Transaction Advisory Services

Working Capital

We are the largest practice worldwide, dedicated to helping clients drive rapid and sustainable release of cash from working capital. We work with the world’s leading corporations and private equity sponsors to enhance liquidity and operating efficiencies at all stages of ownership, across the economic cycle.

Our work is both financial and operational in nature, and is grounded in real-world experience gained over hundreds of engagements. We have helped clients design and implement strategies that have released over $30b in cash from working capital.

Our approach:

Identify — Conduct operational reviews, external or internal benchmarking and identify candidate operations for in-depth analysis.

Diagnose — Complete granular performance analytics, identify drivers of value, quantify cash release opportunities, and recommend practical actions (e.g., process improvements, behavioral change or enhanced commercial terms) to enable the improvements.

Design, deliver, sustain — Facilitate and support the execution of recommended actions, develop key performance targets and metrics to monitor and sustain performance.

Related content

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Cash release opportunities can exceed 15% of revenues in non-core businesses. Find out why you should extract working capital pre-sale.

All tied up: working capital management 2015

Compared with 2013, our analysis of the WC performance of leading companies in the US and Europe in 2014 reveals an improvement in both regions.

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Edward Richards is the Americas Working Capital Leader for Transaction Advisory Services (TAS). Based in the firm’s New York office, he has 18 years of international experience in transactions, turnarounds and performance improvement. Edward serves a number of the firm’s most prominent Private Equity clients, advising them and their portfolio companies on value creation and cash generation strategies throughout the investment lifecycle. His transaction experience includes carve-outs, take-privates and secondaries. Prior to EY he was at a global advisory and outsourcing firm, where he sold and delivered transformation programs to underperforming companies. He also managed diligence and integration activities for the firm’s own acquisitions. His experience spans a broad range of industries including software, business services, education and industrial products. Edward also has extensive international experience working with clients throughout the Americas, Europe and Asia. Edward received his Bachelor’s degree from the University of Bristol, UK and earned his MBA with distinction at Columbia Business School.

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