Background
The Book Council cultivates Singapore’s literary arts scene by organising literary festivals like the Asian Festival of Children’s Content (AFCC); conferring prestigious awards like the Singapore Literature Prize; bringing communities together with the #BuySingLit movement; and supporting the industry through their Academy programmes.
The Gap
Due to covid-19, donations and sponsorships are severely affected. They still have recurring costs such as salaries, utilities etc, and government subsidies are short term and not sustainable. The team was unsure of how to keep their business operational beyond 6 months, and to maintain their programmes and payroll, while still remaining sustainable.
Screenshot of our Pro Bono School with Credit Suisse on the topic of Cash Flow Management
Outcome
At our online Pro Bono School with Credit Suisse on the topic of Cash Flow Management Strategies, they were provided with best practices on cash flow management strategy, simple tools to assess their organisation health, and were also matched with Credit Suisse volunteers for a 1-1 consultation session for expert advice and solutions on their key challenge.
After the sesion, the SBC team spent more time and effort tracking their cash flow on a monthly basis, as well as monitoring their actual and forecasted P&L. They have also started collating a monthly view of their budget, and are reviewing their KPIs tied to grants, to ensure that they are able to meet all criterias.
The session made us pay more attention to managing cash flow, especially during this uncertain time. We would spend more time on collating the monthly view of our budget and tracking our cash flow more closely! Overall, the session was very useful and the volunteers were very helpful. They took time to understand our situation and suggested solutions accordingly. – William Phuan, Executive Director, Singapore Book Council
