CFOs cite cash management, particularly cash flow forecasting and scenario modeling, as critical to...
With an overwhelming 95% of CFOs expecting rising interest rates to pose threats to their businesses, their focus has turned to gaining visibility over cash flow to navigate difficult market conditions
Visibility over cash flow has become top of mind for finance and accounting leaders, according to CFO Dive. According to a recent survey, 62% of C-suite and F&A professionals said “real-time visibility into cash flow is a ‘must-have’ for their businesses during the coming next year” and 98% said “they could be more confident about their current level of visibility.”
The Fords were joined on the program by Connie Evans, president and CEO of the Association for Enterprise Opportunity (AEO); and Bernardo Martinez, vice president of global merchant lending at PayPal. Karen Webster hosted.
“Banks don’t seem to think that a $250,000 loan or less is worth it to them,” Evans said, noting that most of the businesses she works with are seeking relatively small loans and failing to secure them is common. “It’s too costly, and these business owners don’t have the collateral and other kinds of documentation and assets that traditional financial institutions are seeking.”
“The reality is that capital access is roughly a $1 trillion dollar problem around the world,” Martinez agreed and detailed the other methods to evaluate creditworthiness he and his team use. He said many of the businesses seeking such loans are stable, but are looking to growth and might face cash flow gaps: “More than anything else, cash flow takes out these small businesses.”
“Planning takes patience and perseverance, and when you get [it right], you end up having a much better outcome,” Martinez said.
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