1 A Novel Methodology of Working Capital Management for Large Public Constructions by Using Fuzzy S-curve Regression

In the contracting business, construction firms are generally more concerned with short-term financial strategies than the long-term ones. Working capital management is the central issue of all short-term financial concerns. More importantly, cash management is ultimate goal for achieving high liquidity and profitability. This study focuses on the cash portion of working capital management by using the concept of target cash balance. The aim is to develop a practical model for construction firms in Taiwan for rationalizing the amount of cash and current assets, which should be possessed in any point of time. The Fuzzy S-curve regression is introduced here for understanding the issues involved. Based on the project cash flow and progress payment records of an example project taken from Housing and Urban Development Bureau, Taiwan Provincial Government, this model is demonstrated and tentative conclusions concerning the model are given. Key words: Fuzzy S-curve regression, working capital management, cash flow