Cash as a Signal: Smarter Planning to Unlock Liquidity
As volatility puts pressure on liquidity, many businesses are uncovering hidden weaknesses in their planning processes. Forward-thinking organisations are turning cash strain into a strategic advantage by tightening planning cycles, strengthening cross-functional alignment, and embedding more responsive financial-operational rhythms
Global business leaders are giving cash their full attention. With ongoing uncertainty around costs and trade, as well as tightening access to capital, the conversation has shifted from profitability alone to one of liquidity – how it’s preserved, where it gets stuck and how decisions upstream impact cash downstream.
This isn’t just a concern of the finance department. Liquidity is influenced by how planning decisions are made, how quickly they’re reviewed and how closely they align with the realities on the ground. Businesses that have built structure around this are adjusting with greater control. Some are pausing spend to preserve flexibility; while others are redirecting capital toward the areas that matter most. What they have in common is the ability to act early – before smaller pressures become more serious problems.
Cash reveals how a business really operates. And right now, it’s testing the depth of capability at all levels: across leadership, governance and day-to-day decision-making.
Cash as capability
Mature organisations are making different choices under pressure. They aren’t just trimming costs or deferring spend; they’re adjusting with a level of precision that reflects their planning discipline. The capability to model scenarios plays a key role here, however beyond capability it’s also about cadence, governance, and the ability to align financial and operational decisions when the stakes are high.
Cashflow clarity often comes down to rhythm – how often plans are reviewed, how quickly assumptions are updated and how early leaders are willing to act. In many organisations, that rhythm is shaped by finance business partners who are strategically connected to the rest of the business, ensuring that financial planning is both accurate and adaptive. When finance is embedded across operations – not just reporting, but influencing decisions in real time – scenario planning becomes faster and adjustments can be made before issues escalate.
The businesses doing this well have already built the habits that support fast, confident decisions when the ground moves under their feet. On the other hand, where this capability is missing, pressure finds the cracks. Perhaps sales targets stay locked to outdated assumptions, or inventory buffers outgrow their purpose. More often than not, financial and operational forecasts lag behind reality. In many cases, it’s not the cash that’s missing – it’s the ability to see where it’s getting stuck.
Far from being dramatic failures, these are relatively minor gaps that can be corrected with focused effort to uplift internal capability in incremental steps rather than transformational overhauls. We’ve seen companies unlock substantial amounts in working capital simply by tightening planning cycles and rebalancing stock. The same patterns play out across the cash conversion cycle – where inventory, receivables and payables shape overall liquidity.
Operational levers with a financial lens
In the most resilient organisations, planning is a cross-functional discipline that links cash outcomes with operational levers – such as supplier terms, production lead times and fulfilment models. Decisions made in one part of the business can tighten or release cash elsewhere. For this reason, capability uplift requires closer alignment between planning, procurement, supply chain and commercial functions – all of which contribute to how efficiently working capital flows.
Take procurement, for example. In periods of volatility, a well-negotiated payment term can have more impact on liquidity than a blanket cost reduction. The same is true for inventory strategy. Businesses that can adjust safety stock levels dynamically, based on real-time demand and supply signals, are better positioned to preserve cash without compromising service. And when commercial teams are engaged in cash-focused planning cycles, promotions and pricing strategies become more targeted, helping to reduce excess stock and accelerate receivables.
None of this is possible in a silo; rather, it relies on shared planning assumptions, common data sets and regular collaboration between functions. When those foundations are in place, businesses build both the capability to respond more effectively in moments of crisis, as well as the internal muscle to prevent cash strain before it escalates.
When cash is tight, capability counts
In many businesses, liquidity pressure doesn’t always result in catastrophic failure. More often, it exposes the subtle misalignments across the organisation. Left unaddressed, those small gaps compound. However, they’re also the easiest place to start.
Resilient organisations aren’t waiting for the next crisis to act. They’re already using cash pressure as a signal to recalibrate; not with sweeping structural overhaul, but through tighter planning, clearer ownership and more deliberate cross-functional coordination.
Rather, it’s the very foundation for staying competitive.
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