Course overview
Financial distress rarely begins with a single dramatic event. It develops through declining margins, delayed collections, weak cost control, poor forecast accuracy, unprofitable contracts and decisions made without reliable cash information. Finance and operational leaders need to stabilise liquidity while identifying which costs, products, customers, assets and activities can be changed without damaging service, compliance or future recovery. The central challenge is converting a difficult financial position into a prioritised, measurable turnaround programme.
This course covers the financial and operational disciplines used to assess distress, protect cash, reset costs and build a credible recovery plan. Participants analyse profitability and cash drivers, prepare a 13-week cash forecast, diagnose working-capital gaps, apply zero-based budgeting, assess supplier spend, test commercial actions and evaluate restructuring options. They also build integrated financial scenarios, assess covenant headroom, distinguish cash release from accounting savings, and establish governance for delivery.
Teaching combines focused instructor briefings with financial case analysis, group-based diagnostics, cash forecasting simulations, cost-reduction decision exercises and turnaround planning. Cases reflect issues commonly found in banks, public bodies, manufacturers, service businesses, NGOs and multinational operations, including supplier pressure, funding constraints, loss-making services and delayed transformation benefits. Participants leave with a reusable turnaround toolkit containing a cash forecast structure, cost initiative register, benefits-tracking model, stakeholder plan and 90-day action plan.
The course suits finance professionals and managers who contribute to recovery, restructuring, cost reduction or performance improvement. It is particularly relevant where leaders must make difficult trade-offs between liquidity, operational continuity, customer commitments and long-term value.
