If a company has positive cash generated from operations, but a significant increase in the payables balance compared to everything else, it may be that the company is delaying paying its suppliers in order to improve its cash flow position at the end of the year. ![]() Either way, the company needs to have enough cash to pay the payables on time. ![]() The company may have potential irrecoverable debts or a large customer with increased payment terms may have been taken on. Large increases in receivables and inventories could mean problems for the cash flow of the business and should be avoided if possible. When examining cash generated from operations, examine the movements in working capital which have led to this figure. If the profit from operations is significantly larger than the cash generated from operations, it shows that the business is not able to turn that profit into cash, which could lead to problems with short-term liquidity. The closer these two are together, the better the quality of profit. ![]() The cash generated from operations figure should be compared to the profit from operations per the statement of profit or loss to show the quality of the profit. The cash generated from operations figure is effectively the cash profit from operations. This shows how much cash the business can generate from its core activities, before looking at one-off items such as asset purchases/sales and raising money through debt or equity. The first key figure to address is likely to be cash generated from operations. Each of these sections gives us useful information about an entity’s performance. The statement of cash flows contains three sections: cash flows from operating activities, investing activities and financing activities. Any candidate simply commenting that the entity has performed well as the overall cash figure has increased is unlikely to score any marks, as they have not really understood the reasons behind the movement.Ī good analysis will examine the statement of cash flows in detail and look for the reasons behind the movement, commenting on how the entity has performed. There will also be fewer assets owned by the entity in the future, meaning that its ability to secure future borrowing may be limited. This would be a significant concern, as the entity cannot simply sell its properties again in the future. This may mean that the entity’s overall cash position increases in the period, but is clearly not a sign that the entity has performed well. A situation could easily arise where an entity is struggling to generate cash in a period and is forced to sell its owned properties and lease them back in order to continue. An increase in this figure does not necessarily mean that the entity has performed well in the year. One of the first things to note is to not simply comment on the overall movement in the total cash and cash equivalents figure in the year. To do this, candidates must understand the different sections of the statement and the implications for the business. The statement of cash flows is one of the primary financial statements, and FR candidates must be able to explain the performance of an entity based on all the financial statements including the statement of cash flows.
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