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FUNDAMENTALS OF FINANCIAL ACCOUNTING
THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS OF LIMITED COMPANIES AND THE STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS
Statement of fi nancial position
Non-current assets X
Intangible assets X
Current assets X
X
Equity X
Non-current liabilities X
Current liabilities X
X
13.3 Statement of cash flows
In this section we shall illustrate the preparation of a statement of cash fl ows, which is
often prepared for limited companies but may also be prepared for other types of organisa-
tion. It should be noted that a ‘cash fl ow statement’ has been renamed ‘statement of cash
fl ows’ in accordance with IAS 1 (Revised) Presentation of Financial Statements.
13.3.1 What is a statement of cash flows?
A statement of cash fl ows recognises the importance of liquidity to a business by report-
ing the effect of the transactions of the business during the period on the bank, cash and
similar liquid assets. At its simplest, it is a summary of receipts and payments during the
period, but this method of presentation does not answer a common question asked by the
readers of fi nancial statements: ‘ Why does the profi t made during the period not equate
to an increase in cash and bank balances? ’ What is needed, therefore, is a statement that
commences with the profi t made during the period, and shows how that profi t, and other
transactions during the same period, have affected the fl ow of cash into and out of the
company.
The syllabus states that the presentation for a statement of cash fl ows should be based
on IAS 7 Statement of Cash Flows and that requirement is followed in this Learning System.
13.3.2 Why does the profit earned not equal
the change in bank and cash balances?
There are three main reasons why this does not occur:
1 . P r o fi t is calculated on an accruals basis, which means that revenue is taken when it is
earned, not when it is received, and expenses are deducted on the same basis to match
with that revenue. Bank and cash balances change when monies are received and paid
out. Thus the bank balance will be different from profi t due to items such as the inven-
tories balance, unpaid receivables and payables, accruals and prepayments, both at the
start and at the end of the period. For example, an increase in inventories means more
cash has fl owed out; an increase in receivables means less cash has fl owed in; an increase
in payables means less cash has fl owed out.
2. The calculation of profi t includes some items that do not affect cash at all or affect it
differently. For example, profi t is after deducting depreciation, which involves no move-
ment in cash. The profi t or loss on disposal of a non-current asset will be taken into the
profi t calculation, but it is the proceeds of sale that affect cash. In addition, there may