Introduction
The programme “Managing Accounts Payable and Receivable to Improve Liquidity” develops professional practice in Cash, Liquidity, Costs and Assets. It connects the subject with workplace challenges by examining existing evidence and practices and choosing methods appropriate to the organization and its available resources.
The learning progresses from cash, liquidity, and working capital management to financial statement and report analysis, with practical work on municipal service development and city management, the accounting cycle, closing, and record quality, cost accounting and resource pricing. Participants prepare outputs to support workplace application and review the quality and results of implementation.
Learning objectives
- Prepare a cash forecast and options for addressing liquidity and working capital gaps in an application related to “Managing Accounts Payable and Receivable to Improve Liquidity”.
- Design a municipal service improvement connecting spatial planning, operations, and beneficiary experience.
- Process an accounting cycle and prepare adjustments supported by traceable documents.
- Select a costing basis and variance analysis that support a specific operational decision.
- Interpret performance, financial position, and cash flows using documented analysis with clear limitations.
Learning areas
1. Cash, Liquidity, and Working Capital Management
- Analyze the cash cycle from purchasing to collection, identifying the effects of inventory, receivables, and payment terms on financing needs.
- Forecast receipts and payments by maturity, and document data sources and the likelihood of delays in expected cash flows.
- Classify receivables and debt aging, track collections and settlements, and connect follow-up actions to approved authorities and policies.
- Compare options for addressing deficits or deploying surpluses according to cost, liquidity, risk, and contractual constraints requiring review.
- Test a cash stress scenario, set alert thresholds and escalation actions, and update forecasts based on actual results. The application examines a case related to “Managing Accounts Payable and Receivable to Improve Liquidity”.
2. Municipal Service Development and City Management
- Analyze municipal responsibilities, stakeholders, services, and local assets, and identify a measurable need within a clearly defined geographical area.
- Map a licensing or field service journey, review requirements and interagency handovers, and identify duplication, delays, and unclear responsibilities.
- Use spatial and operational data to prioritize work, checking update accuracy, boundaries, and the privacy of resident and establishment data.
- Design a municipal intervention connecting resources, contracts, operations, and community participation, and define acceptance and service quality criteria.
- Prepare indicators for coverage, responsiveness, cost, and beneficiary satisfaction, and a plan for piloting the intervention and reviewing its effects before expansion.
3. The Accounting Cycle, Closing, and Record Quality
- Trace a transaction from source document to journal entry, general ledger, and trial balance, identifying control points and approval responsibilities.
- Analyze transactions and classify accounts by their nature, checking completeness, cutoff, and correct accounting treatment.
- Prepare accounting adjustments and supporting reconciliations, documenting differences, their causes, and the parties responsible for resolving them.
- Review recognition, measurement, presentation, and disclosure requirements under the applicable accounting framework without assuming uniform requirements across countries.
- Organize the closing file with supporting documents, a timetable, and approval reviews, and prepare a register of matters requiring professional judgment.
4. Cost Accounting and Resource Pricing
- Identify cost objects, cost centers, and cost drivers, and distinguish direct and indirect costs and fixed and variable costs.
- Select an overhead allocation and apportionment method suited to the business, documenting estimation bases and limits to comparisons between alternatives.
- Calculate a product or service cost using training data, and analyze the effects of unused capacity, rework, and waste.
- Analyze price, quantity, and efficiency variances, connect them to operational causes, and identify responsibilities beyond merely describing the variance.
- Compare pricing, make, or buy alternatives in terms of contribution margin, constraints, and risks, and document the reasons for the decision.
5. Financial Statement and Report Analysis
- Read the relationships between the statements of financial position, performance, and cash flows and the notes, identifying the effects of accounting policies and estimates.
- Perform horizontal and vertical analysis and compare profitability, liquidity, efficiency, and leverage indicators, considering the nature and size of the business.
- Examine earnings quality, cash flows, and nonrecurring items, and identify differences between accounting results and actual liquidity.
- Test the sensitivity of results to changes in sales, costs, collections, and financing, stating the assumptions and constraints in each scenario.
- Write a financial report linking indicators to management's question and available alternatives, presenting risks and additional data needed for the decision.
Practical outputs
- A cash flow forecast and a plan to improve collections and the cash conversion cycle.
- A municipal service profile, needs map, intervention plan, and monitoring indicators.
- An accounting closing file, adjustments, and a record quality checklist.
- A cost model, variance analysis, and memo on improvement alternatives.
- A comparative financial analysis report and a memo of findings and assumptions.
Who should attend
- Practitioners, specialists and supervisors whose work relates to the programme subject.
- Managers and teams working in cash, liquidity, costs and assets, according to their practical responsibilities.
- Professionals responsible for applying the outputs of “Managing Accounts Payable and Receivable to Improve Liquidity” within their organizations.
Prerequisites
- Working familiarity with the programme field and the ability to discuss a professional case or challenge.
- Confirm the suitability of your experience and any specialist prerequisites with the Union before participation.
Conclusion
The programme “Managing Accounts Payable and Receivable to Improve Liquidity” brings together concepts, case review and a practical application. Participants prepare steps that can be adapted to their responsibilities and organizational resources, with an indicator to follow application and review results after returning to work.
Participation arrangements and any special requests are specified in the confirmation issued by the Union.