Fundamentals of Cash Flow Forecasting

Course details

In this course we explore cash flow forecasting at its most basic level. We assume little or no forecasting experience by participants, or a desire to improve their cash flow forecasting.

We begin with a description of a common structure for cash flow forecasting and then fill in the pieces - information, sources, etc. - that are necessary for an effective forecasting system. We discover that most short-term forecasting methods are not complicated. We discuss how to identify potential sources both personal and computer. We break down data to explore how valuable the data items are to the overall forecast.

Acknowledging that we may not be able to find sources for all items, we introduce short-term forecasting methods that can be used in conjunction with estimates from "knowledgeable" sources. For example, some methods can be used to translate a data item to a forecasting variable. In this way we ask our sources to estimate what they know, and we can then translate the information into the form we need for the forecast. Finally, we gather up all of the pieces we identify and construct a basic forecasting template.