Zbigniew Gołaś | Dorota Czerwińska-Kayzer | Anna Bieniasz
pages: 1-12, JEL classification: G32, L66, Key words: working capital, cash conversion cycle, inventory conversion period, receivables conversion period, payables conversion period, Abstract: The paper presents different lengths of working capital cycle and cash conversion cycle in manufacturing companies in Poland in two sub-periods: 2001-2004 and 2005-2008. The conducted research shows that the working capital cycle is varied, related to the sector. In most sections it has a positive value and is longer than 18 days in the first analyzed period, while in the period of 2005-2008 it is longer than 35 days. This means that companies have enough working capital for an increasingly long period of time. The cash conversion cycle in the analyzed period also varied in particular years and sections. In most sectors it was longer than 30 days, which means that enterprises require additional financing in a period of more than one month. On the basis of conducted research we can conclude that the policy of working capital and cash management was appropriate, adjusted to the current economic situation of the country.