Working Capital

---
name: working-capital
description: "Calculate net working capital, working capital ratio, cash conversion cycle, and funding requirements with the deterministic working-capital engine."
argument-hint: <current_assets> <current_liabilities> <cycle_days> <daily_cogs>
risk_level: MEDIUM
rule_type: professional-standard
quality_tier: tested
allowed-tools: bash
capability:
  purpose: [financial_analysis, unit_economics_modelling]
  not_for: [certified_audit_opinion, public_offering_prospectus]
  requires: [<current_assets> <current_liabilities> <cycle_days> <daily_cogs>]
  produces: [bep_units, bep_revenue, contribution_margin, margin_of_safety]
  consumes: [context.scale, marketing.cac]
  deterministic: true
  cross_domain_relevance:
    strategy: high
    marketing: medium
    tax: medium
---

# Working Capital Management

Measures how much cash is trapped in the operating cycle and how much funding is required to run it.

## Metrics
* **Net Working Capital** = Current Assets − Current Liabilities.
* **Working Capital Ratio** = Current Assets ÷ Current Liabilities (≥ 1.5 conservative for SMEs).
* **Cash Conversion Cycle (CCC)** = DIO + DSO − DPO — days cash is tied up from buying stock until cash returns.
* **Working Capital Requirement** = CCC (days) × COGS per day — operational funding needs.

## Scope & Safety
* **Use for**: planning working-capital loan needs, negotiating supplier payment terms, assessing operational liquidity.
* **Do not use for**: long-term investment loan decisions (use capital-budgeting), or total solvency assessment.
* A long CCC means cash is absorbed into receivables/inventory — priorities: speed up collections, reasonably extend supplier payables, reduce dead stock.
* WCR figures are need estimates; add a 10–20% buffer for seasonality.

## Hybrid Execution Model
Pass inputs to `engines/working-capital.js`: `netWorkingCapital`, `workingCapitalRatio`, `cashConversionCycle`, `workingCapitalRequirement`. Wrap in a Trust Envelope (risk MEDIUM; as_of; human review for credit applications).

## Worked Example
Input: CA 500 million, CL 250 million; DIO 60 days, DSO 45 days, DPO 30 days; COGS/day 2 million.
Output: NWC = **250 million**; Ratio = **2.0**; CCC = 60 + 45 − 30 = **75 days**; Requirement = 75 × 2 million = **150 million**.
Interpretation: the business is liquid, but needs ~150 million to fund the 75-day working capital cycle.