A healthy balance sheet is the heartbeat of every business. It tells investors, lenders, and management whether the company can sustain operations, service debt, and pursue growth.
Yet, many Nigerian companies struggle to recognise early red flags that signal imbalance — until liquidity dries up or creditors come knocking.

Balance sheet restructuring is not just a last-minute rescue plan. It’s a strategic process that realigns a company’s capital structure, strengthens solvency, and restores financial stability.

Here are five warning signs that your company may need to act — and how professional advisory support can turn things around.

• Mounting Short-Term Debt and Cash Flow Pressure

When your business starts relying heavily on overdrafts, short-term loans, or supplier credit to fund day-to-day operations, it’s a clear sign of imbalance.
Constant refinancing and delayed supplier payments may keep things afloat temporarily, but they signal deeper liquidity challenges.

What to do:
Aptpotion’s working capital and restructuring experts help analyse your debt maturity profile, renegotiate repayment terms, and secure more sustainable financing structures that ease pressure on cash flow.

• Declining Liquidity Ratios

If your current ratio or quick ratio consistently trends below 1:1, it means liabilities are outpacing available assets. This situation limits flexibility and increases vulnerability to shocks.

Solution:
Through balance sheet restructuring, a company can reallocate capital, convert short-term debt to longer tenors, and free up liquidity through asset optimization or divestment.

• Negative Working Capital Cycle

When receivables take longer to collect than payables are due, your business ends up funding customers instead of the other way around.
This can cripple even profitable companies.

Aptpotion’s approach:
We design customized working capital improvement plans — from receivables management to credit control and supplier negotiations — restoring the liquidity needed to operate efficiently.

• High Debt-to-Equity Ratio and Rising Interest Costs

An overleveraged balance sheet reduces profitability and scares away investors. If more of your income goes toward servicing loans rather than driving growth, it’s time to rethink your capital mix.

Our recommendation:
Aptpotion provides capital structure reviews and debt optimization strategies, including refinancing high-cost loans and advising on equity recapitalization options.

• Deteriorating Credit Ratings or Investor Confidence

Creditors and investors pay close attention to leverage and liquidity trends. When financial metrics start to slip, so does market confidence.
A restructuring initiative demonstrates proactive governance and financial discipline — often improving negotiation power and investor perception.

Why it matters:
Transparency and timely action can mean the difference between a controlled restructuring and a distressed recovery.

How Aptpotion Helps

At Aptpotion, we specialise in:

• Diagnosing financial imbalances through comprehensive balance sheet reviews.

• Designing restructuring strategies tailored to business size and industry.

• Negotiating with lenders, investors, and regulators to achieve sustainable outcomes.

• Supporting implementation and post-restructuring monitoring.

Our goal is to ensure every client emerges leaner, more efficient, and better positioned for growth.

Conclusion

Restructuring doesn’t signal weakness — it’s a mark of strategic maturity. Recognising the signs early and engaging expert advisors can help your business regain control before crisis hits.

If your company is experiencing cash flow pressure, rising debt costs, or investor unease, now is the time to act.