Articles

Global Cash Flow

"Global Cash Flow"

August 2025

Richard T. Hendee
A Silver Fox Advisor

Back in 2013 I wrote an article regarding “Global Cash Flow”. At the time I did some research, and there was not a whole lot of information regarding Global Cash Flow let alone a good definition of Global Cash Flow. But today all you need to do is Google What is Global Cash Flow?, and you not only get a good definition but also get some helpful detail. Then, you can also go to any of the popular AI platforms like ChatGPT, and you get great details and even some formulas on how to calculate your Global Cash Flow.

 Why is Global Cash Flow important? Because it is a key calculation that lenders, and specifically conventional bank lenders, use in their underwriting of a loan request. Why is that? Because banks are cash flow lenders and not necessarily collateral lenders. What is the difference?

Cash flow lenders focus on the ability of borrowers to be able to have enough cash flow to cover or pay all of their debt obligations, both business and personal. Some business borrowers may have more than one or even several different legal business entities. Generally speaking, most business owners think of all their business entities as just one big operation mainly because they typically own all the entities. Thus, if one entity needs cash for whatever reason, it is easy to move money around from one entity to another by simply writing a check or doing an on-line transfer. Where the issue comes into play for a lender is if the bank is only loaning money to one of the entities; if that entity moves cash to another entity that may not be doing too well, then the entity the bank is loaning to may not have cash to make loan payments because the business owner used the cash to cover obligations in one of his or her other entities. Further, if the business owner has a lavish personal life style with several homes, cars, boats etc., then the business owner may have to pull cash out of the business(es) to cover personal expenses and leave the business(es) with little cash to pay business loan payments.

We mentioned collateral lenders above, so here is the difference. Collateral lenders are lenders that loan money based on the value of the asset they are taking as collateral for a loan. Collateral lenders typically will loan a percentage of what the collateral asset is worth, so if they have to take the collateral back for non-payment of their loan, there will be value in the asset so they can sell the collateral and recover the money that they loaned. 

So why should all this be so important to me as a small business owner? Well, I would liken it to what any good trial lawyer would tell you – Never ask a question in court that you don’t know the answer to. The point is, before you seek financing from a conventional bank lender, run a global cash flow on all businesses and add in your personal obligations to make sure you have enough cash flow to cover all your loan payments not dollar for dollar, but 1.25 times of cash available to pay all business and personal debt obligations.

 If you need assistance in working through your “Global Cash Flow”, I recommend you start by contacting the Silver Fox Advisors. Silver Fox Advisors are former or present business owners themselves, and they have experience in running a business, and in some cases several businesses and determining cash flows and cash flow requirements. We encourage you to visit our website at www.silverfox.org to select a Silver Fox Advisor and also to learn more about the Silver Fox Advisors, as well as our great programs and community outreach endeavors.      

August Business Tips From the Editor

BUSINESS TIPS FROM THE EDITOR

August 2025

Richard T. Hendee, Editor
The Silver Fox Advisor

“Technology - My Most Valuable Asset?”

Follow-Up and Update

In June 2025, I wrote an article for the "Business Tips From the Editor" section of the Newsletter titled "Technology - My Most Valuable Asset".  In this article, I addressed the value of your business data and information and their worth to your business, that these files and records are subject to hackers and you should do everything you can to protect this asset.

Then 30 days later this news story below breaks worldwide -

(Bloomberg) Monday July 21, 2025-- Hackers exploited a security flaw in common Microsoft Corp. software to breach governments, businesses and other organizations across the globe and steal sensitive information, according to officials and cybersecurity researchers.

Microsoft over the weekend released a patch for the vulnerability in servers of the SharePoint document management software. The company said it was still working to roll out other fixes after warnings that hackers were targeting SharePoint clients, using the flaw to enter file systems and execute code.

The hackers, who so far have not been identified, have already used the flaw to break into the systems of national governments in Europe and the Middle East, and to breach government agencies in states, including Florida, according to a person familiar with the matter. The person spoke on condition that they not be identified discussing the sensitive information.

Florida state representatives didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

The hackers also breached the systems of a US-based healthcare provider and targeted a public university in Southeast Asia, according to a report from a cybersecurity firm reviewed by Bloomberg News. The report doesn’t identify either entity by name, but says the hackers have attempted to breach SharePoint servers in countries including Brazil, Canada, Indonesia, Spain, South Africa, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States. The firm asked not to be named because of the sensitivity of the information. 

In some systems they’ve broken into, the hackers have stolen sign-in credentials, including usernames, passwords, hash codes and tokens, according to a person familiar with the matter, who also spoke on condition that they not be identified discussing the sensitive information.

“This is a high-severity, high-urgency threat,” said Michael Sikorski, chief technology officer and head of threat intelligence for Unit 42 at Palo Alto Networks Inc. 

“What makes this especially concerning is SharePoint’s deep integration with Microsoft’s platform, including their services like Office, Teams, OneDrive and Outlook, which has all the information valuable to an attacker,” he said. “A compromise doesn’t stay contained—it opens the door to the entire network.” 

Tens of thousands — if not hundreds of thousands — of businesses and institutions worldwide use SharePoint in some fashion to store and collaborate on documents. Microsoft said that attackers are specifically targeting clients running SharePoint servers from their own on-premise networks, as opposed to being hosted and managed by the tech firm. That could limit the impact to a subsection of customers.

If these hackers, some are whom are considered professional hackers, can break into data bases and files detailed in this article, this should scare the heck out every business owner in the country, if not the world.

There are systems and hardware available that help you keep the barn doors closed before all the horses escape into the hands of these professional hackers.

If you need help with your business’ most valuable asset, I would recommend you seek an experienced business advisor, coach, consultant or mentor with a financial or business background for your Company: Contact a Silver Fox Advisor. Remember, having experience on your side always helps.

We encourage you to visit our Website at www.silverfox.org or www.silverfoxadvisors.com to select a Silver Fox Advisor and also to learn more about the Silver Fox Advisors and their businesses, as well as our great programs and community outreach endeavors.