SINGAPORE - Many companies in Singapore are still unaware of their cashflow situation, revealed a study commissioned by payments provider Visa.

About four in five firms do not have analysis of their cash obligations in two months' time, while two in five lack visibility of their cashflow needs in a month's time.

The study also found that as many as 89 per cent of leading companies here do not have access to up-to-date analytic reports that provide real-time visibility on their cashflow situation.

These companies - without the right processes, systems and tools - require time to manually work on and generate cash flow and analysis reports, which may be at least 10 days old.

Ms Olivia Leong, head of commercial and prepaid payment solutions at Visa Asia-Pacific, said that the findings point to how businesses are "in need of solutions that will greatly enhance their cash management processes".

"Real-time visibility and predictability is a must-have for all chief financial officers (CFOs) and treasurers so that they can make accurate decisions on reinvestments or expansion of their businesses, both leading to better profitability for their companies."

The study was carried out across 811 organisations in 10 countries last September, and involved some 80 companies in Singapore.