Cash Flow Management and Forecasting Training Course

Duration 5 days 10 modules · 33 contact hours
Level Intermediate Certificate on completion
Who attends Treasury Analysts, Treasury Managers and others
Fee from USD 1,100 KSh 95,000 for Kenyan organisations
Where 52 cities + online See dates by city
Next start 16 Nov 2026 Course code SD-TI-037

Before you join: Participants should understand basic financial statements, including the income statement, balance sheet and cash flow statement.

Dates & prices

Two start dates a month in every city, and live online on weekdays or weekends. Fees are per participant; classroom fees include tuition, materials, lunch and refreshments, and the certificate.

Suggest a date or city

Showing the next six months. Later dates, other cities and private deliveries for your team are available on request.

Course overview

Profit does not pay payroll, suppliers, taxes or debt service. Treasury and finance teams need timely visibility of expected receipts, payments, bank balances and funding needs to prevent avoidable borrowing, missed obligations and trapped cash. Weak forecasts often result from incomplete source data, unclear ownership, inconsistent assumptions and limited review of forecast errors. This course addresses the practical discipline required to turn operating data into reliable cash decisions.

Participants learn to build short-term and medium-term cash forecasts, including a 13-week rolling forecast and monthly planning model. They examine the cash conversion cycle, working capital drivers, receipt and payment timing, liquidity headroom, funding gaps and debt covenant monitoring. The course also covers forecast accuracy measurement, scenario analysis, cash pooling, intercompany funding, foreign currency cash exposures and management reporting. Participants gain methods for separating timing variances from true operating changes and for escalating material liquidity risks.

Teaching combines instructor briefings, spreadsheet-based case work, group analysis, cash-position simulations and structured application planning. Cases reflect treasury issues encountered in banks, manufacturers, public bodies, NGOs, retailers and multinational groups. Participants work with forecast inputs such as invoice ageing, payroll schedules, supplier payment runs, bank balances and debt facilities. They leave with a practical cash forecasting toolkit containing reusable templates, controls and reporting formats that can be adapted to their own organisation.

The course is designed for finance professionals who contribute to cash forecasting, working capital management, treasury operations or liquidity reporting. It is particularly useful for professionals moving from accounting or financial planning roles into treasury responsibilities.

What you will be able to do

  • Build a 13-week rolling cash forecast from operational receipt and payment data
  • Construct monthly direct-method and indirect-method cash flow forecasts
  • Reconcile forecast opening balances, actual cash movements and bank positions
  • Diagnose forecast variances using bias, timing, volume, price and scope analysis
  • Calculate liquidity headroom, funding gaps and cash conversion cycle impacts
  • Model base, upside and downside liquidity scenarios with explicit assumptions
  • Evaluate working capital actions against cash timing, cost and operational risk
  • Present a management cash forecast pack with risks, actions and escalation triggers

Benefits of attending

For you

  • Build credible short-term cash forecasts for treasury and finance meetings
  • Identify the operational causes of recurring cash forecast errors
  • Explain liquidity headroom and funding gaps to senior management
  • Improve working capital discussions with quantified cash timing effects
  • Move from accounting-focused reporting into treasury and liquidity responsibilities

For your organisation

  • Earlier identification of liquidity shortfalls and funding requirements
  • Reduced emergency borrowing through better cash visibility
  • More accurate planning of payroll, tax, supplier and debt payments
  • Improved working capital actions linked to measurable cash outcomes
  • Clearer governance over forecast assumptions, ownership and escalation

Course modules

10 modules over 5 days

Participants can explain how operating activity, working capital and financing decisions affect cash availability.

  • Cash conversion cycle measured through DSO, DIO, DPO and operating cycle
  • Indirect cash flow bridge from EBITDA to net operating cash
  • Working capital drivers separated into controllable timing and structural factors
  • Income statement profit reconciled with operating cash movements
  • IAS 7 classifications for operating, investing and financing cash flows
  • Cash flow versus liquidity, solvency, profitability and free cash flow

Participants can design a cash forecast structure with defined data sources, owners and review points.

  • Forecast purpose defined by horizon, decision, frequency and materiality
  • Source data mapped from ERP, bank, payroll and accounts payable
  • Chart of accounts translated into forecast receipt and payment categories
  • Data owners assigned through a cash forecast responsibility matrix
  • Historical actuals cleansed for one-off items and posting lags
  • Forecast calendar aligned with payment runs, payroll dates and debt service

Participants can prepare and maintain a 13-week rolling cash forecast using operating cash drivers.

  • 13-week rolling cash forecast built from daily and weekly drivers
  • Customer receipts forecast using invoice ageing, payment curves and dispute status
  • Supplier payments scheduled by due date, terms, approvals and payment batches
  • Payroll, tax, rent and debt service modelled at known dates
  • Opening balances reconciled to bank statements and cash pooling positions
  • Weekly forecast roll-forward reconciles prior assumptions, actuals and variances

Participants can develop monthly cash forecasts from budgets, balance-sheet drivers and planned transactions.

  • Monthly direct-method forecast linked to sales, margin and expense plans
  • Indirect-method cash forecast derived from budgeted income statement and balance sheet
  • Working capital days converted into receivables, inventory and payables balances
  • Seasonality modelled through monthly indices, trading calendars and historical patterns
  • Capital expenditure, dividends and acquisitions incorporated into funding projections
  • Driver-based assumptions documented with owner, source, confidence and review date

Participants can measure forecast performance, investigate variances and improve future forecast assumptions.

  • Forecast accuracy measured using bias, mean absolute error and timing variance
  • Weekly actual-versus-forecast analysis separates volume, price, timing and scope
  • Root-cause analysis distinguishes process failure from changed business conditions
  • Forecast version control records assumption changes, approvals and issue dates
  • Materiality thresholds focus review meetings on meaningful cash movements
  • Corrective actions assigned against recurring forecast errors and data gaps

Participants can assess daily liquidity positions and manage available cash across bank accounts and entities.

  • Minimum cash balance set against payment obligations and risk tolerance
  • Liquidity headroom calculated from cash, committed facilities and covenant limits
  • Cash concentration structures compared: physical pooling, notional pooling and sweeping
  • Intercompany funding tracked through loan balances, settlements and transfer-pricing constraints
  • Bank account rationalisation identifies idle balances, fees and control weaknesses
  • Daily cash positioning combines bank balances, intraday movements and forecast flows

Participants can evaluate receivables, inventory and payables actions for their cash impact and operational implications.

  • Receivables collection plan prioritises overdue invoices, disputes and credit holds
  • Credit policy links customer terms, limits, collections and escalation authority
  • Inventory cash analysis distinguishes safety stock, slow-moving and obsolete items
  • Payables strategy balances discount capture, supplier resilience and agreed terms
  • Procure-to-pay controls prevent duplicate payments, early releases and fraud
  • Cash conversion cycle initiatives quantified by timing, owner and cash impact

Participants can forecast funding needs and assess short-term liquidity options within treasury constraints.

  • Funding gap forecast identifies drawdown dates, amounts and repayment capacity
  • Revolver utilisation compared with overdrafts, term debt and internal funding
  • Interest expense forecast using reference rates, margins, fees and day counts
  • Debt covenant headroom monitored using forecast ratios and lender definitions
  • Foreign currency cash exposures projected by currency, date and settlement route
  • Short-term investment criteria assess liquidity, capital preservation, yield and counterparty risk

Participants can test cash resilience under adverse conditions and prepare proportionate contingency actions.

  • Base, upside and downside scenarios built from explicit operating assumptions
  • Sensitivity analysis quantifies cash effects of sales, collections and margins
  • Reverse stress test identifies conditions that breach minimum liquidity
  • Contingency funding actions ranked by speed, cost, approval and feasibility
  • Early-warning indicators track overdue receivables, order intake and facility usage
  • Liquidity crisis communications define escalation triggers, stakeholders and reporting cadence

Participants can produce decision-ready cash reporting and plan improvements to their forecasting process.

  • Treasury dashboard presents opening cash, forecast movements, headroom and variances
  • Cash forecast pack distinguishes facts, assumptions, risks and management actions
  • Management reporting tailors detail for treasury, finance leadership and operating teams
  • Forecast governance sets review cadence, challenge procedures and sign-off authorities
  • Control checklist covers data integrity, bank access, approvals and segregation
  • Personal application plan schedules forecast improvements, owners and first review

Exercises and examples are adapted to each cohort's sectors and roles.

What you take back to work

  1. 13-week rolling cash forecast template
  2. Monthly cash planning model
  3. Cash forecast responsibility matrix
  4. Forecast variance analysis template
  5. Liquidity contingency action plan
  6. Treasury cash reporting pack

Who should attend

  • Treasury Analysts — need reliable forecasts, cash positions and liquidity reporting
  • Treasury Managers — oversee funding decisions, bank relationships and cash controls
  • Financial Planning Analysts — connect operating plans to cash requirements
  • Finance Managers — manage working capital, payment commitments and forecast quality
  • Management Accountants — translate budgets and balance-sheet movements into cash forecasts
  • Accounts Receivable and Payable Managers — influence receipt and payment timing directly

Skills and tools covered

Cash flow forecastingLiquidity managementWorking capital analysisForecast variance analysisTreasury reportingScenario modelling

Tools and standards

IAS 7 Statement of Cash Flows, 13-week rolling cash forecast, SWIFT, ISO 20022

How the course runs

Training methodology

The course uses short instructor briefings to introduce treasury methods, followed by spreadsheet-based case work using receipts, payment schedules, bank balances, working capital data and debt facilities. Group exercises test forecast assumptions, analyse variances and compare liquidity responses under changing conditions. Cash-position simulations require participants to prioritise payments, assess funding choices and report emerging risks. Facilitated discussion connects each method to participants’ own reporting cycles, data sources, controls and decision forums. The final application planning session identifies practical forecast improvements for the workplace.

Requirements and prerequisites

Participants should understand basic financial statements, including the income statement, balance sheet and cash flow statement. Experience with budgeting, accounts receivable, accounts payable, treasury operations, management accounting or financial analysis is helpful. Participants should be comfortable reading spreadsheet models and working with percentages, dates and reconciliations. Prior treasury experience is not required, and the course does not assume advanced financial modelling, programming, accounting qualification status or prior use of a treasury management system. A laptop with spreadsheet software is recommended for classroom delivery.

A typical training day

08:30 – 10:30First session
10:30 – 10:45Refreshment break
10:45 – 12:30Second session
12:30 – 13:30Lunch and networking
13:30 – 15:00Third session
15:00 – 15:15Refreshment break
15:15 – 16:30Workshop and daily review

Live online deliveries follow the same structure in East Africa Time, with shorter screen blocks and longer breaks.

What the fee includes

  • Instruction by a practitioner facilitator
  • Full course workbook and materials
  • Exercise files, templates and case studies
  • Refreshments and lunch on classroom deliveries
  • Certificate of completion
  • Post-course application plan

Frequently asked questions

You should understand the basic relationship between the income statement, balance sheet and cash flow statement. Experience in finance, accounting, budgeting, receivables, payables or treasury is useful, but prior treasury work is not required.

Bring a laptop with spreadsheet software if attending in the classroom. You may also bring anonymised examples of your forecast format, reporting cycle or cash challenges for use during application planning.

It suits treasury analysts, finance managers, FP&A analysts, management accountants and receivables or payables managers with cash-related responsibilities. It is appropriate for professionals who need to improve forecast quality or take on treasury duties.

This course focuses on constructing, maintaining and using cash forecasts for daily liquidity and medium-term planning. It covers working capital and funding only where they affect forecast cash, liquidity headroom and management action.

Participants can use the templates to assess their current data sources, define forecast ownership and build or improve a 13-week forecast. The methods also support better variance reviews, liquidity reporting and escalation of funding risks.

The five days provide approximately 32.5 contact hours, delivered from 08:30 to 16:30 each day. Time is divided across ten modules covering forecast construction, liquidity, working capital, funding, scenario testing, controls and reporting.

Questions about this course?

Ask about dates, fees, group bookings or running it for your team. Our training team replies by email.

Ask on WhatsApp info@skillsetdevelopment.com

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