The reason is almost never a lack of sales. The reason is liquidity—or, more precisely, a lack of awareness that liquidity is not a secondary issue, but rather the key control variable of corporate responsibility.
The most dangerous misconception: Profit = security
Profits are reassuring. Liquidity is decisive.
A positive annual result does not indicate whether a company can meet its current obligations. Receivables terms, pre-financing, repayments, taxes, and covenants have a delayed effect—often faster and harder than planned.
The following can be observed, especially in small and medium-sized enterprises:
- Liquidity risks are “taken into account” but not actively managed.
- Receivables are valued too optimistically.
- Financing is assumed to be permanently available.
This is dangerous – both economically and legally.
2026 is not a year for optimism about liquidity
2026 will be a year in which:
- Banks will conduct more restrictive checks,
- Financing commitments will be subject to stricter conditions,
- Covenants will be tightened more quickly.
Those who cannot present their liquidity transparently will lose trust—and, above all, their negotiating power.
Q1: The moment of truth
The first quarter is the litmus test for any planning:
- Are payments actually coming in as planned?
- How stable are customer relationships?
- How reliable are financing commitments really?
Many companies react too late here—because problems are only addressed when they can hardly be resolved anymore.
Liquidity is a matter for management – not accounting
One key point is often underestimated:
monitoring solvency is not a secondary duty that can be delegated, but an original task of management.
Legally, the following applies:
- Lack of or insufficient liquidity planning can constitute organizational negligence.
- Ignorance does not protect against liability.
- Hope is no substitute for planning.
At this point, at the latest, liquidity becomes a personal issue for managing directors.
Shareholder loans are not a panacea
In practice, liquidity bottlenecks are often bridged by shareholder loans. This can be useful—but it is no substitute for a structural solution.
Critical questions:
- Are loans binding or revocable at any time?
- Are there clear terms and ranking rules?
- Is liquidity stabilized or merely postponed?
Especially in tense situations, new risks arise here if assumptions are not reliable.
Mini checklist: Liquidity at the start of 2026
Every managing director should ask themselves the following questions by January at the latest:
1. Transparency
- Is there rolling liquidity planning (at least 13 weeks)?
- Are actual incoming payments taken into account—not just invoices?
- Is there an overview of short-term obligations (taxes, social security contributions, repayments)?
2. Realism
- Are receivable terms realistic or optimistic?
- Are cost increases (personnel, energy, financing) taken into account?
- Are assumptions based on facts – or on hope?
3. Dependencies
- Is there a critical dependency on individual customers or banks?
- Are financing commitments set out in writing?
- Are there covenants that could be broken quickly?
4. Shareholder financing
- Are shareholder loans bindingly committed?
- Are there clear terms and repayment conditions?
- Is liquidity being stabilized or just postponed?
5. Organization & responsibility
- Is it clearly defined who monitors liquidity?
- Is reporting done regularly and in writing?
- Are deviations addressed immediately?
6. Liability & documentation
- Are liquidity decisions documented in a comprehensible manner?
- Can assumptions and scenarios be explained later?
- Would a third party recognize that risks have been seriously examined?
Key point:
Liquidity is not a number—it is a management task.
Conclusion
Liquidity is not a minor financial detail.
It is the key benchmark for responsible corporate management.
Recommended action:
- Actively manage liquidity – don’t just monitor it
- Address risks early on, don’t put them off
- Create transparency before it is demanded
Those who control liquidity retain options.
Those who ignore it lose them – often faster than they think.
