Why effective cash management can be crucial for business success

The Better Finance Podcast

In this episode of The EY Better Finance Podcast, host Myles Corson explores cash management with Peter Kingma, EY-Parthenon Americas Working Capital Consulting Services Leader.

Myles Corson interviews Peter Kingma, the EY-Parthenon Americas Working Capital Consulting Leader, to discuss the critical yet often overlooked aspect of cash management in business. Peter, drawing on his 15 years of experience at the EY organization and his recent book Cash is King, calls out the need for businesses to focus on cash flow, along with revenue and profitability. He argues that companies should prioritize all three metrics.

During the conversation, Peter introduces the concept of a "cash leadership office" — an idea that instills a culture of placing cash management on an equal footing with other financial metrics. He believes that this concept is essential for finance leaders to unlock the potential for value creation and can help overcome a lack of visibility for informed decision-making.

He also cites the findings of a proprietary EY resiliency index — How to drive operational resilience — highlighting the connection between adept cash management and the capacity of an enterprise to be resilient to market and economic instability.

Peter recommends businesses to start improving liquidity by focusing on procurement processes, enhancing billing and collections, as well as optimizing supply chain management. He also stresses the importance of leveraging existing technology before jumping too quickly onto the artificial intelligence (AI) bandwagon — advocating a back-to-basics approach that maximizes current investments.

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