How we can help
We’ll bring you the very best of PwC. That means the varied skills and perspectives on cash, underpinned by restructuring experience, to explore every avenue and cover every aspect in getting you the best outcome for your needs. With a network of sector and cash specialists across the regions, we have the size and scale to mobilise with speed. No matter what challenges you face, we have the right people and experience to solve them.
- Cash flow planning, forecasting and analytical business insight
- Cash generation and conservation
- Optimise treasury structures and control
- Lender management and debt refinancing
- Optimise Working Capital
- Tax payments, timings and relief measures
Cash flow planning, forecasting and analytical business insight
Improve visibility of the cash position:
- Employ best practices to drive accuracy, transparency and reliability.
- Improve modelling techniques and tools, or deploy off-the shelf cash flow forecast tools.
- Analyse and visualise the cash implications of activities.
- Real-time and reliable data-driven decision making.
Cash generation and conservation
Control cash across the business:
- Understanding the real people-drivers of cash and optimise working practices.
- Put cash on the agenda.
- Control commitment to expenditure.
- Tactically conserve and improve cash.
- Explore opportunities for rapid cost reduction.
Optimise treasury structures and control
Manage FX and cash complexity:
- Optimisation of global banking, cash and treasury structures, activities, controls and arrangements.
- Assess, manage and mitigate the impact of FX risks.
Lender management and debt refinancing
Explore options for raising additional cash and manage repayment of CCFF or CLBILS:
- Engage and manage key stakeholders and lenders.
- Access the wider debt market.
- Secure optimal financing that allows you to achieve your strategic goals.
Optimise Working Capital
Make sure operational process are fit-for-purpose and protect liquidity:
- Accelerate collection of receivables.
- Renegotiation of terms and payment plans.
- Update replenishment and safety stocks.
- Increase payment controls.
- Upskill operational functions.
- Visualise and benchmark working capital performance with our Working Capital 3.0 Analytics solution.
Tax payments, timings and relief measures
Optimise tax strategy and available support:
- Assessment of the cash impact of Government relief measures.
- Repayment planning and negotiation of deferred taxes.
- Exploration of opportunities to recover tax paid in prior periods.
How can we help?
We tailor our approach to business circumstances and needs. We’re currently helping clients:
- Embed a ‘cash conscious’ culture throughout the entire organisation to create sustainable cash solutions across the business.
- Establish and maintain a cash conservation office, considering broader cash levers to preserve and generate short-term cash.
- Challenge underlying forecast assumptions and embed a culture of self review to understand actual and forecast variances.
- Make use of our hands-on cash flow forecasting support & scenario planning, including use of analytics to enable real-time and reliable data-driven decision making.
- Engage and manage a wide range of key stakeholders including lenders and advisers on business liquidity.
- Undertake rapid liquidity optimisation reviews to enhance the reliability and transparency of medium-term cash.
- Identify longer-term funding requirements to secure optimal financing.
- Transfer of skills and tools to support a high performing cash reporting and forecasting culture.
“It’s tempting for many businesses to focus on growing the top line, cutting costs, and exploring strategic options such as selling parts of the business. It's easy to take for granted that the cash position is visible, accessible and will ultimately look after itself. But, building a cash conscious culture that permeates throughout the entire organisation is what will help protect businesses on the bumpy road ahead.”
Contact us
Cash Leader - Operational Restructuring, PwC United Kingdom
Tel: +44 (0)20 7212 5843
