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OPERATING ACTIVITIESThe inflows and outflows of cash that result from activities reported in the income statement are classified as cash flows from operating activitiesinflows and outflows of cash related to transactions entering into the determination of net income.. In other words, this classification of cash flows includes the elements of net income reported on a cash basis rather than an accrual basis.45 Operating activities are inflows and outflows of cash related to the transactions entering into the determination of net operating income. Cash inflows include cash received from:
These amounts may differ from sales and investment income reported in the income statement. For example, sales revenue measured on the accrual basis reflects revenue earned during the period, not necessarily the cash actually collected. Revenue will not equal cash collected from customers if receivables from customers or unearned revenue changed during the period. Cash outflows include cash paid for:
Likewise, these amounts may differ from the corresponding accrual expenses reported in the income statement. Expenses are reported when incurred, not necessarily when cash is actually paid for those expenses. Also, some revenues and expenses, like depreciation expense, don't affect cash at all and aren't reported in the statement of cash flows. The difference between the inflows and outflows is called net cash flows from operating activities. This is equivalent to net income if the income statement had been prepared on a cash basis rather than an accrual basis. Direct and Indirect Methods of Reporting. Two generally accepted formats can be used to report operating activities, the direct method and the indirect method. Under the direct method,the cash effect of each operating activity (i.e., income statement item) is reported directly on the statement of cash flows. the cash effect of each operating activity is reported directly in the statement. For example, cash received from customers is reported as the cash effect of sales activities. Income statement transactions that have no cash flow effect, such as depreciation, are simply not reported. By the direct method, the cash effect of each operating activity is reported directly in the SCF. By the indirect methodthe net cash increase or decrease from operating activities is derived indirectly by starting with reported net income and working backwards to convert that amount to a cash basis., on the other hand, we arrive at net cash flow from operating activities indirectly by starting with reported net income and working backwards to convert that amount to a cash basis. Two types of adjustments to net income are needed. First, components of net income that do not affect cash are reversed. That means that noncash revenues and gains are subtracted, while noncash expenses and losses are added. For example, depreciation expense does not reduce cash, but it is subtracted in the income statement. To reverse this, then, we add back depreciation expense to net income to get back to the amount that we would have had if depreciation had not been subtracted. By the indirect method, cash flow from operating activities is derived indirectly by starting with reported net income and adding or subtracting items to convert that amount to a cash basis. To contrast the direct and indirect methods further, consider the example in Illustration 4-10. Direct Method. Let’s begin with the direct method of presentation. We illustrated this method previously in Chapter 2. In that chapter, specific cash transactions were provided and we simply included them in the appropriate cash flow category in the SCF. Here, we start with account balances, so the direct method requires a bit more reasoning. From the income statement, we see that ALC’s net income has four components. Three of those—service revenue, administrative expenses, and income tax expense—affect cash flows, but not by the accrual amounts reported in the income statement. One component—depreciation—reduces net income but not cash; it’s simply an allocation over time of a prior year’s expenditure for a depreciable asset. So, to report these operating activities on a cash basis, rather than an accrual basis, we take the three items that affect cash and adjust the amounts to reflect cash inflow rather than revenue earned and cash outflows rather than expenses incurred. Let’s start with service revenue. Net income is $35,000, but cash flow from these same activities is not necessarily the same amount. Changes in assets and liabilities can indicate that cash inflows are different from revenues and cash outflows are different from expenses. Service revenue is $90,000, but ALC did not collect that much cash from its customers. We know that because accounts receivable increased from $0 to $12,000, so ALC must have collected to date only $78,000 of the amount earned. (K)Similarly, administrative expenses of $32,000 were incurred, but $7,000 of that hasn’t yet been paid because accounts payable increased by $7,000. That means cash paid thus far for administrative expenses was only $25,000. The other expense, income tax, was $15,000, but that’s the amount by which income taxes payable increased so no cash has yet been paid for income taxes. We can report ALC’s cash flows from operating activities using the direct method as shown Illustration 4-10A. By the direct method, we report the components of net income on a cash basis. Indirect Method. To report operating cash flows using the indirect method, we take a different approach. We start with ALC’s net income but realize that the $35,000 includes both cash and noncash components. We need to adjust net income, then, to eliminate the noncash effects so that we’re left with only the cash flows. We start by eliminating the only noncash component of net income in our illustration—depreciation expense. Depreciation of $8,000 was subtracted in the income statement, so we simply add it back in to eliminate it. Depreciation expense does not reduce cash, but it is subtracted in the income statement. So, we add back depreciation expense to net income to eliminate it. That leaves us with the three components that do affect cash but not by the amounts reported. For those, we need to make adjustments to net income to cause it to reflect cash flows rather than accrual amounts. For instance, we saw earlier that only $78,000 cash was received from customers even though $90,000 revenue is reflected in net income. That means we need to include an adjustment to reduce net income by $12,000, the increase in accounts receivable. In a similar manner, we include adjustments for the changes in accounts payable and income taxes payable to cause net income to reflect cash payments rather than expenses incurred. Because more was subtracted in the income statement for these two expenses than cash paid, we need to add back the differences--the increases in the liabilities for these expenses. Note that if these liabilities had decreased, we would have subtracted, rather than added, the changes. We make adjustments for changes in assets and liabilities that indicate that components of net income are not the same as cash flows. Cash flows from operating activities using the indirect method are shown in Illustration 4-10B. By the indirect methods, we start with net income and work backwards to convert that amount to a cash basis. Both the direct and the indirect methods produce the same net cash flows from operating activities; they are merely alternative approaches to reporting the cash flows. The FASB, in SFAS 95, stated its preference for the direct method. However, while both methods are used in practice, the indirect method is used much more frequently. The choice of presentation method for cash flow from operating activities has no effect on how investing activities and financing activities are reported. We now look at how cash flows are classified into those two categories. INVESTING ACTIVITIESCash flows from investing activitiesinvolve the acquisition and sale of long-term assets used in the business and non-operating investment assets. include inflows and outflows of cash related to the acquisition and disposition of long-term assets used in the operations of the business (such as property, plant, and equipment) and investment assets (except those classified as cash equivalents). The purchase and sale of inventories are not considered investing activities. Inventories are purchased for the purpose of being sold as part of the company’s operations, so their purchase and sale are included with operating activities rather than investing activities. Investing activities involve the acquisition and sale of (1) long-term assets used in the business and (2) nonoperating investment assets. Cash outflows from investing activities include cash paid for:
Later, when the assets are disposed of, cash inflow from the sale of the assets (or collection of loans and notes) also is reported as cash flows from investing activities. As a result, cash inflows from these transactions are considered investing activities:
Net cash flows from investing activities represents the difference between the inflows and outflows. The only investing activity indicated in Illustration 4-10 is ALC’s investment of $40,000 cash for equipment. FINANCING ACTIVITIESFinancing activitiesFinancing activities involve cash inflows and outflows from transactions with creditors (excluding trade creditors) and owners. relate to the external financing of the company. Cash inflows occur when cash is borrowed from creditors or invested by owners. Cash outflows occur when cash is paid back to creditors or distributed to owners. The payment of interest to a creditor, however, is classified as an operating activity. Financing activities involve cash inflows and outflows from transactions with creditors (excluding trade creditors) and owners. Cash inflows include cash received from:
Cash outflows include cash paid to:
Net cash flows from financing activities is the difference between the inflows and outflows. The only financing activity indicated in Illustration 4-10 is ALC’s receipt of $50,000 cash from issuing common stock. NONCASH INVESTING AND FINANCING ACTIVITIESAs we just discussed, the statement of cash flows provides useful information about the investing and financing activities in which a company is engaged. Even though these primarily result in cash inflows and cash outflows, there may be significant investing and financing activities occurring during the period that do not involve cash flows at all. In order to provide complete information about these activities, the SCF shows any significant noncash investing and financing activities (that is, noncash exchanges). An example is the acquisition of equipment (an investing activity) by issuing either a long-term note payable or equity securities (a financing activity). These noncash activities are reported either in a separate schedule or in a note. Significant investing and financing transactions not involving cash also are reported. An illustration of a statement of cash flows is provided in the following concept review exercise. STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWSDublin Enterprises, Inc. (DEI) owns a chain of retail electronics stores located in shopping malls. The following are the company’s 2006 income statement and comparative balance sheets ($ in millions): Required:
SOLUTION
THE BOTTOM LINE
45 Cash flows related to gains and losses from the sale of assets shown in the income statement are reported as investing activities in the SCF. What is the cash flow from operating activities using the 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.
What does the indirect method include to arrive at net cash flow from operating activities?The indirect method presents the statement of cash flows beginning with net income or loss, with subsequent additions to or deductions from that amount for non-cash revenue and expense items, resulting in cash flow from operating activities.
What is included in net cash flow from operating activities?A company's net cash flow from operating activities indicates if any additional cash came into or went out of the business. This includes any changes to net income (sales less any expenses, such as cost of goods sold, depreciation, taxes, among others) as well as any adjustments made to non-cash items.
What does net income measure that the cash flow from operating activities does not?Net income is the profit a company has earned for a period, while cash flow from operating activities measures, in part, the cash going in and out during a company's day-to-day operations. Net income is the starting point in calculating cash flow from operating activities.
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