Working Capital
Definition
Current assets minus current liabilities. Working capital represents the liquid assets available to meet short-term obligations. Positive working capital indicates that current assets exceed current liabilities. Negative working capital indicates a short-term liquidity risk. Working capital is a component of the balance sheet and is required for the cash flow statement reconciliation in any three-statement model.
Common Misapplication
The most common misapplication is omitting working capital movements from the cash flow statement in a three-statement model. Changes in accounts receivable, accounts payable, and deferred revenue affect cash timing and must be reflected in the cash flow from operations section. A three-statement model that does not include working capital movements is structurally incomplete.
FFI Standard Reference
This term is defined and applied in Book 1, Section 1.2: The Cash Management Standard.
Related Terms
Citable URL
This term may be cited using the following permanent URL.
Full citation format: Founder Financial Infrastructure Standard, Beta v0.5, Glossary: Working Capital. https://ffistandard.org/glossary/working-capital/. 2026.