Working Capital Management Training Course

Duration 5 days 10 modules · 33 contact hours
Level Intermediate Certificate on completion
Who attends Finance Managers, Financial Controllers and others
Fee from USD 1,100 KSh 95,000 for Kenyan organisations
Where 52 cities + online See dates by city
Next start 7 Nov 2026 Course code SD-FM-091

Before you join: Participants should understand core financial statements, basic accounting entries and common finance measures such as revenue, gross margin, receivables, payables and inventory.

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

Working capital is where commercial activity becomes cash, yet many organisations carry avoidable pressure through late customer payments, excess inventory, poorly controlled supplier terms and unreliable liquidity forecasts. Finance teams must identify the operational causes behind DSO, DIO and DPO movements, then turn analysis into actions that protect service, supplier relationships and funding headroom. This is particularly important where growth, seasonality, inflation, customer concentration or constrained credit facilities increase cash risk.

This course develops the practical methods used to manage receivables, payables, inventory and short-term funding as an integrated cash cycle. Participants calculate and interpret the cash conversion cycle, build a 13-week rolling cash forecast, assess credit and collection performance, set inventory controls, evaluate supplier payment choices and monitor working capital through defined KPIs. They also examine factoring, invoice discounting, cash pooling, supply chain finance and covenant headroom, with attention to cost, control and risk.

Delivered over five instructor-led days in a classroom or live online, the course combines focused briefings, financial case work, group analysis, spreadsheet-based forecasting and decision simulations. Participants work with realistic scenarios from manufacturing, retail, public services, banking, distribution and project-based businesses. They leave with a working capital diagnostic pack containing a cash forecast, KPI dashboard, initiative assessment and 30-60-90-day action plan. A certificate of completion is awarded to participants who complete the course.

The course suits finance professionals and operational managers who influence cash through credit, collections, purchasing, inventory, treasury or financial planning. It is designed for people who need to move beyond ratio reporting and lead specific, evidence-based improvements in day-to-day cash performance.

What you will be able to do

  • Calculate cash conversion cycle metrics and identify operational drivers of DSO, DIO and DPO
  • Build a 13-week rolling cash forecast using receipts, payroll, supplier and funding data
  • Assess customer credit risk using the Five Cs of Credit and structured credit-limit criteria
  • Improve collections performance through ageing analysis, dispute management and collection effectiveness measures
  • Evaluate inventory policies using ABC analysis, safety stock, reorder points and economic order quantity
  • Compare short-term funding options using annualised cost, liquidity needs and covenant headroom
  • Design a working capital KPI dashboard with standard metric definitions and accountable owners
  • Prepare a prioritised working capital improvement plan with benefits, risks, milestones and governance

Benefits of attending

For you

  • Produce credible short-term cash forecasts for management decisions
  • Explain cash conversion drivers beyond headline working capital ratios
  • Assess credit, collection and inventory actions using financial evidence
  • Present funding and cash-release recommendations with quantified assumptions
  • Lead cross-functional discussions on cash, service and supplier trade-offs

For your organisation

  • Earlier identification of liquidity gaps and funding requirements
  • Reduced overdue receivables through disciplined credit and collection controls
  • Lower inventory tied up in slow-moving and excess stock
  • Better supplier payment decisions without unnecessary supply disruption
  • Clearer accountability for recurring working capital improvement actions

Course modules

10 modules over 5 days

Participants can diagnose the operating drivers that determine working capital requirements and cash conversion performance.

  • Working capital cycle mapped from procurement through collection and supplier payment
  • Cash conversion cycle calculated using DSO, DIO and DPO
  • Operating cash flow distinguished from profit, EBITDA and free cash flow
  • Balance sheet working capital classified by operating and financing drivers
  • Seasonality, growth and inflation effects quantified within working capital requirements
  • Peer benchmarking interpreted using sector-adjusted working capital ratios

Participants can build and maintain a short-term cash forecast that supports liquidity decisions.

  • 13-week rolling cash forecast built from receipts, payroll and supplier data
  • Direct-method forecast reconciled to bank balances and committed facilities
  • Forecast assumptions documented with owners, evidence sources and refresh frequencies
  • Base, downside and upside scenarios translated into weekly liquidity positions
  • Variance analysis separates timing errors, data gaps and business changes
  • Minimum liquidity thresholds linked to covenant headroom and escalation triggers

Participants can strengthen credit decisions and improve the conversion of invoices into cash.

  • Credit policy aligned to customer risk, margin and strategic account value
  • Five Cs of Credit applied to new-account assessment
  • Credit limits set using financial statements, trade references and payment history
  • Ageing schedules segmented by dispute status, collector and promised payment date
  • Collection effectiveness index and DSO reconciled before performance decisions
  • Dispute-resolution workflow assigns ownership, evidence standards and target closure dates
  • Collection calls structured through commitment questions and dated payment promises

Participants can manage supplier payments to improve cash timing while protecting critical supply relationships.

  • Supplier payment terms analysed against cash needs, discounts and supply risk
  • Days payable outstanding separated from overdue invoices and intentional term extension
  • Three-way match exceptions traced across purchase orders, receipts and invoices
  • Dynamic discounting assessed using annualised return and available liquidity
  • Payment runs prioritised through due dates, criticality and approved holds
  • Supplier segmentation identifies partners requiring early communication and continuity plans

Participants can apply inventory control methods that reduce cash tied up in stock while maintaining service targets.

  • Inventory policy linked to service levels, demand variability and replenishment lead times
  • ABC analysis separates control intensity by annual consumption value
  • Safety stock calculated from demand variability, lead-time variability and service targets
  • Reorder points set using expected demand, safety stock and lead time
  • Economic order quantity tested against ordering, holding and purchase costs
  • Slow-moving and obsolete stock identified through ageing, turnover and disposition codes
  • Cycle counting tolerances connected to root-cause investigation and inventory accuracy

Participants can compare short-term financing choices against cash needs, cost, control and financial risk.

  • Cash pooling structures compared with notional pooling and zero-balancing arrangements
  • Revolving credit facilities assessed against forecast drawdowns, pricing and covenants
  • Factoring and invoice discounting evaluated for cost, control and customer impact
  • Supply chain finance examined for supplier economics, disclosure and concentration risk
  • Interest and fees annualised to compare short-term funding alternatives
  • Debt covenant headroom monitored through forecast ratios and reporting calendars
  • Funding decision memo records rationale, approvals, risks and contingency actions

Participants can establish governance, measures and controls that sustain working capital performance.

  • Working capital dashboard combines DSO, DIO, DPO, CCC and forecast accuracy
  • Metric definitions standardised to prevent inconsistent reporting across business units
  • Driver trees connect commercial, operational and finance actions to cash outcomes
  • Weekly cash meetings use exception thresholds, decisions and accountable owners
  • RACI matrix assigns ownership for credit, purchasing, inventory and collections
  • Control testing detects duplicate payments, credit overrides and inventory adjustments
  • Benefits tracking distinguishes one-off releases from recurring cash improvements

Participants can turn operational finance data into actionable working capital reports and exception lists.

  • ERP master data reviewed for payment terms, credit limits and lead times
  • Data-quality checks identify duplicate customers, blocked invoices and inactive stock codes
  • Power Query workflows consolidate receivables, payables and inventory extracts
  • Pivot tables reveal ageing concentration, overdue exposure and turnover exceptions
  • Exception reports prioritise material cash risks by value and urgency
  • Automation candidates screened for control requirements, data reliability and business ownership

Participants can build financially sound improvement initiatives with clear cross-functional ownership and risk controls.

  • End-to-end order-to-cash process mapped using handoffs, controls and failure points
  • Procure-to-pay bottlenecks analysed for approval delays, matching exceptions and term compliance
  • Cross-functional trade-offs assessed between sales growth, service levels and cash release
  • Working capital initiatives sized using baseline metrics, assumptions and benefit timing
  • Initiative risks evaluated through customer impact, supplier resilience and control exposure
  • Executive recommendation framed with financial case, owners, milestones and decisions

Participants can prioritise practical working capital actions and establish an implementation plan for their organisation.

  • Diagnostic findings prioritised through impact, effort, risk and dependency scoring
  • Thirty-sixty-ninety-day plan sequences quick wins, pilots and policy changes
  • Cash release targets assigned to accountable owners and review dates
  • Implementation milestones linked to metrics, governance forums and escalation routes
  • Stakeholder messages tailored for sales, procurement, operations and senior finance
  • Personal application plan records first actions, evidence and follow-up measures

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. Working capital KPI dashboard model
  3. Receivables ageing and collections review pack
  4. Inventory control parameter checklist
  5. Short-term funding comparison worksheet
  6. 30-60-90-day working capital action plan

Who should attend

  • Finance Managers — responsible for cash performance, reporting and improvement priorities
  • Financial Controllers — needing clearer working capital analysis and operational accountability
  • Treasury Analysts — managing liquidity forecasts, facilities and covenant headroom
  • Credit Managers — improving credit decisions, collections and dispute resolution
  • FP&A Managers — linking operating plans to short-term cash requirements
  • Procurement and Supply Chain Managers — influencing supplier terms, stock and cash release

Skills and tools covered

Cash flow forecastingReceivables managementInventory controlPayables strategyLiquidity managementWorking capital analytics

Tools and standards

Cash Conversion Cycle (CCC), 13-week rolling cash forecast, ABC inventory analysis, Five Cs of Credit

How the course runs

Training methodology

The course uses short instructor briefings to establish methods, followed by case work based on receivables, inventory, payables and liquidity decisions. Participants analyse financial schedules, construct forecast assumptions, interpret KPI movements and make decisions under changing cash conditions. Group exercises examine trade-offs between customer service, supplier continuity, margin and cash. Simulations test collection priorities, payment choices and funding responses. Each participant finishes with application planning for their own role or organisation.

Requirements and prerequisites

Participants should understand core financial statements, basic accounting entries and common finance measures such as revenue, gross margin, receivables, payables and inventory. Experience using Excel or a similar spreadsheet tool is expected, as participants will interpret forecasts, schedules and KPI reports. The course is suitable for professionals with some responsibility for cash, budgeting, credit, purchasing, stock or financial reporting. Advanced treasury knowledge, financial modelling expertise, coding skills and prior experience with specialist treasury systems are not required.

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 basic financial statements and have some experience with finance, credit, purchasing, inventory or operational reporting. You do not need advanced treasury expertise or financial modelling experience.

Bring a laptop if attending in person, as spreadsheet-based analysis may be used during the course. If permitted by your employer, bring non-confidential examples of cash reports, ageing schedules or working capital challenges you want to address.

It is designed for finance managers, controllers, treasury analysts, credit managers, FP&A professionals and operational managers who influence receivables, payables or inventory. It is particularly useful for people expected to turn cash analysis into operational action.

This course concentrates on operating working capital: customer collections, supplier payments, inventory, short-term forecasting and cash governance. Treasury courses usually place greater emphasis on debt markets, investment, foreign exchange and bank relationships, while modelling courses focus more heavily on spreadsheet construction.

You will leave with templates and an action plan that can be adapted to your reporting cycle and management priorities. The methods can be applied to review overdue receivables, forecast liquidity, challenge inventory levels and assess payment-term decisions.

Training runs from 08:30 to 16:30 each day, with approximately 6.5 contact hours daily. Time is divided between instructor input, case analysis, spreadsheet work, group discussions, simulations and application planning.

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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