Definition
A cash flow statement shows cash movement over a period, typically split into operating, investing, and financing cash flows.
How to use it
- Use the cash flow statement to understand why cash moved even when profit did not.
- Focus on operating cash flow and working capital for runway planning.
Measured as
Measure Cash Flow Statement with the same date, unit basis, and accounting or policy definitions used in the rest of your model.
Operator takeaway
- Use the cash flow statement to understand why cash moved even when profit did not.
- Focus on operating cash flow and working capital for runway planning.
- Tie Cash Flow Statement to the same balance-sheet date, scenario, and decision memo you are using elsewhere in the model.
- Document which claims, costs, or adjustments your team includes before comparing numbers across forecasts, covenants, or valuation work.
Next decision
- Read Runway and burn: gross vs net burn, working capital, and cash levers if the decision depends on interpretation, policy, or trade-offs beyond the raw formula.
- Decide whether Cash Flow Statement belongs in cash planning, valuation, or debt monitoring so the number is used in the right model.
Where to use this on MetricKit
Guides
- Runway and burn: gross vs net burn, working capital, and cash levers: A practical guide to runway: compute net burn, understand why cash differs from profit, and how working capital and collections change runway.
- Cash conversion cycle: turn working capital into runway: A practical guide to the cash conversion cycle (CCC): how AR/AP timing changes cash, how to reduce days outstanding, and why runway depends on working capital.