Indian Accounting Standard (Ind AS) 7 : Statement of Cash Flows
Objective
Information about the cash flows of an entity is useful in providing users of financial statements with a basis to assess the ability of the entity to generate cash and cash equivalents and the needs of the entity to utilise those cash flows. The economic decisions that are taken by users require an evaluation of the ability of an entity to generate cash and cash equivalents and the timing and certainty of their generation.
The objective of this Standard is to require the provision of information about the historical changes in cash and cash equivalents of an entity by means of a statement of cash flows which classifies cash flows during the period from operating, investing and financing activities.
Scope
1. An entity shall prepare a statement of cash flows in accordance with the requirements of this Standard and shall present it as an integral part of its financial statements for each period for which financial statements are presented.
2. [Refer to Appendix 1]
3. Users of an entitys financial statements are interested in how the entity generates and uses cash and cash equivalents. This is the case regardless of the nature of the entitys activities and irrespective of whether cash can be viewed as the product of the entity, as may be the case with a financial institution. Entities need cash for essentially the same reasons however different their principal revenue-producing activities might be. They need cash to conduct their operations, to pay their obligations, and to provide returns to their investors. Accordingly, this Standard requires all entities to present a statement of cash flows.
Benefits of cash flow information
4. A statement of cash flows, when used in conjunction with the rest of the financial statements, provides information that enables users to evaluate the changes in net assets of an entity, its financial structure (including its liquidity and solvency) and its ability to affect the amounts and timing of cash flows in order to adapt to changing circumstances and opportunities. Cash flow information is useful in assessing the ability of the entity to generate cash and cash equivalents and enables users to develop models to assess and compare the present value of the future cash flows of different entities. It also enhances the comparability of the reporting of operating performance by different entities because it eliminates the effects of using different accounting treatments for the same transactions and events.
5. Historical cash flow information is often used as an indicator of the amount, timing and certainty of future cash flows. It is also useful in checking the accuracy of past assessments of future cash flows and in examining the relationship between profitability and net cash flow and the impact of changing prices.
Definitions
6. The following terms are used in this Standard with the meanings specified:
Cash comprises cash on hand and demand deposits.
Cash equivalents are short-term, highly liquid investments that are readily convertible to known amounts of cash and which are subject to an insignificant risk of changes in value.
Cash flows are inflows and outflows of cash and cash equivalents.
Operating activities are the principal revenue-producing activities of the entity and other activities that are not investing or financing activities.
Investing activities are the acquisition and disposal of long-term assets and other investments not included in cash equivalents.
Financing activities are activities that result in changes in the size and composition of the contributed equity and borrowings of the entity.
Cash and cash equivalents
7. Cash equivalents are held for the purpose of meeting short-term cash commitments rather than for investment or other purposes. For an investment to qualify as a cash equivalent it must be readily convertible to a known amount of cash and be subject to an insignificant risk of changes in value. Therefore, an investment normally qualifies as a cash equivalent only when it has a short maturity of, say, three months or less from the date of acquisition. Equity investments are excluded from cash equivalents unless they are, in substance, cash equivalents, for example in the case of preference shares acquired within a short period of their maturity and with a specified redemption date.
8. Bank borrowings are generally considered to be financing activities. However, where bank overdrafts which are repayable on demand form an integral part of an entity's cash management, bank overdrafts are included as a component of cash and cash equivalents. A characteristic of such banking arrangements is that the bank balance often fluctuates from being positive to overdrawn.
9. Cash flows exclude movements between items that constitute cash or cash equivalents because these components are part of the cash management of an entity rather than part of its operating, investing and financing activities. Cash management includes the investment of excess cash in cash equivalents.
Presentation of a statement of cash flows
10. The statement of cash flows shall report cash flows during the period classified by operating, investing and financing activities.
11. An entity presents its cash flows from operating, investing and financing activities in a manner which is most appropriate to its business. Classification by activity provides information that allows users to assess the impact of those activities on the financial position of the entity and the amount of its cash and cash equivalents. This information may also be used to evaluate the relationships among those activities.
12. A single transaction may include cash flows that are classified differently. For example, when the instalment paid in respect of a fixed asset acquired on deferred payment basis includes both interest and loan, the interest element is classified under financing activities and the loan element is classified under investing activities.
Operating activities
13. The amount of cash flows arising from operating activities is a key indicator of the extent to which the operations of the entity have generated sufficient cash flows to repay loans, maintain the operating capability of the entity, pay dividends and make new investments without recourse to external sources of financing. Information about the specific components of historical operating cash flows is useful, in conjunction with other information, in forecasting future operating cash flows.
14. Cash flows from operating activities are primarily derived from the principal revenue-producing activities of the entity. Therefore, they generally result from the transactions and other events that enter into the determination of profit or loss. Examples of cash flows from operating activities are:
(a) cash receipts from the sale of goods and the rendering of services;
(b) cash receipts from royalties, fees, commissions and other revenue;
(c) cash payments to suppliers for goods and services;
(d) cash payments to and on behalf of employees;
(e) cash receipts and cash payments of an insurance entity for premiums and claims, annuities and other policy benefits;
(f) cash payments or refunds of income taxes unless they can be specifically identified with financing and investing activities; and
(g) cash receipts and payments from contracts held for dealing or trading purposes.
Some transactions, such as the sale of an item of plant, may give rise to a gain or loss that is included in recognised profit or loss. The cash flows relating to such transactions are cash flows from investing activities. However, cash payments to manufacture or acquire assets held for rental to others and subsequently held for rental to others and subsequently held for sale as described in paragraph 68A of Ind AS 16 Property, Plant and Equipment are cash flows from operating activities. The cash receipts from rents and subsequent sales of such assets are also cash flows from operating activities.
15. An entity may hold securities and loans for dealing or trading purposes, in which case they are similar to inventory acquired specifically for resale. Therefore, cash flows arising from the purchase and sale of dealing or trading securities are classified as operating activities. Similarly, cash advances and loans made by financial institutions are usually classified as operating activities since they relate to the main revenue-producing activity of that entity.
Investing activities
16. The separate disclosure of cash flows arising from investing activities is important because the cash flows represent the extent to which expenditures have been made for resources intended to generate future income and cash flows. Only expenditures that result in a recognized asset in the balance sheet are eligible for classification as investing activities. Examples of cash flows arising from investing activities are:
(a) cash payments to acquire property, plant and equipment, intangibles and other long-term assets. These payments include those relating to capitalised development costs and self-constructed property, plant and equipment;
(b) cash receipts from sales of property, plant and equipment, intangibles and other long-term assets;
(c) cash payments to acquire equity or debt instruments of other entities and interests in joint ventures (other than payments for those instruments considered to be cash equivalents or those held for dealing or trading purposes);
(d) cash receipts from sales of equity or debt instruments of other entities and interests in joint ventures (other than receipts for those instruments considered to be cash equivalents and those held for dealing or trading purposes);
(e) cash advances and loans made to other parties (other than advances and loans made by a financial institution);
(f) cash receipts from the repayment of advances and loans made to other parties (other than advances and loans of a financial institution);
(g) cash payments for...
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