CFOs Transform Volatility: Working Capital as a Growth Catalyst

In an era characterized by accelerated cash movement, escalating risks, and a diminished margin for error, the contemporary financial landscape presents unprecedented challenges for middle-market chief financial officers (CFOs) and treasurers. This dynamic environment forms the foundational backdrop for the third annual Growth Corporates Working Capital Index 2025-2026, a seminal report by Visa, meticulously crafted by PYMNTS Intelligence. Amassing insights from 1,457 financial leaders across 23 countries, 10 industries, and five global regions, this study represents the most extensive of its kind, illuminating a profound paradigm shift in financial management strategy. CFOs are no longer merely safeguarding working capital as a contingent reserve; they are proactively harnessing it as a potent catalyst for growth amidst pervasive market volatility. Liquidity has thus transcended its traditional role, emerging as the pivotal leverage point distinguishing organizations that merely endure disruption from those that actively flourish within it.

The Evolving Role of Working Capital in Economic Volatility

Historically, working capital management often adhered to a defensive posture, prioritizing stability and risk mitigation. However, the current economic climate necessitates a more agile and offensive strategy. Modern CFOs recognize that optimal working capital deployment can unlock significant value, transforming potential vulnerabilities into strategic advantages. This shift underscores a fundamental re-evaluation of how financial resources are perceived and utilized within the corporate structure.

Efficiency as the New Growth Capital

A compelling revelation from the Index is that an impressive four out of five firms successfully liberated an average of $19 million in the past year, primarily by adopting sophisticated external working capital solutions. Crucially, these funds were not left dormant as a mere buffer against future uncertainties. Instead, they were strategically reallocated to fortify critical supplier relationships and finance organic growth initiatives, circumventing the need to incur additional debt. This demonstrates a clear departure from past defensive strategies, highlighting that efficiency is no longer solely about cost containment but has evolved into a formidable form of growth capital. By optimizing the cash conversion cycle and improving operational fluidity, companies are effectively generating internal capital that can be reinvested to fuel expansion and innovation.

The Rise of the Adaptive CFO: Navigating Disruption with Agility

The study identifies a distinct archetype: the adaptive CFO. These highly effective financial leaders are distinguished by their ability to leverage working capital with unparalleled speed and precision. Their strategic maneuvers include executing early payments to key suppliers, opportunistically acquiring inventory before anticipated price escalations, and meticulously maintaining the integrity of supply chains even in times of scarcity. This proactive approach transforms mere speed into a foundational strategic pillar, enabling these leaders to convert market volatility from a threat into a significant competitive advantage. By maintaining flexible and robust liquidity positions, adaptive CFOs can respond decisively to market signals, ensuring operational continuity and securing favorable terms that differentiate their organizations.

Cards as Strategic Levers for Enhanced Operations

Once relegated to the realm of administrative convenience, corporate cards have undergone a profound transformation, now recognized as indispensable instruments for driving growth. The Index reveals a striking trend: 15% of growth corporates utilized corporate cards opportunistically last year, a threefold increase compared to the preceding year. This surge is attributable to the tangible benefits these cards offer, including accelerated settlement times, a significant reduction in manual processing tasks, and the establishment of pristine audit trails. These operational efficiencies empower CFOs with the agility to capitalize swiftly on emerging opportunities, streamlining procurement, travel, and expense management while simultaneously enhancing cash flow predictability and control.

Combatting Late Payments and Enhancing Liquidity

The detrimental impact of late B2B payments extends far beyond mere revenue erosion; growth corporates reported losing nearly 4% of their revenue specifically due to the arduous process of chasing overdue invoices. More critically, these delays introduce profound distortions across the entire financial ecosystem – compromising the reliability of financial forecasts, deferring vital investment decisions, and ultimately stalling strategic initiatives. Recognizing these pervasive challenges, an increasing number of CFOs are actively embracing advanced faster-settlement tools, particularly commercial and virtual cards. These technologies are instrumental in compressing Days Sales Outstanding (DSO) and ensuring a continuous, unimpeded flow of cash throughout the enterprise, thereby bolstering liquidity and operational resilience.

Technological Integration: AI Joins the Finance Team

The rapid adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) within finance departments signals another transformative shift. A significant six out of ten CFOs are already integrating generative and agentic AI solutions into their operations, leveraging these technologies for advanced forecasting, streamlined supplier onboarding processes, and comprehensive workflow automation. The reported benefits are substantial: AI sharpens cash flow visibility, accelerates critical supplier decisions, and liberates valuable time for strategic analysis. As financial workflows become increasingly autonomous through AI integration, the compounding advantages – encompassing broader visibility, compressed operational cycles, and heightened confidence in rapid decision-making – are poised to become even more pronounced, reshaping the future of financial management.

Charting the Future: The Growth Corporates Working Capital Index

Beyond being a mere compilation of data, the Growth Corporates Working Capital Index 2025–2026 serves as an invaluable strategic roadmap. It meticulously outlines how CFOs are not only adapting but actively flourishing in a global economic landscape where volatility is the enduring norm. The report emphatically demonstrates how robust liquidity, optimally powered by a judicious combination of advanced corporate cards, cutting-edge AI technologies, and bespoke working capital solutions, has emerged as the quintessential growth engine for middle-market enterprises across the globe.

Accompanying the report, which is set to launch on Monday, September 29, are two practical tools meticulously designed to facilitate actionable insights:

• The Dynamic Report: An interactive platform offering granular industry and regional insights, enabling users to explore data relevant to their specific contexts.
• The Working Capital Performance Benchmark: A concise, five-minute personalized assessment tool designed to allow CFOs to gauge their working capital performance against industry peers, identifying areas for optimization and improvement.

While the intrinsic importance of liquidity has always been axiomatic in financial management, this year's Index unequivocally proves that it has also ascended to the status of a formidable competitive weapon. Consequently, those CFOs who demonstrate exceptional prowess in wielding this weapon will undeniably be the architects instrumental in redefining the narrative of growth in 2026 and beyond.