Global liquidity and cash management is a critical function that requires centralized visibility, access and control. It also aims to improve business resiliency and support strategic corporate decisions. The goal is to release working capital trapped in assets such as accounts payable, accounts receivable and inventories. This can be done through a number of methods, such as cash pools and netting structures.
Liquidity Calculation
Liquidity calculation measures the ability of a business or individual to pay its short-term liabilities. This is accomplished by using liquidity ratios, which are based on the amount of cash and liquid assets on hand. These ratios are a valuable tool for treasuries to understand the underlying health of their companies and help them avoid potential financial challenges. The first ratio to consider is the current ratio, which is calculated by dividing current assets (things that can be sold for cash within a year) by current liabilities. This ratio is determined by looking at a company’s statement of financial position, which lists all current assets and liabilities. The quick ratio, sometimes called the acid test ratio, is a more stringent measure of liquidity, as it excludes inventory and prepaid expenses from the calculation of current assets. A 1:1 quick ratio is considered ideal.
Liquidity planning is the process of coordinating expected bills and invoices to meet your company’s current cash needs. This will enable you to identify times when you might fall short of your company’s financial goals and find ways to address them.
Liquidity Risk Management
Managing global liquidity and cash management risk is an ongoing task for treasurers. It involves identifying potential future funding problems and assessing the expected value of net cash flows from assets, liabilities, off-balance-sheet commitments, and derivative positions over a variety of time horizons under both normal and stress conditions. The key is to identify the warning signs that indicate a problem, and to have contingency plans in place for dealing with negative scenarios. The best way to manage liquidity risk is to make sure that all treasury-related decisions are in line with the firm’s risk tolerance. This requires a consistent definition of the risk tolerance and the development of policies and procedures that support it.
Another important aspect of cash management is ensuring that a company’s balance sheet is healthy and that it has enough free cash flow to invest in growth opportunities. This is achieved through regular forecasting, centralized bank account administration, and error-free daily cash reporting. In addition, a company’s ability to manage liquidity risk is enhanced by the use of tools like notional pooling, which allows for centralized management of cash without comingling funds or requiring intercompany loans.
Liquidity Management Technology
A treasury function is concerned with maximising liquidity by releasing working capital that may be tied up in assets like accounts payable and accounts receivable. In order to do this, it must maximise the DSO (Days Sales Outstanding) and minimise the DIO and DPO (Days Of Inventory and Days Of Payroll). The resulting cash flow should then be reinvested in the business or invested in short-term debt and investments to meet future obligations. This entails a complex process, but there are new technologies that simplify the process and reduce the time and effort involved. These include centralized bank account administration and automated balance and transaction reporting. These tools allow companies to connect and track all of their accounts globally in a single application.
These technologies also help to automate the processes of importing and populating debt and investment settlement instructions, creating daily cash positions, and providing intercompany loan tracking and repatriation services. In addition, these technologies enable global corporations to leverage innovative techniques such as multicurrency pooling. This allows businesses to offset their long and short positions across multiple currencies and eliminates the need for physical currency conversions to cover funding shortfalls.
Liquidity Management Strategy
When economic cycles turn choppy, it’s vital that businesses are well prepared to maintain access to cash. This can be difficult, particularly for multinationals. However, a few simple strategies can help companies improve their liquidity management. Liquidity management is a core component of treasury operations. It focuses on maximising returns from surplus cash, minimising the cost of funding shortfalls and optimising working capital finance. It also involves reducing the amount of money that is needed to pay interest and transaction fees.
best core banking software in world enables complete visibility into the organization’s spend, assets, liabilities and cash reserves at any time. It allows treasury professionals to make informed strategic decisions more quickly. It can also be used to reduce expenses by facilitating cross-border payments and leveraging virtual accounts with local banks. These accounts can also be used for cash concentration and notional pooling, which reduces interest costs by not physically transferring funds between bank accounts. They can also be used to simplify payment management by integrating with existing legacy systems.
Conclusion
Global liquidity and cash management solutions are integral in maintaining financial stability in an interconnected world. They empower businesses to optimize working capital, manage risks, and streamline international transactions. In an era of complex financial landscapes, these tools are indispensable for global financial success.
