case study
Enhancing Free Cash Flow forecasting for a leading technology services company
Manon Albertz
Financial forecasting today goes beyond crunching numbers. There is no longer a need to detail every single line item, only for the actuals to deviate already from the budget as of January 1st. Financial forecasting today is about providing insights that help steer the business forward. However, one of the most overlooked, but vital aspects of finance is cash flow: it’s the lifeblood of any company, enabling growth, and resilience against market volatility.
For our client, a leading European technology services company, it has become critical to evolve their free cash flow (FCF) forecasting to stay agile and responsive in an increasingly unpredictable environment.
They turned to BrightWolves to strengthen their forecasting process and build a model that could quickly adapt to new business assumptions, while overcoming internal silos and inconsistent inputs.
Challenge
The client faced serious challenges with transparency and inaccuracy in cash flow forecasting following the departure of key stakeholders.
The existing model included:
Assumptions and hardcopy values that were undocumented and unretrievable.
Data queries were incorrectly linked to the ERP system, resulting in inaccurate outputs in the forecasting model.
Frequent unexplainable variances, with millions in upswings and more often downswings, versus budgeted cash flows.
These issues undermined the reliability of the forecasts and made it impossible to provide leadership with clear, actionable insights. Therefor the finance team needed urgently to revamp its long-term forecasting model to restore transparency, improve accuracy and enhance decision-making.
By transforming the free cash flow forecasting process into a structured, transparent and scalable solution, BrightWolves helped the client future-proof their financial planning capabilities.
Approach
BrightWolves took on an operational role within the finance team to assess current processes, identify bottlenecks and lead a hands-on transformation of both the model and the forecasting process. Our approach followed four key steps:
Operational integration: We were embedded in the day-to-day finance operations to gain firsthand insights into how the forecasting model and the linked processes functioned. This enabled us to identify critical inefficiencies and gaps.
Model redesign: In close collaboration with internal stakeholders, we rebuilt the free cash flow forecasting model. Enhancing its structure, alignment with business assumptions and increased transparency on key drivers.
Process standardization: We introduced a structured, recurring review cycle to ensure that forecasts were consistently updated, validated and aligned across teams.
Ready-to-use input templates: To streamline data collection across departments, we developed standardized input templates, improving both consistency and collaboration between teams.
Impact
With the new free cash flow model, the company regained control over its financial planning process. Key outcomes included:
Increased CFO confidence thanks to improved forecast reliability, reducing uncertainty in decision-making.
Streamlined collaboration and data flow between departments led to more accurate forecast cycles.
A structured and reliable model for free cash flow forecasting, ensuring clarity across stakeholders.
Centralized, documented data and processes, ensuring continuity despite team changes.
Summary
A leading tech services company engaged BrightWolves to revamp its unreliable free cash flow forecasting.
We embedded in the finance team, rebuilt the model for accuracy and transparency, and streamlined data collection with standardized processes.
This improved cross-team collaboration and restored confidence in financial planning.
Now, the company benefits from a reliable, agile forecasting model that ensures clarity and continuity across the organization.