The following is a guest post from Dilara Demirci, FP&A leader at technology company Ingram Micro TR. Opinions are the author’s own.
In inflationary economies, growth can sometimes create an illusion of stronger business performance than the underlying economics actually support. Rising prices may drive nominal revenue higher, while volatility in macroeconomic variables can simultaneously put pressure on collections, payment cycles and cash flow. As these pressures build, the financial balance of a business can gradually begin to erode even when the income statement continues to show growth.
This is where net working capital management becomes particularly important. Maintaining the right balance between days sales outstanding, days inventory outstanding and days payables outstanding is not simply a treasury exercise; it is fundamental to protecting the quality of growth. When collection periods extend, inventory stays on the balance sheet longer or supplier payment terms shorten, more cash gets tied up in the operating cycle.
Many companies naturally focus on revenue growth as a primary measure of performance. However, growing revenue does not necessarily mean creating sustainable value. The real challenge is to grow without sacrificing margin, while ensuring that the operating income generated by the business can be converted into healthy and sustainable cash flow.
Operational improvement therefore becomes an important part of the growth equation. Better inventory management, disciplined collection processes and effective management of supplier payment terms can help companies protect cash conversion while continuing to grow. In this sense, working capital should not be viewed as a balance-sheet consequence that finance teams manage after commercial decisions have already been made. It should be considered as part of the economics of growth itself.
This distinction becomes even more important in inflationary and volatile markets. When financing costs are high and payment and collection risks increase, inefficient working capital can quickly consume the benefits created by revenue and margin growth. A business may therefore appear to be growing successfully on the income statement while becoming increasingly cash-intensive underneath.
For CFOs, the question should consequently extend beyond “How much are we growing?” to “What is the quality of that growth, and how efficiently are we converting it into cash?”
Sustainable growth is not simply about generating more revenue. It is about protecting margins, maintaining discipline across DSO, DIO and DPO, preserving cash flow and ensuring that growth strengthens rather than weakens the financial position of the business.
This also means looking beyond the headline value of every deal you win and questioning its underlying economics. Is the deal genuinely margin-accretive? Could the payment structure put additional pressure on net working capital? Are you entering into a relationship with a customer or vendor whose credit profile or ability to meet payment obligations could create additional financial risk?
These questions change the nature of the CFO’s role. Evaluating a deal is no longer simply about validating revenue, margin and profitability. It requires understanding the broader commercial and financial dynamics behind the transaction — from creditworthiness and payment terms to working capital requirements and the sustainability of the returns being generated.
And this is where the story begins to change.
The CFO of the artificial intelligence era can no longer remain only the guardian of financial performance. The role is evolving toward something broader: a CFO who operates as a business leader in the age of AI. The ability to connect financial discipline with commercial judgment, risk, capital efficiency and increasingly data-driven decision-making is becoming part of the role itself.
