You are the accountant for a small manufacturing firm. Your company is
privately held, so there is no current requirement to issue financial
statements using GAAP. You were hired four years ago, and at that time
you instituted a cash budgeting system. Presently, you present a schedule
of predicted cash sources and cash needs at the end of each week for the
following week.
Jim Bangon, the company’s president, has asked whether a statement of
cash flows would also be useful.
Prepare a short memorandum to the president indicating whether you
believe such an addition to the financial statements to be useful. Include in
your memo the benefits that might be expected from a statement of cash
flows and whether those are different from the benefits of a cash sources
and cash needs listing.
Answer: