The treasury team at Salesforce takes pride in the sophistication of their cash forecasting model. They work closely with groups throughout the company—including finance-and-strategy, mergers and acquisitions finance (M&A), marketing, and real estate teams—to forecast cash flows so that the company can optimally meet its liquidity needs.

"Our treasury management system provides real-time visibility into all our global transactions and bank accounts," says Jemima Haines, manager of treasury capital markets for Salesforce. "Then, on a monthly basis, we forecast cash flows for that month, for the quarter, and for the year. And at the end of the month, we perform a variance analysis to actuals."

Accurate forecasting is crucial. "Salesforce has experienced exponential growth over the past decade," explains treasury manager Priscilla Yip. "Our cash forecasts give us the visibility we need to support this growth. We can make better decisions around both putting our cash to work and investing excess cash balances."