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Solution · Working Capital and Cash Performance

See where cash is being created, delayed or trapped while the outcome is still correctable.

Continuously govern working-capital and Cash Conversion commitments by connecting sales terms, fulfilment, billing, collections, disputes, unapplied cash, inventory, procurement and payables.

Vibrant Outcomes gives Finance and operating teams one current reading of projected cash performance, the operational conditions behind the exposure, the accountable response, and the value realised or protected through earlier intervention.

Finance outcome, operational causesCash value separated from attributionEarlier detection and coordinated action
FY26 Cash Conversion Commitment Finance and operations readCurrent forecast · July
Working-capital commitmentReduce Cash Conversion Cycle to 45 days and release $12M of cash.
Off Track · moderate confidence
Target CCC45 daysyear-end commitment
Projected landing58 days13 days short
Cash realised$3.6Mconfirmed
Remaining exposure$5.2Mcurrent horizon
Sales termsStable
FulfilmentEvidence gap
BillingDelayed
CollectionsAt Risk
InventoryElevated
PayablesOn Plan
Dominant working-capital condition Incomplete delivery evidence is delaying invoice release and creating downstream collection disputes. The condition spans fulfilment, billing readiness, collections and customer operations, and is the primary explanation behind the DSO trajectory.
Cash exposure$2.6M
Invoices affected184
Persistence9 weeks
OwnerFinance Ops
Recommended interventionAssign one accountable owner across the fulfilment-to-billing handoff and clear the blocked invoice population.Owners: Delivery + Finance Operations + Commercial Operations · SLA: 48 hours · measure cash released and recurrence.
Govern the Cash CommitmentCCC, DSO, DPO, inventory and value
Read the Operating CausesSales, fulfilment, billing, collections and supply
Correct the ConditionOwner, SLA, escalation and measured effect
Measure the ValueCash realised, assisted and exposure avoided
A finance outcome produced across the business

Working capital belongs to every function that changes the timing of cash.

The solution gives Finance one governed outcome view while allowing operating teams to work the conditions within their control.

Role 01

CFO and Treasurer

Govern Cash Conversion, liquidity, value, exposure, confidence and enterprise intervention.

Role 02

Controller and FP&A

Connect financial movement to operating evidence, forecast, value logic and review cadence.

Role 03

Finance Operations and Shared Services

Manage billing, collections, disputes, cash application, payables and cross-functional handoffs.

Role 04

Supply Chain and Procurement

Connect inventory, supplier terms, purchasing, fulfilment and logistics to cash consequences.

Role 05

Commercial Operations

Manage customer terms, order readiness, delivery evidence, billing dependencies and dispute prevention.

The cash-performance gap

Working capital is measured financially after it has been produced operationally.

Finance can see the exposure, but often lacks one current view of the cross-functional work that created it.

Conventional working-capital management

Financial reportingDSO, DPO, inventory days and cash balances are reviewed after period close or in separate dashboards.
Operating causesBilling, dispute, fulfilment, inventory and supplier issues remain distributed across functions and systems.
OwnershipFinance is expected to improve the result even when the controlling cause sits in Sales, Delivery, Supply or Procurement.
ValueCash released, value assisted and exposure avoided are often combined or claimed without sufficient evidence.

With Vibrant Outcomes

Financial reportingThe cash commitment carries a current state, projected landing, confidence, value and change since prior review.
Operating causesSignals across sales terms, fulfilment, billing, collections, inventory, procurement and payables synthesize into Conditions.
OwnershipEach function retains responsibility for its work while one accountable owner coordinates the end-to-end correction.
ValueCash realised, value assisted and exposure avoided remain separate, approved and traceable.
The cash-to-operation model

Connect the working-capital commitment to the complete operating chain that produces it.

Each layer retains its own evidence and ownership while contributing to one current cash reading.

01

Cash Commitment

CCC, cash release, liquidity, target, horizon and owner.

02

Commercial Terms

Payment terms, pricing, credits and customer commitments.

03

Fulfilment and Billing

Delivery evidence, invoice readiness, accuracy and release.

04

Collections and Disputes

Promise, ageing, dispute, recovery and escalation.

05

Inventory

Coverage, excess, shortage, deployment and cash tied up.

06

Procurement and Payables

Terms, purchasing, invoice, approval and payment timing.

07

Cash Condition

The cross-functional operating state explaining exposure.

08

Intervention and Value

Owner, action, cash realised and exposure avoided.

Working-capital and Cash Conversion commitments

Govern the cash promise with the operating boundaries that must hold.

A cash commitment defines the result, the accountable leader and the business conditions under which cash should be released without weakening revenue, supply, customer or supplier outcomes.

01
Define the commitmentCash Conversion Cycle, DSO, DPO, inventory days, cash release or liquidity outcome with baseline, target and horizon.
02
Name the contributing anchorsThe underlying outcomes that carry the commitment—Billing Readiness, Collections Effectiveness, Inventory Health, Payables Discipline and Commercial Terms.
03
Set guardrailsProtect customer relationships, supplier resilience, service, revenue, margin and compliance while improving cash.
04
Read the projected landingUse current financial and operating evidence to determine whether the cash result will land.
Cash commitment readingCash Conversion and Working-Capital Release
Off Track
Baseline64 days
Target45 days
Projected landing58 days
ConfidenceModerate
Dominant explanation Billing delay and dispute ageing are offsetting improvements in inventory and payables. The commitment remains recoverable, but the fulfilment-to-billing handoff and a concentrated dispute portfolio require intervention before the next review.
Billing ReadinessCollectionsDisputesInventory HealthSupplier Guardrail
Investigate the cash outcome by operating domain

Move from the financial exposure into the work that can change it.

Select a lens to see how the dominant condition and accountable response change.

Receivables and DSO

Where is invoiced or billable value failing to become cash?

Connect billing readiness, invoice release, ageing, collection promise, dispute, credit and unapplied cash to the customers and value affected.

Concentration184 invoices and 23 customers explain 68% of current DSO exposure.
Dominant conditionDelivery evidence and dispute ownership delay invoice release and recovery.
InterventionClear blocked invoices, assign dispute ownership and apply cash to the correct accounts.
Cross-outcome effect: the same handoff affects Cash Conversion, Revenue Realisation and Customer Health.
DSO, DPO and inventory as one Cash Conversion system

See where days and value are improving—and where gains are being offset.

The current reading should distinguish the component movement, the operational explanation and the net effect on Cash Conversion.

01
DSOBilling timing, invoice quality, collections, disputes, customer terms and cash application.
02
Inventory daysDemand alignment, excess, slow-moving stock, shortage, deployment and fulfilment readiness.
03
DPOSupplier terms, invoice approval, payment discipline, discount economics and supplier resilience.
04
Net cash effectShow the combined movement without allowing one improvement to hide deterioration elsewhere.
DSO67 days
Inventory days74 days
DPO83 days
Cash Conversion58 days
Inventory reductionImproved demand alignment and slow-moving stock action
−4 days
Payables disciplineTerms and payment timing improved within supplier guardrails
−2 days
Billing delayDelivery evidence and invoice readiness
+6 days
Dispute ageingOwnership and customer-resolution delay
+3 days
Unapplied cashReceipts not matched to the correct customer or invoice
+$1.1M
Operational causes of financial exposure

Name the cash condition—not only the financial variance.

A working-capital Condition connects the financial exposure to the operational Signals, functions, entities and decisions that can still change it.

01
Billing-readiness failureDelivery evidence, entitlement, acceptance, master data or approval prevents invoice release.
02
Collection and dispute blockageCustomer promise, dispute ownership, service issue, commercial concession or escalation remains unresolved.
03
Inventory cash trapExcess, slow-moving, misaligned or inaccessible inventory ties up cash without supporting demand.
04
Payables and procurement leakageTerms, approval, duplicate invoice, early payment or supplier exception weakens cash performance.
Live working-capital conditionFulfilment-to-Billing Evidence Breakdown
Critical · persistent
Cash exposure$2.6M
Invoices affected184
Persistence9 weeks
ConfidenceHigh
Condition explanation Incomplete or disputed proof of delivery prevents invoice release and creates downstream collection delay. Signals across Delivery, Sales Operations, Billing and Collections share the same owner gap and explain most of the current DSO deterioration.
DeliveryCommercial OperationsBillingCollectionsCash + Revenue + Customer
Cross-functional ownership

Keep Finance accountable for the cash outcome without making Finance the owner of every operating cause.

The end-to-end response requires distinct functional responsibility and one coordinating owner for the cash condition.

Finance Outcome Owner

CFO, Treasurer or Controller

Own the working-capital commitment, projected landing, value logic, confidence and enterprise escalation.

What cash result must land?
Finance Operations

Billing, collections and cash application

Own invoice release, collection action, dispute coordination, receipt application and operating controls.

Which finance process must change?
Commercial and Delivery

Terms, fulfilment and customer evidence

Own customer commitments, order readiness, delivery proof, acceptance and commercial causes of dispute.

Which upstream handoff blocks cash?
Supply and Procurement

Inventory, purchasing and payables

Own inventory positioning, supplier terms, purchasing discipline, invoice approval and payment trade-offs.

Where is cash tied up or released?
Earlier intervention and accountable response

Place the action where the timing of cash can still change.

The response is prioritised by cash value, persistence, correctability, customer or supplier consequence and time remaining in the commitment horizon.

01
Correct the operating causeResolve the delivery, billing, dispute, inventory, procurement or payables condition—not only the financial symptom.
02
Define SLA and escalationEscalate based on value, ageing, service impact, customer consequence and the cost of delay.
03
Protect the guardrailsDo not improve cash by damaging customer health, supplier resilience, revenue, service or margin.
04
Measure realised effectTrack cash released, days reduced, recurrence cleared and connected business outcomes.
Cash recovery plan184 invoices · 23 customers · $2.6M exposure
1
Assign one accountable handoff owner

Coordinate Delivery, Commercial Operations, Billing and Collections until the blocked population is cleared.

24 hours
2
Correct delivery evidence at source

Complete, validate or resolve proof of delivery before invoice preparation and customer dispute.

48 hours
3
Release invoices and resolve concentrated disputes

Prioritise by cash value, ageing, customer consequence and correctability.

In progress
4
Measure cash and recurrence

Confirm cash realised, days recovered, customer effect and whether the Condition remains active.

Measured
Cash value and attribution discipline

Separate the business value achieved from the platform contribution.

Cash belongs to the business outcome. Attribution explains how earlier visibility, prioritisation or intervention helped.

01

Cash Realised

Confirmed cash released through collections, billing, inventory, payables or other completed operating actions.

02

Value Assisted

Cash improvement where earlier detection, prioritisation or coordinated response materially supported the result.

03

Exposure Avoided

Estimated downside prevented because a correctable cash condition was identified and addressed before worsening.

04

Remaining Exposure

Cash or days still at risk after current actions, assumptions, evidence gaps and connected outcome trade-offs.

Evidence coverage and time-to-detect

Make the reliability and timing of the cash reading visible.

A confident intervention requires enough current evidence to explain the exposure and enough time remaining to influence it.

01
CoverageWhich customers, invoices, inventory, suppliers and entities are represented in the reading.
02
FreshnessHow current the delivery, billing, collections, inventory and payment evidence is.
03
Time to detectHow quickly the organisation recognises a material operating condition after it begins.
04
Correctable windowHow much time remains before the financial, customer or supplier consequence is no longer recoverable.
Receivables coverage97%Invoice and customer population current
Delivery evidence coverage82%Two regions have missing confirmations
Inventory evidence age1 dayCurrent by product and location
Payables evidence age2 daysSupplier and approval status current
Time to detect: 11 days · Correctable window remaining: 18 daysThe current reading is sufficient for intervention, but incomplete delivery evidence lowers confidence in the exact cash release timing.
Finance and operational review cadence

Use one evidence base at different cash-management levels.

The operating cadence works the conditions. The finance cadence governs the commitment, value and enterprise trade-offs.

Operational cash cadence

Daily Cash Operations

Work the invoice, dispute, collection, receipt and cash-application conditions requiring immediate ownership.

Current condition queueBlocked invoices, overdue disputes, collection promises and unapplied receipts.
Ownership and SLAResponsible team, accountable owner, time remaining and escalation path.
Cash effectCash released, value remaining and condition recurrence.
Primary question: Which correctable cash conditions must be cleared today?
Management questions answered

Give Finance and operating leaders one evidence-based cash discussion.

01
Will the working-capital and Cash Conversion commitments land?
02
Which operating conditions explain the current DSO, DPO and inventory movement?
03
Where is billable or invoiced value failing to become cash?
04
Which customers, invoices, inventory, suppliers or business units explain the exposure?
05
Which function owns the cause, and who is accountable for the end-to-end correction?
06
How much cash has been realised, assisted or protected through earlier intervention?
07
Where is evidence incomplete, stale or too late to support confident action?
08
Which intervention improves cash without weakening revenue, customer or supplier outcomes?
A practical starting scope

Begin with one working-capital commitment or one material cash condition.

The strongest starting point has a named finance owner, visible cross-functional causes and enough correctable value to demonstrate the operating model.

01
Choose the cash outcomeSelect Cash Conversion, DSO, inventory, DPO, billing, collections or cash-application performance.
02
Map the operating Value StreamsConnect sales terms, fulfilment, billing, collections, inventory, procurement and payables.
03
Configure the governing Signals and ConditionsStart with the evidence and situations most likely to influence current cash.
04
Run the response and value cadenceAssign ownership, clear the condition and measure cash realised, assisted and exposure avoided.
Start
One cash commitment or exposure portfolioExample: DSO reduction for one business unit or a blocked-invoice population.
Connect
Financial and operating evidenceBilling, collections, disputes, unapplied cash, inventory, procurement and payables.
Read
Projected landing, Conditions and confidenceName the cash exposure, cause, owner, evidence gaps and correctable window.
Intervene
Cross-functional response and measurable valueClear the operational condition and distinguish cash realised, assisted and avoided exposure.
Expand
Broader commercial, supply-chain and enterprise cash governanceReuse the same Signals, Conditions and evidence across connected outcomes.

Know where cash is delayed or trapped—and correct the operating condition before the exposure becomes fixed.

Connect Cash Conversion, DSO, DPO, inventory, billing, collections, disputes, procurement and operational evidence in one continuously governed cash-performance model.

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