Imagine a shop that buys the same product at different prices during the year. When a sale happens, which cost do we match against the sale? And what about customers who promise to pay later but never do? These decisions shape a company’s profit and its financial health. In this chapter we tackle two of the biggest current assets on a typical balance sheet: inventories and trade receivables. We’ll learn how to measure them, protect against losses, and read the signals they send.