Cash flow statement may provide considerable information about what is really happening in a business beyond that contained in either the income statement or the balance sheet. Analyzing this statement should not present an intimidating task, instead it will quickly become obvious that the benefits of understanding the sources and uses of a company’s cash far outweigh the costs of undertaking some very straightforward analyzes.
Who cares about a Cash Flow Statement?
• Executives want to know if the cash generated by the company will be sufficient to fund their expansion strategy
• Stockholders want to know if the firm is generating enough cash to pay dividends
• Suppliers want to know if their customers will be able to pay if offered credit
• Investors want to evaluate future growth potential
• Employees are interested in the overall viability of their employer as indicated by its ability to fund its operations
Format of the Cash Flow Statement
• The cash flow statement is divided into three sections:
o Cash flow from operating activities: shows the results of cash inflows and outflows related to the fundamental operations of the basic line or lines of business in which the company engages. (Example: cash receipts from the sale of goods or services and cash outflows for purchasing inventory and paying rent and taxes.)
o Cash flow from investing activities: associated with purchases and sales of non-current assets (Example: building and equipment purchases or sales of investments or subsidiaries.)
o Cash flow from financing activities: associated with financing the firm (Example: selling and paying off bonds and issuing stock and paying dividends)
• Exceptions
o Short-term marketable securities are treated as long-term investments and appear in cash flow from investing activities
o Short-term debt is treated as long-term debt and appears in cash flow from financing activities
o Although dividends are handled as a cash outflow in the cash flow from financing activities section, interest payments are considered an operating outflow, despite the fact that both are payments to outsiders for using their money.
• Example of a Statement of Cash Flow: notice how it separates the three different cash flow activities
Statement of Cash Flows | |
Cash Flow from Operating Activities | |
Net Income | XXX,XXX |
Adjustments to reconcile net income to net | |
cash provided by operating activities: | |
Depreciation and amortization | XX,XXX |
Changes in other accounts affecting operations: | |
(Increase)/decrease in accounts receivable | X,XXX |
(Increase)/decrease in inventories | X,XXX |
(Increase)/decrease in prepaid expenses | X,XXX |
Increase/(decrease) in accounts payable | X,XXX |
Increase/(decrease) in taxes payable | X,XXX |
Net cash provided by operating activities | XXX,XXX |
Cash Flow from Investing Activities | |
Capital expenditures | (XXX,XXX) |
Proceeds from sales of equipment | XX,XXX |
Proceeds from sales of investments | XX,XXX |
Investments in subsidiary | (XXX,XXX) |
Net cash provided by investing activities | (XXX,XXX) |
Cash Flow from Financing Activities | |
Payments of long-term debt | (XX,XXX) |
Proceeds from issuance of long-term debt | XX,XXX |
Proceeds from issuance of common stock | XXX,XXX |
Dividends paid | (XX,XXX) |
Purchase of treasury stock | (XX,XXX) |
Net cash provided by financing activities | (XX,XXX) |
Increase (Decrease) in Cash | XX,XXX |
• Operating Activities:
o The cash flow from operating activities section of a cash flow statement can be presented using the direct format or the indirect format. The bottom line is the same, but the two begin at different points. Companies are free to use either format. Below is an example of both formats.
o Direct method: shows how much cash came in for sales and how much cash went out for inventory and other operating expenditures.
o Indirect method: starts with net income as a figure that summarizes most of the cash transactions for operating activities in a firm. However, net income also includes transactions that were not cash, so we must eliminate the non-cash transactions from the net income figure to arrive at an accurate presentation of cash flow from operating activities.
Cash Flow from Operating Activities (two formats) | |||
Direct | Indirect | ||
Cash received from customers | $400,000 | Net Income | $30,000 |
Cash paid to suppliers | -260,000 | Adjustments to reconcile net | |
Cash paid to employees | -70,000 | income to net cash provided, | |
Other cash operating expenditures | by operating activities: | ||
Net cash provided by operating | Depreciation | 25,000 | |
activities | $40,000 | Changes in other accounts | |
affecting operations: | |||
(Increase) in receivables | -12,000 | ||
Decrease in inventory | 5,000 | ||
(Decrease) in payables | -8,000 | ||
Net cash provided by operating | $40,000 | ||
activities | |||
Method used to analyze the cash flow
• Scan the big picture
• Check the power of the cash flow engine
• Pinpoint the good news and the bad news
• Put the puzzle together
STEP 1: Scanning The Big Picture
• First, place your company in context in terms of its age, industry, and size. (Mature companies have different cash flows from start-up companies. And service industries look different from heavy manufacturing industries.)
• Flip through the annual report and other accounting records to determine how management believes the year progressed. Was it a good year? Perhaps a record-breaking year in terms of revenue or net income? Or is management explaining how the company has had some rough times?
• Look at net income. Does it show income or losses over the past few years? Is income (or loss) shrinking or growing?
Step 2: Checking The Power Of The Cash Flow Engine
• The cash flow from operating activities section is the cash flow engine of the company. When this engine is working effectively, it provides the cash flows to cover the cash needs of operations.
• To check the cash flow check if the cash flow from operating activities is greater than zero. Also check whether it is growing or shrinking. Assuming it is positive, the next question is can it cover important, routine expenditures?
• An exception is start-up companies often have negative cash flow from operating activities because they had to spend a lot to get the company started and their cash flow engines are not yet up to speed.
• Examine the operating working capital accounts. Inventories, receivables, and accounts payable usually grow in expanding companies.
Step 3: Pinpointing The Good News And The Bad News
• Begin with cash flow from investing activities. One systematic observation is to check whether the company is generating or using cash in its investing activities. A healthy company invests continually in more plant, equipment, land, and other fixed assets to replace the assets that have been used up or have become technologically obsolete.
• You must look at the entire package to evaluate whether your cash flows from financing are in the “good news” or “bad news” categories. One systematic way to begin is to compare borrowing and payments on debt with each other across the years and note the trends. Another way in uncovering the news in this section is to check the activities in the stock accounts.
Step 4: Putting The Puzzle Together
• It would be rare to find a company in which all of the evidence is positive, or in which all of the evidence is negative.
• To make a balanced evaluation, you must use both the good news and the bad news identified in each section of the statement.
• Sometimes there are unusual or unknown items that may need further looked into (possibly by a professional).
Hertenstein, Julie and Sharon McKinnon. “Solving the Puzzle of the Cash Flow Statement.”
Article 26: 160-167.
