As a commercial lawyer, you are probably your client’s most trusted advisor. There will be times, however, when you need specialized expertise in order to give your client the best possible service. The most pressing of these will likely be times of financial distress.
It’s a familiar scenario – you’ve just received a frantic call from your client. They’ve been transferred to the special loans group at their bank, they’re behind in their reporting, and the operating line is maxed out. Now the special loans account manager wants a meeting to discuss next steps.
In preparing for that meeting, remember that special loans bankers are a different breed from their colleagues in the branches. They have different priorities and different performance metrics. Where a banker in your local branch is interested in putting loans on the books and wants to see a profitable company, a special loans banker is interested in minimizing write-offs and wants to see positive cash flow and quality security.
The most important thing that you and your client can take to the meeting is a clearly articulated, integrated cash flow forecast. You need numbers that will demonstrate that your client is taking the issue seriously, has put thought into the problem, and has a plan to make things right. In order to do that, you need a cash flow with clearly defined, supportable assumptions that will spell out the impact of specific transactions and not just changes in overall financial position. You need a cash flow that will build confidence and inspire trust.
James Williams & Associates has the specialized skill and experience to design a fully integrated cash flow forecast that can be customized to the circumstances of any organization. We have helped companies in industries ranging from manufacturing and construction to film production and AV integration. Most importantly, we have spent the last decade working with special loans bankers; we know what they are looking for and how to prepare financial reporting packages that will build confidence and inspire trust.
