Cash is king – and when you can’t see where it’s going, your P&L is only telling you half the story.
Quick Snapshot:
Client & Industry: Networking Industry
Challenge: Critical cashflow shortfall heading into the Christmas period
Engagement: Short-term, high-urgency cash flow forecasting
Key Outcome: CEO clarity over the holiday period; definitive funding number for the board
The Client:
This networking group is an organisation with a clear mission and a committed leadership team. When they came to Lantern Partners, their CEO was facing a problem that had nothing to do with strategy or vision – it was about cash, and whether there would be enough of it to keep the lights on through the Christmas and New Year period.
Challenges Faced:
The client was experiencing serious cashflow pressure. As the end of the year approached, it became clear that the business was at risk of not being able to meet its financial obligations over the holiday period – a time when revenue typically slows but operational costs continue.
The problem wasn’t just the shortfall itself. It was the lack of visibility. Without a clear picture of where cash was coming in and going out, the leadership team had no way to quantify the gap, plan around it, or make a compelling case to the board for support.
Why they needed help:
The CEO needed two things urgently: peace of mind over Christmas, and a clear, defensible number they could take to the board. Gut feel and approximate figures weren’t going to cut it. What was needed was a rigorous, bottom-up forecast built on the actual mechanics of the business – not a generic template, but something specific enough to make decisions from.
Lantern Partners Solution:
Lantern Partners tackled the challenges across three interconnected workstreams:
Lantern Partners moved quickly. This was a short-lead engagement by design – the situation required speed as much as expertise.
The team built a three-month rolling cash flow forecast from the ground up. Rather than applying a top-down estimate, Lantern Partners worked through the detailed assumptions specific to the client – analysing actual cash trends, understanding what had been happening in the business, and projecting forward based on what was known at the time.
The result was a forecast built to the dollar: a clear, assumption-driven view of the organisation’s cash position for the months ahead, including a precise figure representing the funding gap that needed to be addressed.
What was the impact on the business:
The impact was immediate and practical on two fronts.
First, it gave the CEO genuine peace of mind over the Christmas holidays. Knowing there were no liquidity surprises waiting in January meant they could step away from the business without the financial uncertainty hanging over them.
Second, it gave the board something concrete to act on. Instead of a vague request for support, the CEO was able to go to the board with a specific, well-reasoned number – a clear picture of the gap and what it would take to address it. That’s the difference between a conversation that stalls and one that moves.
Visibility, clarity, and the confidence to act. That’s what a good forecast delivers.
Tech & Team
Three-month rolling cash flow forecast model, built on detailed, organisation-specific assumptions
Analysis of historical cash trends and forward projections
Services Provided
- Cash flow forecasting (short-lead, high-urgency engagement)
- Financial analysis and assumption modelling
- Board-ready reporting – funding gap quantification