Strategic Cash Flow Management is the nucleus of every business entity’s ‘going concern’ survival. Financial objectives, goals and decisions in the form of cash flows, liquidity, receivables, inventory, payables, are daily operational aspects of business that needs to be and that has to be monitored on a daily and on-going basis. Planning and control of these elements are fundamental to a going-concern. The seminar addresses issues related to operational financial aspects, budgets and capital budgeting.

Deloitte’s report, COVID-19: Managing supply chain risk and disruption, provides 15 recommendations for companies that have business relationships and supply chain flows to and/or from China and other impacted geographies. One of these recommendations focuses on cash flow and liquidity.

Businesses that are currently struggling for profitability – those with low cash reserves or unstable cash flows – are particularly vulnerable. However, even businesses that appear to be in good financial shape may not be immune, depending on how the situation progresses, and how long it takes for demand and supply chains to return to normal.

Businesses in sectors such as tourism, hospitality, entertainment and air transportation have been particularly hard-hit. Businesses in consumer goods and retail are also at higher than-normal financial risk, especially those with a high exposure to export, and those in seasonal businesses where demand may be lost (as opposed to shifted), such as such perishable consumer goods and seasonal apparel. Even commodity-oriented industries, such as metals and mining or oil and gas, have been exposed as global demand shifts and pricing fluctuates.