Building financial resilience #2: What can you do when cash flow comes under strain?

Our first article on building financial resilience explored how accountants and advisors can help clients respond to rising tariff costs with stronger planning and more thoughtful decision-making. But for many businesses, cost pressure is only one part of the challenge. 

The ripple effect of tariffs can be increasingly felt in operational cash flow, leaving business owners grappling with uncertainty about how to fund their next move. As stakes get higher, their questions become more urgent:  

• "Where can we find new funding sources?" 
• “How do we extend our runway?" 
• “What if our current funding is pulled?" 
• “Can we still afford to finance equipment or make new hires?" 

For businesses, these aren't just passing concerns. These are conversations about cash flow and long-term survival. 

Where can you make a difference for businesses? 

At the core of these discussions, business owners seek a clear understanding of their cash position and break-even point and how these relate to their profitability goals. They need to find a way to strengthen their company's resilience now and in the coming months.  

In this second instalment of the 'Building financial resilience’ series, we will examine how accountants and advisors can assist clients in maintaining consistent cash flow even when external factors, such as tariffs, impact their operations. 

Four ways advisors can turn questions into clarity 

When faced with cost uncertainty due to rising tariffs, businesses need more than just reassurance. They require proactive and structured direction. The best advisors are providing financial clarity, helping clients turn financial stress into strategic, practical action. 

1. Identifying new funding sources  
   
   Many businesses are finding that their typical funding models are being stretched as tariffs continue to impact supply chains and input costs. Advisors are helping clients determine which alternative funding sources best suit their long-term objectives and liquidity requirements by pointing them toward grants, strategic investors, or government-backed programs. 
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2. Assessing financial sustainability  
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   One of the most important questions businesses face today is whether to raise capital or save their current cash. The answer often depends on how long their current runway will last. By simulating various growth, cost, and funding assumptions using scenario tools like Fathom, advisors can gain insight into how new capital might affect debt ratios, valuation, or operational flexibility.  
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3. Reprioritising investments 
   
   Inventory is not the only thing affected by rising tariff costs. They have an impact on every facet of a company. Advisors can help reallocate investment priorities toward more reliable revenue streams, postpone non-essential purchases, and reorganise spending. Advisors can assist companies in extending their runways without halting the momentum by tying decisions to performance metrics and real-time cash flow projections. 
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4. Using KPIs and financial modelling to guide decisions 
   
   Clear benchmarks can help in guiding the best, practical advice. Advisors may use break-even analysis, cash burn rates, and profitability metrics to support every discussion regarding hiring freezes to procurement management. Using the Goalseek or profitability analysis tools with a solution like Fathom can provide clients the confidence to act when it matters the most.  

Overview of the Fathom forecasting tool 

The right tools make these conversations more effective. Fathom can help with that.  

Using our dynamic forecasting tools and scenario modelling, you can assist your clients in planning for significant cost impacts, such as those brought on by tariff costs or delayed funding. 

Let's walk through an example using Fathom's Microforecasts: 

Step 1: Map out equipment financing with Microforecasts 

Imagine your client is considering financing a new delivery van. They want to understand what this will mean for their cash flow and whether they can afford it, especially with the risk of import tariffs raising the cost of parts or maintenance. 

With Fathom's Microforecast, you can create a mini model that maps out the purchase. Here's what you can include: 

• The upfront cost of the asset 
• Incoming capital (e.g. a loan or lease) 
• Outgoing repayments and interest 

This sits on top of the main forecast, so you can toggle the change on/off. 

Once added, you can immediately show how this decision affects: 

• Cash on hand 
• Profit margins 
• Loan liabilities 

This makes it much easier to visualise the tariffs' cost impact, whether the business proceeds with financing or decides to delay. 

Step 2: Use the Microforecast wizard 

Fathom's guided setup process makes scenario planning fast and simple. You can: 

• Name your asset or loan  
• Use the Setup Wizard 
• Choose "Purchasing an asset" or "Adding a loan" 

Smart tip: The "purchasing an asset" flow lets you add the loan and repayments in one step, which saves setup time and prevents data entry errors. 

Step 3: Track the impact across the balance sheet 

Once your Microforecast is live, Fathom overlays it on your client's full financial model. This allows you and your client to: 

• See real-time changes to cash flow and balance sheet health  
• Model multiple options for repayment timelines or loan amounts 
• Make confident, timely funding decisions 

This is especially valuable when business tariffs fluctuate, creating uncertainty around supply chain reliability or operating costs. With dynamic forecast tools, your clients are no longer guessing. They're preparing. 

Final thoughts 

For businesses navigating the effects of rising business tariffs, access to funding often depends on sound financial judgment and strategic decision-making. To empower clients, accountants and advisors are essential in this situation.  

With the right strategy and tools, you can help business owners:  

• Understand how tariffs or any other financial event can affect critical business metrics 
• Make better informed decisions by visualising how funding decisions play out across the balance sheet 
• Choose whether to raise capital or double down on cost control through financial assessment  

With forecasting tools like Fathom, advisors can move beyond surface-level advice and present data-backed, scenario-tested plans that instil confidence in clients and stakeholders.  

Because in uncertain times, funding doesn't just go to the loudest pitch. It goes to the clearest plan. 

Try it for yourself  

Start your free 14-day trial of Fathom and see how our tools can help you turn complex funding questions into strategic clarity.  

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