Rolling forecasts are essential in achieving ‘as accurate as possible’ cash flow forecasts. No cashflow stream has an end date, they just keep rolling along. Rolling cash flow forecasts are a natural part of business. Successful rolling forecasts need to:

• be part of the culture of the organisation this requires senior management support and all parties need to understand that it is not a measurement, but a management tool that does not follow accounting structures
• use periods that fit the dynamics of the business flow, e.g. six months, three months, 18 months, see Statoil experience with using several different forecasting periods
• be developed and maintained by staff who can ‘see the big picture’ and can model the cash flows
• be based on dedicated tools for modelling and forecasting NOT Excel  
• use processes that are quick and easy to ensure that the key people can participate and contribute in the generation of the cash flow forecast 
• be timely so that changes to forecasts can be developed quickly, e.g. in a few minutes rather than in days/weeks
• be aligned with your planning processes: strategic planning, where everything begins; business planning, where most FP&A people are working; and operation planning, which provides input to the business plan
• bring together all key, relevant people across your group to ensure that the rolling forecast reflects the realities of the business.

See WEBchat Cashflow forecasting: new opportunities for significant improvement with Dean Sorenson which reviews different aspects of rolling forecasts.