What is Cash Flow Analysis?

This eBook will help you to understand how cash flows are generated and what factors affect them. This skill is an integral part of making financial decisions that increase a firm’s economic value or the capabilities of a non-profit organization.

It explains the purpose of a cash flow statement and how it complements the other key financial reports. It also shows how to analyze an indirect format cash flow statement to see the true financial status of an organization.

Preface

This eBook will help you to understand how cash flows are generated and what factors affect them. This knowledge is an integral part of making financial decisions that increase a firm’s economic value or the capabilities of a nonprofit organization.

You will learn

• How working capital is generated and why it needs to be actively managed
• The purpose of a cash flow statement and how it complements the other key financial reports
• The counter-intuitive way that the ‘cash account’ is used in published accounts
• How to analyze an indirect format cash flow statement to see the true financial status of an organization
• How to compare accounts that have been prepared using different accounting methods

Content

1. Importance of Managing Working Capital
2. Debtors
   1. Inventory/Stock
   2. Creditors
   3. Cash
3. How is Cash Flow Defined?
   1. A Cash Flow Forecast
   2. A Cash Flow Statement
   3. Understanding the Changes in Cash
   4. A Direct Format Cash Flow Statement
   5. An Indirect Format Cash Flow Statement
4. Summary
5. References