Question

The income statement shows the difference between a firm's income and its costs--i.e., its profits--during a specified period of time. However, not all reported income comes in the form of cash, and reported costs likewise may not be consistent with cash outlays. Therefore, there may be a substantial difference between a firm's reported profits and its actual cash flow for the same period.True / False.

Answer 1

True.

Step-by-step explanation:

‘Cash Flow Statement’ is one of major financial statement that indicates the inflow and outflow of cash along with the reasons by categorizing each cash transaction in three activities i.e., operating, investing or financing activity. Non-cash transactions are not considered while preparing a cash flow statement.

The cash flow from operating activities is generally more than the net income after taxes.

The cash flow from operating activities includes only the cash transactions relating to the operations of the business. It ignores the non-cash transactions. On the other hand, net income is derived after deducting all the expenses (paid or unpaid) from the revenue earned, pertaining to a particular period.

Example: Depreciation expense is a non-cash transaction. It is treated as follows:

While calculating cash flow from operating activities, depreciation expense is ignored (added back to the net income) as it is a non-cash transaction.

On the other hand, depreciation expense pertaining to the accounting period is deducted from revenue to calculate net income after taxes.

Thus, the cash flow from operations is generally more than the net income after taxes.