Understanding Working Capital Doesn't Need to Be Complex
Most businesses struggle with cashflow because they treat working capital as an accounting problem. But it's actually about timing, relationships, and the rhythm of how money moves through your operations. We teach you to see it differently.
Explore Our Programs
Three Perspectives That Change Everything
Working capital analysis isn't just about ratios and formulas. It's about developing an instinct for where money gets stuck and how to keep it flowing.
Timing Intelligence
The gap between paying suppliers and collecting from customers creates tension in every business. Learning to manage this timing difference is what separates companies that thrive from those that constantly chase their tail.
Pattern Recognition
Your cashflow has seasons and cycles. Some are obvious – like retail Christmas peaks. Others are subtle. We teach you to spot the patterns that matter and use them to make better decisions.
Conversion Mastery
Every business converts cash into inventory, then inventory into receivables, then receivables back into cash. Understanding this conversion cycle and where it breaks down is fundamental to financial health.
What You'll Actually Learn
Our approach focuses on practical analysis skills you can use immediately. Not textbook theory, but real-world application that makes sense when you're facing actual business decisions.
Reading the Real Story
Balance sheets tell you what happened. We teach you to read between the lines and see what's actually happening with your working capital right now – and what's likely to happen next month.
Building Better Controls
You can't manage what you don't measure, but measuring everything is exhausting. We help you identify the specific metrics that matter for your situation and build monitoring systems that actually work.
Making Confident Decisions
Should you extend payment terms? Take that large order? Invest in more inventory? These decisions affect working capital in complex ways. We give you frameworks that bring clarity.
Common Challenges We Address
These are the situations participants bring to our programs. Real problems that affect real businesses across Australia.
Growth That Creates Cash Problems
You're winning more work, but somehow have less cash. This isn't unusual – it's the natural result of funding growth through working capital. Revenue goes up, but you're paying for materials and labour before customers pay you.
We show you how to calculate your cash conversion cycle and identify exactly where capital gets tied up during growth phases. Then we work through strategies to fund expansion without strangling cashflow.
Seasonal Swings You Can't Smooth Out
Some businesses have predictable seasonal patterns. Others face unpredictable lumps and gaps. Either way, managing working capital through these cycles requires different thinking than steady-state operations.
We teach forecasting techniques that help you anticipate working capital needs months in advance. You'll learn to build buffers intelligently and negotiate facilities that match your actual cash cycle.
Supplier and Customer Terms That Don't Match
Your suppliers want payment in 14 days. Your customers take 60. The mismatch creates a funding gap that you're somehow expected to bridge. This structural problem affects thousands of Australian businesses.
We explore negotiation strategies, supply chain financing options, and structural changes that can reduce the gap. Sometimes the answer is renegotiating terms. Sometimes it's changing your business model.
Essential Concepts Worth Understanding
These fundamentals appear simple but have nuanced implications that affect how you run your business.
Current Ratio
The relationship between current assets and current liabilities tells you about short-term financial health – but context matters more than the number.
Days Sales Outstanding
How long money sits in receivables affects everything. Industry benchmarks exist, but your specific DSO target depends on your business model and margins.
Inventory Turnover
Stock that sits on shelves ties up capital. Fast turnover sounds good, but too fast might mean you're missing sales. Finding balance is the skill.
Cash Conversion Cycle
The time between paying cash for inputs and receiving cash from outputs. This single metric reveals more about operational efficiency than most complex analyses.
Real Analysis in Action
A Perth-based distributor was experiencing the classic growth paradox – increasing sales but declining cash position. Their gross margin looked healthy at 32%, but working capital told a different story.
By mapping their complete cash conversion cycle, we identified that inventory was turning over slowly (47 days) while they paid suppliers quickly (18 days) to maintain relationships and secure volume discounts. Meanwhile, their receivables stretched to 68 days.
The total cycle meant they needed to fund operations for 97 days before seeing cash return. With 15% annual growth, they were constantly funding this expanding gap.
How Our Programs Work
We run intensive programs starting in July 2026. They're designed for finance professionals, business owners, and anyone who needs to understand working capital management at a practical level.
View Program DetailsFoundation Phase
We start with core concepts and ensure everyone has the same foundation. This isn't boring basics – we use real company financials to explore how working capital actually behaves.
- Financial statement analysis
- Cash conversion fundamentals
- Industry benchmark context
Applied Analysis
You'll work through detailed case studies and bring challenges from your own business. This is where theory meets messy reality and you develop practical judgment.
- Scenario analysis exercises
- Diagnostic frameworks
- Decision modeling tools
Implementation
The final phase focuses on building systems and processes that work in your specific context. You'll leave with actionable plans, not just knowledge.
- Custom metric design
- Monitoring systems
- Continuous improvement methods
Sienna Holmqvist
Program Director
I spent twelve years in corporate finance before moving into education. What struck me most was how many smart people struggled with working capital – not because they couldn't understand the concepts, but because the way it's typically taught doesn't connect to real business decisions.
Our programs emerged from that frustration. We focus on developing intuition and judgment alongside technical skills. The goal isn't just to teach you formulas – it's to help you see patterns and make confident decisions when you're facing actual business complexity.
More about our approach →