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Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Working Capital Manager

💰 $ - $

FinanceTreasuryWorking CapitalSupply Chain Finance

🎯 Role Definition

The Working Capital Manager is responsible for optimizing a company's short-term liquidity and cash conversion cycle by managing accounts receivable, accounts payable, inventory, and cash forecasting processes. This role leads cross-functional initiatives to reduce Days Sales Outstanding (DSO), improve Days Payable Outstanding (DPO) and Days Inventory Outstanding (DIO), implement supply chain finance solutions, and partner with Treasury and FP&A to ensure efficient cash flow and liquidity management across the organization.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

  • Treasury Analyst or Cash Manager
  • Senior Financial/FP&A Analyst
  • Accounts Receivable or Accounts Payable Supervisor
  • Credit & Collections Analyst
  • Supply Chain Finance Analyst

Advancement To:

  • Director of Working Capital / Director of Cash & Liquidity
  • Head of Treasury or Treasurer
  • VP of Finance or Corporate Controller
  • Head of Global Cash Management / Global Working Capital

Lateral Moves:

  • Supply Chain Finance Manager
  • Procurement Finance Business Partner
  • Financial Planning & Analysis Manager
  • Commercial Finance Manager

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

  • Develop, maintain and continuously improve short- and medium-term cash flow forecasting models (weekly, monthly, quarterly) that integrate AR, AP, inventory, FX and treasury inputs to provide accurate liquidity projections and scenario analysis for executive decision-making.
  • Lead and own working capital optimization programs designed to reduce DSO, manage DPO and lower DIO by partnering with Sales, Customer Success, Procurement and Supply Chain stakeholders to redesign billing, collections and payment terms.
  • Drive the collections strategy and process improvements across global regions, including segmentation of customer base, KPI targets for collectors, dispute resolution workflows, and the implementation of centralized or shared-services-based collections processes.
  • Manage and negotiate payment terms and credit lines with key suppliers and customers, establishing balanced trade terms that protect cash flow while maintaining strategic supplier relationships and service levels.
  • Design, implement and manage supply chain finance (reverse factoring) and dynamic discounting programs in coordination with Treasury, Procurement and external banking partners to unlock trapped cash and improve supplier liquidity.
  • Oversee AR and AP policy governance, ensuring consistent application of billing, invoicing, approval and payment processes across geographies, and implement controls to ensure SOX and internal audit compliance.
  • Partner with Treasury and Banking partners to manage intraday liquidity, bank account structures and short-term funding needs; coordinate bank fee optimization, cash pool designs and intercompany netting arrangements to maximize working capital efficiency.
  • Lead cross-functional projects to harmonize ERP master data, customer billing setups, payment methods and reconciliation routines to reduce exceptions, write-offs and manual processing time.
  • Build and maintain executive dashboards and reporting packages on working capital KPIs (DSO, DPO, DIO, CCC, cash conversion trends) using Power BI, Tableau or other BI tools and deliver monthly/quarterly insights to finance leadership and the Board as required.
  • Conduct root-cause analysis on working capital drivers, identify systemic process gaps, and create prioritized action plans with measurable targets, timelines and owners to achieve step-change improvements.
  • Establish and monitor credit risk management frameworks including credit limits, payment terms, collection triggers, and escalation matrices; coordinate with Legal and Sales on contractual remedies and securitization options where appropriate.
  • Manage day-to-day treasury interactions related to short-term cash deployment and ensure that working capital movements are reflected accurately in bank positions, cash pooling, and intercompany funding structures.
  • Own month-end and quarter-end cut-off controls related to AR/AP and inventory adjustments, reconcile working capital sub-ledgers to the general ledger, and provide transparency during external audits and earnings processes.
  • Implement automation, straight-through processing (STP) and robotic process automation (RPA) initiatives for invoicing, payments, cash application and reconciliations to reduce manual effort and accelerate cash collections.
  • Coordinate with Supply Chain and Operations to align inventory management strategies—safety stock optimization, consignment, vendor-managed inventory or JIT models—to reduce inventory days while protecting service levels.
  • Manage relationships with third-party collections agencies, factoring providers and receivables purchasers; evaluate vendor performance and structure commercial terms that optimize cash recovery and cost.
  • Lead working capital diligence and integration activities during M&A transactions, ensuring accurate baselines, identifying working capital synergies and establishing post-close working capital governance.
  • Prepare and present business cases, ROI analyses and payback models for working capital improvement initiatives, including system investments, process redesigns and supplier financing programs.
  • Maintain compliance with multi-jurisdictional tax, VAT/GST, trade and remittance requirements impacting receivables and payables flows; collaborate with Tax and Legal to mitigate cross-border cash and compliance risks.
  • Create and deliver training programs and playbooks for Sales, Accounts Receivable, Accounts Payable and Customer Service teams to reinforce best practices for billing accuracy, dispute resolution and timely payment processing.
  • Monitor and report on industry benchmarks and competitor practices in working capital management, recommending innovative solutions and continuous improvement opportunities to maintain competitive cash performance.

Secondary Functions

  • Respond to ad-hoc data requests and perform exploratory analysis to support urgent liquidity decisions, investor queries and audit requests.
  • Contribute to the finance organization’s data strategy by identifying working capital data gaps and requirements for system enhancements or data pipelines.
  • Collaborate with ERP, IT and Finance Transformation teams to translate business requirements for cash application, AR aging, supplier master data and payment workflows into technical specifications.
  • Participate in agile project ceremonies and sprint planning when supporting system implementations, RPA deployments or BI dashboard builds.
  • Support monthly close and forecast cycles by providing reconciliations and variance explanations for working capital movements and liaise with FP&A on forecast adjustments.
  • Act as a subject matter expert for working capital in cross-functional steering committees, change management initiatives and vendor selection evaluations.
  • Assist in preparing materials for Board-level reporting, external auditors, and banking covenant monitoring related to working capital and liquidity metrics.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

  • Advanced cash forecasting and liquidity planning techniques, including sensitivity and scenario modeling for AR/AP/inventory and FX exposure.
  • Deep understanding of accounts receivable and accounts payable processes, billing systems, dispute management, cash application and collections.
  • Strong working knowledge of ERP systems (SAP S/4HANA, Oracle EBS/NetSuite) including AR/AP modules and master data governance.
  • Experience implementing or managing supply chain finance, reverse factoring, dynamic discounting and other supplier financing programs.
  • Proficient with Excel (advanced formulas, Power Query, pivot tables), VBA scripting and modern analytics tools (Power BI, Tableau) for KPI reporting and dashboards.
  • Familiarity with treasury management systems (TMS), bank portals, cash pooling and intercompany netting solutions.
  • Experience with SQL and basic data extraction to reconcile sub-ledger to general ledger transactions and perform root-cause analysis.
  • Knowledge of accounting standards (US GAAP, IFRS) and internal controls frameworks (SOX), especially as they relate to revenue recognition and cut-off.
  • Skilled in process mapping, RPA/automation tools and continuous improvement methodologies (Lean, Six Sigma).
  • Competency in credit risk assessment, customer underwriting and structured receivables financing alternatives.

Soft Skills

  • Strong cross-functional stakeholder management with demonstrated ability to influence Sales, Procurement, Supply Chain and IT leaders.
  • Excellent verbal and written communication skills for executive presentations, supplier negotiations and intercompany coordination.
  • Analytical and problem-solving mindset with attention to detail and the ability to translate complex data into clear action plans.
  • Project management skills, including experience leading multi-stakeholder initiatives with clear governance and delivery cadence.
  • Change leadership and coaching ability to drive adoption of new processes and systems across global teams.
  • Resilience and prioritization skills to manage competing liquidity demands in fast-paced, high-pressure environments.
  • Negotiation and commercial acumen for optimizing payment terms and supplier contracts.
  • Strategic thinking with a continuous improvement orientation and a focus on measurable outcomes.
  • Ethical judgment and strong compliance orientation for handling sensitive financial and customer data.
  • Collaborative team player who can build and mentor small teams dedicated to working capital and collections excellence.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

  • Bachelor's degree in Finance, Accounting, Economics, Business Administration or related field.

Preferred Education:

  • Master's degree (MBA, MSc Finance) or professional certification such as CPA, ACCA, CMA or CTP (Certified Treasury Professional).

Relevant Fields of Study:

  • Finance
  • Accounting
  • Economics
  • Business Administration
  • Supply Chain/Operations Management

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range: 4–8 years of progressive finance experience with at least 2–4 years focused on working capital, treasury, AR/AP, or credit & collections.

Preferred:

  • 7–10+ years in corporate finance, treasury or working capital management with global exposure and demonstrated success delivering multi-million dollar cash improvements.
  • Prior experience implementing supply chain finance programs, ERP transformations or automation projects that materially reduced DSO/DIO or optimized DPO.
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