Cash, Costs, and Controls Management

This unit develops operational finance skills for small businesses, focusing on cash flow management, budgeting and forecasting, cost control, internal controls, taxation, and capital allocation. Learners will analyze cash and profit drivers, prepare and adjust budgets, implement controls to safeguard assets, and evaluate strategic options for financing, growth, and exit to maximize business value.

Learning Objectives

• Analyze cash flow statements, liquidity traps, and untapped sources of liquidity to identify short-term financing needs and improvements to cash position
• Apply budgeting, forecasting, and profit-model trade-off techniques to prepare, adjust, and evaluate operational budgets and cost-reduction strategies
• Demonstrate internal control, security procedures, and payroll tax management practices to protect assets, reduce fraud risk, and ensure regulatory compliance
• Evaluate options for capital allocation, business structure, pricing, acquisitions, and structuring a sale to maximize value and satisfy liabilities