Learn about the Microsoft Dynamics 365 Finance Insights Capabilities – Cash Forecast (Part 3 of 5)

Microsoft Dynamics 365 Finance Insights is helpful because it offers configurable and extensible solutions for predicting cash flow, receivable payments, and generating budget proposals, as well as the ability to use machine learning templates to build models with data you provide. In this blog we will cover the cash forecasting capability in Finance Insights. This is the third blog of a 5-part blog series covering different capabilities in Finance Insights. Check out the first blog here and the second blog here.

In the world of business, maintaining a healthy cash flow is crucial to keeping operations afloat. Even profitable companies can face insolvency if they fail to manage their cash balances effectively. However, managing cash flow and running cash flow forecasting can be a tedious and repetitive process for most companies.  Dynamics 365 Supply Chain Management’s cash forecast feature can help businesses monitor and manage their cash balances more effectively, providing decision-makers with the data they need to make informed decisions.

For most companies, managing cash flow and running cash flow forecasting is a tedious, repetitive, and manual process. Most companies rely on Microsoft Excel solutions that have varying degrees of complexity. The challenges of accurately forecasting cash flow include the following points:

• Data isn’t available to decision makers because it’s scattered in multiple places, including:
  • The accounting or enterprise resource planning system
  • Financial planning software
  • Excel
  • Additional software applications
• Forecasting is based on internal knowledge that resides in “silos” within each domain or department.
• Measuring the accuracy of cash flow forecasting after the financials have been realized is uncertain and difficult.

The Cash flow forecasts feature includes the following functionality.

• Introduces intelligent cash flow forecasting for long-term forecasting, using time series forecasting through automated integration with AI Builder.
• Allows you to save specific cash flow position or forecasts, edit them, and then easily compare and measure the forecast performance to the actual financials.
• Enables what-if analysis through snapshot comparison. For example, you can create multiple snapshots that represent optimistic, pessimistic, and the most realistic views of your cash flow, and then compare and view the differences.
• Allows you to view the cash flow forecast in multiple currencies, across legal entities, and filter and view cash flow related to a bank account.
• Allows you to filter and view bank accounts that are related to financial dimensions.

The cash flow forecasting functionality in Dynamics 365 Finance will empower your organization to transform tedious, complex, yet repetitive cash flow projection to a simple, automated process. Automating the most tedious aspects of cash flow forecasting lets you focus on critical decision making to drive desired business outcomes.