Defining cash flows - How do you define cash

DEFINING CASH FLOWS

 How do you define cash? An organization can do this in several ways. In this week's Discussion, you will take a look at the financial statements of a public company to determine how the company defines cash, and discuss this with your colleagues. Are there any discrepancies between the balances on the balance sheet versus the statement of cash flows? Why?

Refer back to the public company you selected in the Week 1 Discussion. Locate that company's balance sheet and statement of cash flows.

To help you think about how the different ways cash can be defined, watch Always Accountable, episode 7 in this week's Resources. In this video, Sharon Hu, CFO of the EarthShare Ice Cream Company investigates why the company's operating cash flow is very low despite high sales.

With these thoughts in mind:

Post at least words addressing the following points:

• How did the company define cash on the balance sheet?
• What definition of funds did they use in the operating activities section of the statement of cash flows?
• Determine if the ending balance on the statement of cash flows is the same as the cash balance on the balance sheet. If not, explain why these two amounts are not equal.
• Is there an advantage to using the same definition of funds on both of these statements? Why or why not?