Cash & Liquidity
Creditor Days Outstanding Trend
Average days taken to settle trade creditors trended to expose deteriorating payment discipline.
Why creditor days expose payment discipline
The MFMA requires creditors to be settled within 30 days, and a rising creditor-days trend is one of the earliest visible symptoms of a cash crisis being managed by stretching suppliers. Deteriorating payment discipline inflates accruals, attracts interest and damages supplier relationships, all of which surface as AGSA findings. AuditPro Core trends average settlement days so management and oversight can see liquidity stress building before it becomes a default.
The Numbers
AuditPro Core renders this view from your tenant's live, tamper-evident records. The figures below are illustrative sample data.
Current DPO
78 days
▲ 22 vs norm 30
Prior Year DPO
54 days
deteriorating
Oldest Unpaid
214 days
single supplier
Within 30 Days
41%
▼ from 63%
Days payable outstanding by month
Quarterly payment discipline
| Quarter | Avg DPO | Within 30d % |
|---|---|---|
| Q1 | 56 | 58 |
| Q2 | 67 | 49 |
| Q3 | 78 | 41 |
Figures shown are illustrative sample data for demonstration. AuditPro Core renders these views from your own tenant's live, tamper-evident records.
The 30-day legal benchmark
Section 65 of the MFMA obliges municipalities to pay valid invoices within 30 days. Creditor days persistently above 30 is itself a compliance breach, not merely a cash-flow choice.
Stretching creditors masks distress
Delaying supplier payments is the cheapest short-term liquidity lever and often the first one pulled. A rising trend reveals cash trouble that the income statement may not yet show.
Hidden cost of late payment
Late settlement triggers interest, penalties and price premiums from cautious suppliers. The apparent saving from holding cash is offset by a higher true cost of procurement.
How AuditPro Core Bridges the Gap
- Days calculation: creditor days are computed from the payables ledger and trended across periods.
- Breach flagging: settlements beyond the 30-day MFMA limit are flagged as exceptions.
- Supplier drill-down: the trend decomposes by creditor to find where delays concentrate.
- Continuous monitoring: an upward trend triggers early liquidity alerts to management.
Key Takeaways
- The MFMA mandates 30-day settlement; exceeding it is a compliance breach.
- A rising creditor-days trend is an early, visible sign of cash stress.
- Late payment carries hidden interest and procurement-premium costs.
- Decompose the trend by supplier to target the worst delays.
See This on Your Own Data
AuditPro Core renders this dashboard from your tenant's live, tamper-evident records — every figure traceable to source.