Funds Flow Statement: Meaning, Objective, Steps and Rules

Updates and details for Funds Flow Statement: Meaning, Objective, Steps and Rules:

Meaning of Funds Flow Statement:

Funds flow statement is a statement which discloses the analytical information about the different sources of a fund and the application of the same in an accounting cycle. It deals with the transactions which change either the amount of current assets and current liabilities (in the form of decrease or increase in working capital) or fixed assets, long-term loans including ownership fund.

Objective of Preparing a Fund Flow Statement:

The main purpose of preparing a Funds Flow Statement is that it reveals clearly the important items relating to sources and applications of funds of fixed assets, long-term loans including capital. It also informs how far the assets derived from normal activities of business are being utilized properly with adequate consideration.

Secondly, it also reveals how much out of the total funds is being collected by disposing of fixed assets, how much from issuing shares or debentures, how much from long-term or short-term loans, and how much from normal operational activities of the business.

Thirdly, it also provides the information about the specific utilization of such funds, i.e. how much has been applied for acquiring fixed assets, how much for repayment of long-term or short-term loans as well as for payment of tax and dividend etc.

Lastly, it helps the management to prepare budgets and formulate the policies that will be adopted for future operational activities.

Steps for Preparing Funds Flow Statement:

The steps involved in preparing the statement are as follows:

1. Determine the change (increase or decrease) in working capital.

2. Determine the adjustments account to be made to net income.

3. For each non-current account on the balance sheet, establish the increase or decrease in that account. Analyze the change to decide whether it is a source (increase) or use (decrease) of working capital.

4. Be sure the total of all sources including those from operations minus the total of all uses equals the change found in working capital in Step 1.

General Rules for Preparing Funds Flow Statement:

The following general rules should be observed while preparing funds flow statement:

1. Increase in a current asset means increase (plus) in working capital.

2. Decrease in a current asset means decrease (minus) in working capital.

3. Increase in a current liability means decrease (minus) in working capital.

4. Decrease in a current liability means increase (plus) in working capital.

5. Increase in current asset and increase in current liability does not affect working capital.

6. Decrease in current asset and decrease in current liability does not affect working capital.

7. Changes in fixed (non-current) assets and fixed (non-current) liabilities affects working capital.

Stay tuned with us for more updates and keep browsing our site.