Economic & Trade Risk Insights
 

Businesses now have to wait 59 days on average to be paid for sold goods and services. What approaches can help them offset the impact of such sluggish payment practices?

​How to forecast cash flow? A cash flow forecast is a financial tool used to estimate the money that will flow in and out of a business over a period of time. It helps businesses plan for future cash needs and ensure they have enough funds to meet obligations. Read our tips on cash flow management, calculation, and projection.   Even profitable and successful companies can be weakened when faced with late payments or a customer insolvency. There is much to do to protect your business from bad debts: picking the right customers to trade with, implementing processes to ensure invoices will be paid on time, integrating cash flow management in all your investment decisions, or subscribing a trade credit insurance policy.   But it all starts with having an up-to-date cash flow statement and creating a cash flow forecast. Let’s have a look at how to calculate cash flow and how to make a cash flow projection.

Read Allianz Trade's credit expert on current trends of global trade rebounding, uneven pace around the world, and the biggest risk for importers & exporters.     Regional Head of Distribution, Allianz Trade Asia Pacific   Ben Handley   Ben is the Regional Distribution Director at Allianz Trade Asia Pacific, the leading global trade credit insurer and a core component of Allianz global lines business.   Ben has a demonstrated history of managing key insurance accounts and providing financial risk consultation to major clients. With his skills in account management and sales team supervision, Ben is committed to promoting the importance of trade credit insurance to businesses in the Asia-Pacific region.     Ben.Handley@allianz-trade.com 

Business cash flow management is essential, in particular for small businesses. It pays salaries and bills and allows to invest in growth. But no business is safe from unexpected cash flow problems, whether they are due to late payments, a customer insolvency or an investment not generating as much revenue as expected.   Some common cash flow problems are:   1 Lack of cash reserves   2 Borrowing at higher rates   3 Decreasing sales or lower profit margins   4 Outstanding receivables from customers   5 Uncontrolled business expansion   6 Inaccurate financial forecasting   7 Poor bookkeeping practices   In the current context, it is more important than ever to avoid cash flow issues and safeguard your money in order to protect your company growth. In this article, we share several solutions to cash flow problems.

Trade credit insurance has one purpose – to make sure invoices are paid. It is one of the most effective credit management tools for all sizes of companies.     Commercial Director , Allianz Trade in Hong Kong Hub   Hassan Omaish   Hassan Omaish is the Commercial Director for Allianz Trade in Hong Kong Hub, leading our commercial functions in Hong Kong, Taiwan and Korea.   Hassan started at Allianz Trade in Dubai in 2010 before moving to Saudi Arabia in 2012 as the Head of Client Advisory and Distribution. He headed the Malaysia office as Country Manager before moving to Singapore as the Commercial Director ASEAN in 2018, where he was instrumental in building a reliable customer centric framework and driving profitable business growth.     Hassan.Omaish@allianz-trade.com 

Days Sales Outstanding (DSO) is a poorly known yet key indicator in managing and improving your cash flow. If you want to know more about what DSO is, how to calculate it and work on DSO improvement, the following is a close-up on these three letters that will help you implement an efficient and balanced credit risk policy.