Cash Is Back on the CFO Agenda: Five Numbers Business Owners Should Track
Profit matters, but a profitable business can still run out of cash. That critical distinction is getting renewed attention in corporate finance departments. Protiviti's 2026 Global Finance Trends Survey found that 83% of CFOs rank cash management among their top three areas requiring the most attention in response to economic and trade-policy volatility. Rather than waiting for month-end financial statements to reveal a problem, finance teams are increasingly focusing on cash-flow forecasting, working-capital dashboards, and more timely liquidity reporting.
Small and midsize businesses should take the same lesson seriously. You do not need a Fortune 500 treasury department to improve cash visibility. You need to know the right numbers. Here are five worth watching.
1. Cash on Hand
Start with the obvious question: How much unrestricted cash does the business actually have today? This sounds simple, yet many owners mentally treat all bank-account cash as available. In reality, some of it may already be committed to payroll, payroll taxes, sales taxes, vendor payments, loan payments, estimated taxes, customer deposits, or capital expenditures. The bank balance therefore does not always equal spendable cash. A better cash report separates actual liquidity from amounts already spoken for.
2. The 13-Week Cash Forecast
An annual budget is valuable, but it can be too broad to identify an approaching cash squeeze. A rolling 13-week cash-flow forecast looks at expected receipts and payments week by week. For each week, the company estimates cash coming in (customer collections, cash sales, financing proceeds, and other receipts) and cash going out (payroll, rent, vendors, debt payments, taxes, capital purchases, and other obligations).
The purpose is not to predict every dollar perfectly; the purpose is to identify the week in which a problem might emerge while there is still time to respond. If the forecast shows cash getting tight six weeks from now, management can accelerate collections, delay a discretionary purchase, adjust inventory, use a credit facility, or explore another solution. If the problem is discovered the day payroll is due, the options are much worse.
3. Accounts Receivable Days
Revenue does not pay bills until the cash is collected. If customers are taking longer to pay, a growing income statement can hide deteriorating cash flow. Businesses should watch total accounts receivable, amounts over 30, 60, and 90 days, the average collection period, largest overdue customers, and concentration among major customers. Suppose sales rise 15%, but receivables rise 40%. That difference deserves attention. The company may effectively be financing its customers. An aging report should therefore be a management tool, not just something the accountant reviews at year-end.
4. Gross Margin
Higher revenue does not automatically create more cash. If the business is selling more at lower margins, cash can become tighter even while top-line growth looks impressive. Track gross profit dollars and gross margin percentage. Then ask: Have supplier costs increased? Are discounts becoming more aggressive? Are labor costs rising faster than prices? Are freight or tariff costs changing the economics of products? Are low-margin customers consuming disproportionate resources? Cash problems often begin as margin problems, and the sooner they are identified, the more options management has to respond.
5. Tax Cash Requirements
Taxes are one of the easiest cash obligations to underestimate because the expense and payment dates do not always match the period in which the business earned the income. Depending on the company and its owners, cash may be needed for payroll tax deposits, sales and use taxes, corporate estimated taxes, owner estimated taxes, state taxes, property taxes, or extension payments. A pass-through business can be profitable without paying federal income tax at the entity level, while its owners still need cash to pay taxes personally. That makes tax distributions and estimated payments part of cash management. Businesses making unusually large investments, sales, bonuses, or distributions should model the tax consequences before assuming excess cash is available.
Cash Management Is Really Decision Management
The Protiviti survey also found rapid adoption of AI in finance, including widespread use in forecasting, but only 35% of finance organizations said they were highly or moderately effective at measuring AI return on investment. That is an important reminder. Better technology can improve forecasting, but software does not replace management discipline. A sophisticated forecast based on inaccurate receivables or unrealistic assumptions is still a bad forecast. Businesses need reliable accounting data, realistic assumptions, regular review, clear responsibility, and timely management decisions.
Managing Your Liquidity Proactively
Tax professionals and accountants often see cash problems after they have already developed. The books show rising receivables, slipped margins, unreserved taxes, increased debt, or distributions taken based on bank balances rather than projected obligations. Those signals can often be identified earlier.
If your business has experienced rapid growth, changing margins, slower customer payments, or increased borrowing costs during 2026, consider reviewing a short-term cash-flow forecast with Christiansen Accounting. Let us help you put these numbers to work before making major year-end spending or distribution decisions. Contact our California office today to schedule a consultation.
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