The amount of money held within a business’s bank account and in hand at a particular moment in time. Cash is essential to the short-term survival of every business organisation. Without sufficient cash to pay debts as they fall due a business could be forced – by creditors – to close the business, and to sell off business assets in order to settle any debts. Cash is, however, not the same as profit. An organisation might, therefore, be fundamentally profitable but if the cash is not flowing quickly enough into the business to pay the bills as they fall due, unless it can quickly raise additional cash funds, the business might be declared bankrupt and forced into liquidation by its creditors, even though its product / service is commercially viable. Many potentially profitable firms have, in fact, failed because they ran out of cash.