A cash flow statement presents the changes in the cash and cash equivalents of a business. It classifies the cash flow items into either operating, investing, or financing activities. Unlike a balance sheet that provides information about the company on a particular date, a cash flow statement proviRead more
A cash flow statement presents the changes in the cash and cash equivalents of a business. It classifies the cash flow items into either operating, investing, or financing activities. Unlike a balance sheet that provides information about the company on a particular date, a cash flow statement provides information about the flow of cash over a period of time.
OBJECTIVE
Information obtained through cash flow statements is aimed to assess the ability of a business to generate cash and at the same time, maintain liquidity. Therefore, important economic decisions can be made by evaluating these cash flow statements.
Cash Flow statements are categorized into
- Operating Activities: These activities refer to the main activities of the business during an accounting period. They involve revenue-generating activities. As per the indirect method, profit before tax is taken as the starting point and all non-cash expenses are added while non-cash incomes are deducted. Whereas in direct method, cash receipts and cash expenses are added and subtracted respectively. Eg: sale of goods.
- Investing Activities: These activities involve the sale and purchase of non-current assets and investments. Eg: cash payment for machinery.
- Financing Activities: These activities result in a change in capital or borrowings. Eg: cash proceeds from the issue of equity shares.
Importance of Cash Flow
A cash flow statement gives us knowledge about the liquidity and solvency of the company. These are necessary for the survival and expansion of the company. It also helps in predicting future cash flows by using information from previous cash flows. It also helps in comparison between companies which shows the actual cash profits.






When a partnership firm consisting of some partners, decide to admit a new partner into their firm, they have to forego a part of their share for the new partner. Therefore, sacrificing Ratio is the proportion in which the existing partners of a company give up a part of their share to give to the nRead more
When a partnership firm consisting of some partners, decide to admit a new partner into their firm, they have to forego a part of their share for the new partner. Therefore, sacrificing Ratio is the proportion in which the existing partners of a company give up a part of their share to give to the new partner. The partners can choose to forego their shares equally or in an agreed proportion.
Before admission of the new partner, the existing partners would be sharing their profits in the old ratio. Upon admission, the profit-sharing ratio would change to accommodate the new partner. This would give rise to the new ratio. Hence Sacrificing ratio can be calculated as:
Sacrificing Ratio = Old Ratio – New Ratio
For example, Tony and Steve are partners in a firm, sharing profits in the ratio of 3:2. They decide to admit Bruce into the partnership such that the new profit-sharing ratio is 2:1:2. Now, to calculate the sacrificing ratio of Tony and Steve, we subtract their new share from their old share.
Tony’s Sacrifice = 3/5 – 2/5 = 1/5
Steve’s Sacrifice = 2/5 – 1/5 = 1/5
Therefore, the Sacrificing ratio of Tony and Steve is 1:1. This shows that Tony gave up 1/5th of his share while Steve also sacrificed 1/5th of his share.
Calculation of sacrificing ratio is important in a partnership as it helps in measuring that portion of the share of existing partners that have to be sacrificed. This ensures a smooth reconstitution of the partnership. Since the old partners are foregoing a part of their share in profits, the new partner has to bring in some amount as goodwill to compensate for their loss.
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