FIN.2:4.2 - Choose dates that reveal the decision

Near a threatened payment, use event dates or intervals short enough to expose the lowest balance. A weekly total can hide Monday payroll followed by Friday collections. Include intraday order when a bank cutoff, security settlement or same-day receipt changes whether the payment can occur. A longer operating forecast may use monthly periods, but its aggregated cash cannot settle that shorter question.

Carry the horizon through the proposed remedy’s repayments and the operating cycle it finances. A draw can remove this week’s shortfall while creating a larger maturity next month. If the decision concerns continuing availability, also inspect the next seasonal low, renewal date and material collateral reset. Do not extend every small payment query into an indefinite corporate model: stop once the relevant obligation and its material financing consequences are covered, and identify any later dependence.

For each scenario and date, begin with the previous closing balance, add usable receipts and actual financing proceeds, and subtract all payments, financing charges and repayments. Compare the resulting balance with the applicable minimum reserve. The reserve is a requirement or a chosen protection level; keeping it separate from the balance lets a reader distinguish inability to pay from an intended safety margin being consumed. If a model allows a negative balance, that row describes an unmet need unless an actual overdraft arrangement supplies it.