The 2025 CEO Playbook: Mastering Cash Flow and Liquidity in a Volatile Market

Ongoing market volatility has made it difficult for CEOs to anticipate and prepare for the future. These conditions have also made cash flow management more challenging and require a proactive approach. What should you do for successful liquidity planning with economic uncertainty in the background?

Create and Follow an Investment Policy Statement

Now is an excellent time to meet with your portfolio manager to make an investment policy statement (IPS) for that professional to follow. This document includes your general investment goals and objectives and the strategies to meet them. It contains details such as liquidity requirements, risk tolerance and asset allocation. Consider adapting your IPS to the current market conditions and make its contents as detailed as possible. 

An IPS can: 

• Enhance liquidity and minimize concentration risks by diversifying investments through asset allocation. 
• Allow investment selections to focus on liquidity characteristics, yield and other desired features.
• Encourage ongoing monitoring and reporting to ensure liquidity positions match the IPS content.

David Neely, managing director of Synovus® Deposit & Liquidity Solutions, notes some of the additional compelling reasons to include an IPS in your strategy: “Better risk management, transparency and consistency in making investment decisions are among the benefits of an IPS,” he explains. “The document demonstrates the company’s commitment to principled investing that meets regulatory requirements.”

Perform Frequent Cash Flow Forecasting

According to an April 2025 study of CEOs of small and medium-sized companies, 41% said economic conditions have worsened over the past year. Additionally, 42% believe that trend will continue in the year ahead. 

These circumstances necessitate focusing on what you can influence in hopes that such proactiveness will mitigate the negative effects outside your control. Cash flow forecasting is a valuable tool during these economic challenges. 

Neely says, “We encourage clients to engage in cash flow forecasting for both the short and long term. Ideally, you want to look at not just the next three to six months, but also the next two to three years.”

This activity helps CEOs maximize asset returns while navigating the inevitable dips and upswings. Company leaders should also make financial forecasts frequently. “Cash forecasting shouldn’t be done just once a year. You should evaluate cash flow on a quarterly, even monthly basis, given how quickly technology and markets change,” Neely clarifies. 

Stay abreast of trends in your industry and broader developments. Inflation is one factor to monitor while creating cash flow forecasts. As of January 2025, it was at 2.9%, much lower than its 9.1% 2022 peak. However, the inflation rate then was still higher than the Federal Reserve’s 2% target and will likely fluctuate. 

Know When to Make Changes and Get Support

As Tom Loffredio, managing director of Synovus® Capital Markets, reminds leaders, you cannot influence all the factors that may affect your business: “You can only control so much, especially when the economy and geopolitical environment are rapidly changing,” he explains, “That’s why experience and collaboration are critical when making cash management and liquidity decisions. Open communication with advisers about your organization’s future plans ensures everyone has the same playbook and can factor in potential future impacts.”

Additionally, many leaders realize they must reinvent their businesses to succeed in the current and future landscape. That sentiment was a theme in a 2025 study of 4,701 CEOs across 109 countries and territories. The results showed that over the last five years, 63% had taken at least one significant action to alter how their companies generate, deliver and capture value. Notably, the leaders engaging in more such activities had experienced higher profit margins over the previous year. 

Whereas some CEOs guided their companies to compete in new sectors as part of a reinvention strategy, others invested in emerging technologies, such as generative AI. No matter what you pursue, improved cash flow and liquidity will affect the outcomes. 

The Synovus® approach is to make outcomes of client aspirations, making the company’s professionals well-positioned to advise. Speaking about how clients benefit, Neely says, “As bankers, our goal is to provide the insights they need to make the best possible decisions to accomplish their goals for profitability and growth.”

Improve Corporate Liquidity

Although CEOs cannot predict the future with certainty, investment policy statements, cash flow forecasts and a willingness to enable internal changes while seeking external advice can help them remain stable regardless of what is on the horizon. They can also visit Synovus® to learn more about its corporate and commercial solutions.