What are cash and cash equivalents?

Cash and cash equivalents are the most liquid assets that are reported in the asset section of a company’s balance sheet. It is the first account of your balance sheet and accordingly in your chart of accounts. Cash includes money and any other negotiable instrument that is payable in money and acceptable by the bank for deposit and immediate credit. This means that cash includes bills, coins, checks, bank drafts and money orders because they are acceptable by the bank for deposit or immediate encashment. Postdated checks are not considered as cash yet because these checks are unacceptable by the bank for deposit and immediate credit or outright encashment. These checks will only be considered as cash when their indicated dates arrive. Cash must be unrestricted in use. This means that an item to be recognized and reported as cash must be readily available in the payment of current obligations and not subjected to any restrictions. Read more

The Importance and Uses of Notes to the Financial Statements

The complete set of financial statements include the balance sheet, income statement, statement of changes in equity, cash flow statement and notes to the financial statements. If you will read the first four financial statements mentioned above, you will see notes referring to numbers after each accounts in those financial statements. At the footer of the balance sheet, income statement, statement of changes in equity and cash flow statement, you will see a phrase saying “see accompanying notes to the financial statements” or “the accompanying notes are integral parts of these financial statements”. The first four financial statements are linked to the notes to the financial statements to provide clearer and complete financial information to the users of financial statements. Read more

How do the cash flow statement flows?

After understanding your financial condition and performance by reading your balance sheet and income statement, you may now have the picture of how your business is running. However, seeing a positive equity in your balance sheet or a profit in your income statement doesn’t make your financial understanding complete. The cash flow statement is one of the five main financial statements of a company. The cash flow statement tells us how sustainable a company is in a short run. If cash is increasing and cash flow generated by operations is positive, then we can tell that a company is healthy in the short-term. Increasing or stable cash balances means that a company is capable of meeting its cash needs, and remain solvent. This information cannot always be seen in the balance sheet or income statement of a company. For example a company may be generating profit, but still it cannot meet or pay its short –term payables or obligations. Read more

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