Straight-talking treasury (TT JanFeb05 p34-36)

Financial information is the lifeblood of most organisations. A company with a full order book which, at the same time, is straining its borrowing limit will eventually face serious consequences ranging from having to negotiate emergency, and potentially very expensive, financing to bankruptcy. But if that company manages its cash and working capital efficiently, it will be able to foresee any potential cash squeeze, and should be able to navigate itself through this situation at low cost and with less risk. The deployment of straight-through processing (STP) could play a critical role in achieving this.