Cashflow Stress

---
description: Test cash flow to assess liquidity risk and runway under adverse conditions
---

# Cash Flow Stress

Stress-test cash flow for "$ARGUMENTS". Model adverse scenarios to understand liquidity risk, minimum cash requirements, and how long the business can survive under pressure.

## Prerequisites

None — utility skill, run anytime. Works best when financial data exists in `.metapowers/finance/$ARGUMENTS/`.

## Process

1. **Gather context:**
   - If prior phase artifacts exist, read them for cash flow baseline
   - Ask for current cash position and monthly burn rate
   - Identify known upcoming cash events (payroll, rent, debt payments, expected revenue)

2. **Define stress scenarios:**
   - **Revenue shock:** 30%, 50%, 80% revenue decline
   - **Collection delay:** customers pay 30, 60, 90 days late
   - **Cost spike:** unexpected expense increase (legal, infrastructure, emergency hire)
   - **Combined stress:** revenue decline + collection delay simultaneously
   - **Black swan:** complete revenue halt for 1-3 months

3. **Model cash runway under each scenario:**
   - Project weekly or monthly cash position
   - Identify the date cash reaches zero for each scenario
   - Calculate minimum cash balance reached
   - Determine how many months of runway exist

4. **Identify liquidity levers:**
   - What expenses can be cut and how quickly? (fixed vs variable)
   - What credit facilities or reserves are available?
   - What assets can be liquidated?
   - What revenue can be accelerated? (prepayment discounts, advance billing)
   - Estimate the cash impact and timing of each lever

5. **Define the cash management playbook:**
   - Set cash balance trigger levels (green/yellow/red zones)
   - Define actions at each trigger level
   - Identify the minimum viable cash balance

6. **Write the artifact** to `.metapowers/finance/$ARGUMENTS/cashflow-stress.md` with sections:
   - **Current Position** — cash balance, burn rate, baseline runway
   - **Stress Scenarios** — projected cash under each adverse scenario
   - **Runway Summary** — months of runway per scenario
   - **Liquidity Levers** — available actions ranked by impact and speed
   - **Cash Management Playbook** — trigger levels and response actions
   - **Minimum Cash Requirements** — floor balance and rationale

## Output

The cash flow stress test written to `.metapowers/finance/$ARGUMENTS/cashflow-stress.md`. Present a summary highlighting:
- Current runway and burn rate
- Runway under worst-case stress
- Available liquidity levers
- Recommended minimum cash balance