Cash Flow Statements

I have become engrossed with the study of accounting, as I've discovered it holds the answer to many many questions the non-economic expert has about the news, and about daily living.

The jump-off for my study of accounting is the book Cash Flow for Dummies, by Tage and John Tracy. What I was really searching for is how to understand accrual accounting, so I began my search, as I often do, by visiting my local Barnes and Noble store. Many of the accounting books are simply overwhelming, but this one had an appeal to it. How simple can you get - just focus on the cash! Well, it turns out this is much harder to do than it seems. In fact, the way many businesses hide the actual state of their economic affairs is through their management of cash flow. That is, they can categorize income or expenses in a way that "hides" the effect on the amount of actual cash that the business has. SO - understanding how cash is handled, and more importantly, how cash flows through a business, is critical to understanding what's going on.

The above is background for what led me to the video which I want to share today - Cash Flow Statement by Vertex42. This video shows how the template designed by Vertex42 is used to track the flow of cash in a business. It both illustrates HOW one studies cash flow as well as demonstrates just what it is.



The ironic thing is that I came across this video in the process of looking for something entirely different: a template for household inventory. I am trying to cut down the clutter in our house, and it dawned on me, while reading the Tracy book, that I could create an Excel chart to list all our "assets" in each room, so we can figure out what can go and what should stay. In searching for an inventory template, I discovered the Vertex42 website, and noticed the Cash Flow Statement template. AH - serendipity - just what I need to add to my understanding of Cash Flow for Dummies! Well, needless to say, this day is drifting further afield than I intended, for my next impulse was to SHARE my recent discoveries. This, my friends, is the result - enjoy! As for me, I'd better get back to work!! As a retiree, oddly enough, every day is a work day, and there is no let up on what needs to be done. It turns out that getting rid of the bosses is not the only solution for life's problems - we still need to do the work!