Cash Flow Statements: Reviewing Cash Flow From Operations (2024)

What Is Operating Cash Flow?

Operating cash flow is cash generated from the normal operating processes of a business. A company's ability to generate positive cash flows consistently from its daily business operations is highly valued by investors. In particular, operating cash flow can uncover a company's true profitability. It’s one of the purest measures of cash sources and uses.

The purpose of drawing up a cash flow statement is to see a company's sources and uses of cash over a specified time period. The cash flow statement is traditionally considered to be less important than the income statement and the balance sheet, but it can be used to understand the trends of a company's performance that can't be understood through the other two financial statements.

While the cash flow statement is considered the least important of the three financial statements, investors find the cash flow statement to be the most transparent. That's why they rely on it more than any other financial statement when making investment decisions.

Key Takeaways

  • Operating cash flow is cash generated from the normal operating processes of a business and can be found in the cash flow statement.
  • The cash flow statement is the least important financial statement but is also the most transparent.
  • The cash flow statement is broken down into three categories: operating activities, investment activities, and financing activities.
  • Cash flow is calculated using the direct (drawing on income statementdata using cash receipts and disbursem*nts from operating activities) or the indirect method (starts withnet income, converting it to operating cash flow).
  • OCF helps investors gauge what's going on behind the scenes and is a better indicator of profitability than net income.

The Cash Flow Statement

Operating cash flow can be found in the cash flow statement,which reports the changes in cash compared to its static counterparts—the income statement, balance sheet, and shareholders’ equity statement. Also known as the cash flow from operations (CFO), it specifically reports where cash is used and generated over specific time periods, tying the static statements together.

By taking net income on the income statement and making adjustments to reflect changes in the working capital accounts on the balance sheet (receivables, payables, inventories) and other non-cash charges, the operating cash flow section shows how cash was generated during the period. It is this translation process from accrual accounting to cash accounting that makes the operating cash flow statement so important.

The cash flow statement is broken down into three categories. These are segregated so that analysts develop a clear idea of all the cash flows generated by a company’s various activities:

  • Cash flow from operating activities: This category records a company's operating cash movement, the net of which is where operating cash flow is derived.
  • Cash flow from investing activities: This category records changes in cash from the purchase or sale of , or long-term investments.
  • Cash flow from financing activities: This category reports cash level changesfrom the purchase of a company’s own stock or issue of bonds and payments of interest and dividends to shareholders.

In some cases, there is a supplemental activities category as well. Supplemental information basically refers to anything else that does not relate to the other major categories.

Net income refers to the total sales minus the cost of goods sold and expenses related to sales, administration, operations, depreciation, interest, and taxes.

Breakdown of Activities

Operating activities are normal and core activities within a business that generate cash inflows and outflows. They include:

  • Total sales of goods and services collected during a period
  • Payments made to suppliers of goods and services used in production settled during a period
  • Payments to employees or other expenses made during a period

Cash flow from operating activities is anything it receives from its operations. This means it excludes money spent on capital expenditures, cash directed to long-term investments, and any cash received from the sale of long-term assets. Also excluded are the amounts paid out as dividends to stockholders, amounts received through the issuance of bonds and stock, and money used to redeem bonds.

Investing activities consist of payments made to purchase long-term assets, as well as cash received from the sale of long-term assets. Examples of investing activities are the purchase or sale of a fixed asset or property, plant, and equipment and the purchase or sale of a security issued by another entity.

Financing activities consist of activities that will alter the equity or borrowings of a company. Examples of financing activities include the sale of a company's shares or the repurchase of its shares.

Calculating Cash Flow

To see the importance of changes in operating cash flows, it’s important to understand how cash flowis calculated. Two methods are used to calculate cash flow from operating activities, both of which produce the same result:

  • Direct method: This method draws data from the income statement using cash receipts and cash disbursem*nts from operating activities. The net of the two values is the operating cash flow.
  • Indirect method: This method starts with net income and converts it to OCF by adjusting for items that were used to calculate net income but did not affect cash.

Cash Flow Statements: Reviewing Cash Flow From Operations (1)

Direct Method

The direct method adds up all the various types of cash payments and receipts, includingcash paid to suppliers, cash receipts from customers and cash paid out in salaries. These figures are calculated by using the beginning and ending balances of a variety of business accounts and examining the net decrease or increase of the account.

The exact formula used to calculate the inflows and outflows of the various accounts differs based on the type of account. In the most commonly used formulas, accounts receivables are used only for credit sales, and all sales are done on credit.

If cash sales also occur, receipts from cash sales must also be included to develop an accurate figure of cash flow from operating activities. Since the direct method does not include net income, it must also provide a reconciliation of net income to the net cash provided by operations.

Indirect Method

Under the indirect method, cash flow from operating activities is calculated by first taking the net income from a company's income statement.Because a company’s income statement is prepared on an accrual basis, revenue is only recognized when it is earned and not when it is received.

Net income is not a perfectly accurate representation of net cash flow from operating activities, so it becomes necessary to adjust earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) for items that affect net income even though no actual cash has yet been received or paid against them. The indirect method also makes adjustments to add back non-operating activities that do not affect a company's operating cash flow.

Which Method Should You Use?

The direct method for calculating a company's cash flow from operating activities is a more straightforward approach in that it reveals a company's operating cash receipts and payments, but it is more challenging to prepare since the information is difficult to assemble. Still, whether you use the direct or indirect method for calculating cash from operations, the same result will be produced.

The image below shows reported cash flow activities for AT&T (T) forthe 2012 fiscal year. All figures reflected are in millions. Using the indirect method, each non-cash item is added back to net income to produce cash from operations. In this case, cash from operations is over five times as much as reported net income, making it a valuable tool for investors in evaluating AT&T's financial strength.

Cash Flow Statements: Reviewing Cash Flow From Operations (2)

Operating Cash Flows (OCF)

OCF is a prized measurement tool as it helps investors gauge what’s going on behind the scenes. For many investors and analysts, OCF is considered the cash version of net income, since it cleans the income statement of non-cash items and non-cash expenditures (depreciation, amortization, non-cash working capital items).

OCF is a more important gauge of profitability than net income as there is less opportunity to manipulate OCF to appear more or less profitable. With the passing of strict rules and regulations on how overly creative a company can be with its accounting practices, chronic earnings manipulation can easily be spotted, especially with the use of OCF. It is also a good proxy of a company’s net income. For instance, a reported OCF higher than NI is considered positive as income is actually understated due to the reduction of non-cash items.

The Bottom Line

Operating cash flow is just one component of a company’s cash flow story, but it is also one of the most valuable measures of strength, profitability, and the long-term future outlook. It is derived either directly or indirectly and measures money flow in and out of a company over specific periods.

Unlike net income, OCF excludes non-cash items like depreciation andamortization, which can misrepresent a company's actual financial position. It is a good sign when a company has strong operating cash flows with more cash coming in than going out. Companies with strong growth in OCF most likely have a more stable net income, better abilities to pay and increase dividends, and more opportunities to expand and weather downturns in the general economy or their industry.

If you think cash is king, strong cash flow from operations iswhat you should watch for when analyzing a company.

Cash Flow Statements: Reviewing Cash Flow From Operations (2024)

FAQs

What answers does the statement of cash flows provide? ›

The statement of cash flows provides information that may be useful in predicting future cash flows, evaluating financial flexibility, assessing liquidity, and identifying a company's financing needs. It is not, however, the best financial statement for learning about a firm's financial performance during a period.

How to review a cash flow statement? ›

A statement of cash flow is divided in operating, investing, and financing sections. You can evaluate each section individually to better understand recurring and non-recurring activity. You can also evaluate the statement using cash flow per share, free cash flow, or cash flow to debt.

What is cash flow from operations on cash flow statement? ›

What is Cash Flow from Operations? Cash flow from operations is the section of a company's cash flow statement that represents the amount of cash a company generates (or consumes) from carrying out its operating activities over a period of time.

How do you evaluate cash flow from operating activities? ›

Operating cash flow (OCF) is how much cash a company generated (or consumed) from its operating activities during a period. The OCF calculation will always include the following three components: 1) net income, 2) plus non-cash expenses, and 3) minus the net increase in net working capital.

What does a statement of cash flows help answer all the following? ›

A statement of cash flows helps answer all of the following: - What explains the changes in the cash account?- Where does a company spend its cash?- How does a company receive its cash?

How to analyze cash flow? ›

One can conduct a basic cash flow analysis by examining the cash flow statement, determining whether there is net negative or positive cash flow, pinpointing how the outflows compare to inflows, and draw conclusions from that.

What should I comment on a cash flow statement? ›

A 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. The statement of cash flows contains three sections: cash flows from operating activities, investing activities and financing activities.

Why is it important to review cash flows? ›

A cash flow forecast is a vital tool for your business because it will tell you if you'll have enough cash to run the business or expand it. It will also show you when more cash is going out of the business than in.

Which is an example of a cash flow from an operating activity? ›

Examples of the direct method of cash flows from operating activities include: Salaries paid out to employees. Cash paid to vendors and suppliers. Cash collected from customers.

What is the difference between funds from operations and cash flow from operations? ›

The FFO represents the operating performance and takes net income, depreciation, amortization, and losses on property sales into account while factoring out any interest income and gains from property sales. The cash flow from operations, on the other hand, is reported on the cash flow statement.

What are the three types of cash flow statements? ›

The main components of the CFS are cash from three areas: Operating activities, investing activities, and financing activities.

How do you reconcile cash flow from operating activities? ›

Reconciling cash balances on a cash flow statement involves adding the net cash flow from operating, investing, and financing activities to the beginning cash balance. This should equal the ending cash balance reported on the balance sheet.

What is a positive cash flow from operating activities? ›

The cash flow from operating activities formula shows you the success (or not) of your core business activities. If your business has a positive cash flow from operating activities, you may be able to fund growth projects, launch new products, pay dividends, reduce the company's debt, and so on.

How to calculate funds from operations? ›

Therefore, to calculate funds from operations, one must deduct any interest income and non-recurring gains from the net income. Then they must add back interest expense, losses from the sale of assets, and depreciation & amortisation to the net income.

What will a cash flow statement provide? ›

A cash flow statement summarizes the amount of cash and cash equivalents entering and leaving a company. The CFS highlights a company's cash management, including how well it generates cash. This financial statement complements the balance sheet and the income statement.

What information can a statement of cash flow provide? ›

A cash flow statement provides data regarding all cash inflows that a company receives from its ongoing operations and external investment sources. The cash flow statement includes cash made by the business through operations, investment, and financing—the sum of which is called net cash flow.

What does the statement of cash flows provides cash flow information? ›

The cash flow statement provides information about a company's cash receipts and cash payments during an accounting period. The cash-based information provided by the cash flow statement contrasts with the accrual-based information from the income statement.

What is shown in the statement of cash flows? ›

A cash flow statement is a financial statement that summarizes the amount of cash flowing into and out of a company. This includes all cash inflows a company receives from its ongoing operations and external investment sources.

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