kasforecasting

Kasforecasting is the practice of predicting an organization’s cash position over a chosen horizon to support liquidity management and funding decisions. It combines anticipated cash inflows, such as customer receipts and financing activities, with outflows like supplier payments, payroll, debt service, and capital expenditures to estimate the ending cash balance and available liquidity.

The term is predominantly used in Dutch-speaking finance contexts, where “kas” means cash. In English-language discussions the concept is usually referred to as cash forecasting or cash flow forecasting; kasforecasting emphasizes the current cash position or net cash balance (kaspositie).

Common methods include rolling forecasts, scenario analysis, time-series models, and stochastic approaches such as Monte Carlo simulations. Organizations often integrate kasforecasting into treasury management systems and ERP data to improve timeliness and accuracy.

Key inputs include forecast horizon, data from enterprise systems, bank feeds, accounts receivable and payable, liquidity facilities, foreign exchange, and interest rate assumptions. Outputs typically consist of projected cash balances by period, identified liquidity gaps, and recommended actions such as drawdowns, repayments, overdraft usage, or timing of investments.

Applications range from corporate treasury and liquidity planning to working capital optimization, cash pooling, and risk management. Kasforecasting supports scenario planning for stress events and informs decisions about financing, debt covenants, and capital deployment.

Limitations include model risk and reliance on data quality, forecast accuracy, and stable assumptions. Effective kasforecasting requires governance, regular review, and alignment with overall treasury and financial planning processes. See also cash forecasting, liquidity management, and treasury management.