Working capital (besoin en fonds de roulement — BFR) is the net funding requirement generated by a company's operating cycle: trade receivables + inventories - trade payables and other operating liabilities. A positive working capital means the company must fund the gap between paying suppliers and collecting from customers; a negative working capital means commercial partners fund the business. In financial due diligence, normalised working capital analysis is essential for the completion accounts price adjustment mechanism — deviations from the normalised reference trigger euro-for-euro price adjustments at closing.

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Example: a Swiss distributor presents book working capital of CHF 3.8 million. Due diligence restatement: excludes CHF 420,000 of non-operating items (lease deposit + VAT receivable) and adjusts for CHF 180,000 of under-accrued payables. Normalised operating working capital: CHF 3.56 million — the SPA reference. At closing, actual working capital is CHF 3.18 million (-CHF 380,000 shortfall), triggering a CHF 380,000 price reduction under the completion accounts mechanism.

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Hectelion normalises working capital in every due diligence and builds defensible SPA references that protect clients from post-closing price adjustment disputes.