本文是会计Essay范例，题目是“Cash Flow Statements: Indirect Method（现金流量表:间接法）”，a)国际会计准则7 (IAS 7)规定了公司在反映现金或现金等价物变化信息时所期望的标准。根据IAS 7，公司被要求提供现金流量表，显示现金和现金等价物的变化，从三个关键领域的经营，投资和融资(Wheetman, 2006)[1]。
a) International Accounting Standard 7 (IAS 7) lays down the standards expected by companies when presenting information about changes in cash or cash equivalents. Under IAS 7, a company is required to present a statement of cash flow showing the changes in cash and cash equivalents from the three key areas of operating, investing and financing (Wheetman, 2006)[1].
The definition of cash and cash equivalents includes cash, as well as any other investments that are considered high liquidity and can be easily converted into a known amount of cash. When presenting cash flow statements, there are two main ways that are recognised by IAS 7: direct and indirect, although a preference is shown for the direct method.
The direct method involves reporting the cash flow gross, as it happens, so that all cash out and all cash in are simply taken gross without any adjustments made for other factors.
On the other hand, the indirect method shows the net cash flows once all other factors have been taken into account. It is not necessary for companies to use the direct method and due to the costly process of looking through all receipts and expenses, it is much more common for companies to use the indirect method (Schwartz, 1996)[2] .
另一方面，间接法显示了一旦所有其他因素都被考虑在内的净现金流量。对于公司来说，没有必要使用直接的方法，而且由于查看所有收据和费用的成本高昂的过程，公司更常用的是使用间接方法(Schwartz, 1996)[2]。
b) China World Limited (CWL), as is the case with many large companies, has opted to report its cash flow statements in an indirect way. The cash flow statement in the published accounts year ended 31st December 2007 reflects this choice fully; however, there is no discussion as to why the direct method was not used.
During the preparation of the accounts, CWL has made several assumptions in order to produces the cash flow statements. For example, depreciation is accounted for during the cash flow statement, as it is not a true expense. When the profit figure, which is the starting point for the cash flow statements, is calculated, the depreciation is taken into account based on the depreciation policies being followed by the company. In the case of CWL, the property owned by the company is depreciated over 20 years, fixtures and fittings over a range of 5 to 10 years and motor vehicles over a period of 5 years. As these amounts are merely policy choices and are done on a straight line method, the actual amount allocated to depreciation has no immediate bearing on the actual cash flow statement and is, therefore, added back on to the ultimate net profit figure during the indirect method calculation. A similar approach is taken with amortisation of intangible assets where the initial costs of these assets are spread across the expected life span of the asset. This is not an actual cash movement and is, therefore, added back on to the final profit figure during the cash flow statement (Mills, 1991)[3].
在编制账目期间，CWL为编制现金流量表做了若干假设。例如，折旧在现金流量表中被计入，因为它不是一项真实的费用。当利润数字，也就是现金流量表的起点，被计算时，根据公司所遵循的折旧政策，折旧被考虑进去。就CWL而言，该公司拥有的财产在20年期间折旧，固定装置和配件在5至10年期间折旧，机动车辆在5年期间折旧。由于这些金额只是政策上的选择，并且是用直线法计算的，因此实际分配到折旧的金额与实际现金流量表没有直接关系，因此，在间接法计算时，会重新加回到最终的净利润数字上。无形资产的摊销也采用了类似的方法，这些资产的初始成本分摊到资产的预期寿命中。这不是一个实际的现金流动，因此，在现金流量表(Mills, 1991)[3]中被加回到最终利润数字上。
Additional adjustments are then made to include cash based transactions such as interest receivable in an attempt to show a truly accurate picture of cash flow movement. Changes in inventory levels are assumed to reflect the amount of cash available, directly. This is not necessarily the case and it is merely an assumption that CWL has made for the benefit of the cash flow statement (Mills & Yanamura, 1998)[4].
Other assumptions that have been made are likely to have an impact on the cash flow. For example, when calculating the net profits, there is an allowance made for bad debtors. This figure is purely an estimate based on previous experiences and the perceived risks associated with the various creditors that are related to the company at any time. In using the indirect method, these assumptions will still bear some relevance to the bottom line, meaning that a change of policy or assumption can have a direct impact on the way in which the cash flow statement looks (Barth, 2006)[5].
As CWL has international operations, it has to deal with the currency fluctuations that occur throughout the year. As the consolidated accounts are presented in pounds sterling, cash values in local currency need to be converted at the exchange rate between the country in which the transaction occurs and British sterling. CWL takes the approach of averaging the exchange rate over the period in which the transactions took place. This assumption is necessary as it simply is not possible to take an accurate exchange rate at the exact point in which a transaction is undertaken. However, it does have a potentially misleading impact on the cash flow statement.
由于CWL有国际业务，它必须处理全年发生的货币波动。由于合并帐户以英镑表示，当地货币的现金价值需要按照交易发生国与英镑之间的汇率进行转换。CWL采用的方法是计算交易发生期间的汇率平均值。这种假设是必要的，因为在进行交易的确切点上是不可能获得准确的汇率的。然而，它确实对现金流量表有潜在的误导影响。
Appendix 1 contains a copy of CWL’s accounts as they would appear, had the direct cash flow approach been taken.
c) The cash flow statement is merely one aspect of the financial analysis of the company’s financial status. Although cash flow and the liquidity of the company is vital in the overall health of the company, it is not the only measure of success. Firstly, let us consider the liquidity of the liquidity position of CWL.
One of the most commonly used ratios is that of the liquidity ratio known as the current ratio. This shows the company’s ability to meet its current liabilities with its current assets. For true financial health, a company wishes to see a ratio that is as high as possible, and at an absolute minimum at least 1:1. In the case of CWL the ratio in 2007 was 1.905, which in itself is particularly healthy and is even healthier when it is compared with the previous year’s figure of 1.734. This increase in the current ratio is primarily due to better management of the money owed by creditors to the company.
最常用的比率之一是流动比率，即流动比率。这表明公司有能力用流动资产偿还流动负债。为了实现真正的财务健康，公司希望看到一个尽可能高的比率，并且至少是绝对最小的1:1。在2007年的CWL比率为1.905，这本身就特别健康，与前一年的1.734相比更健康。流动比率上升的主要原因是，债权团的资金管理得到了改善。
A further liquidity test is that of the acid test, which is similar in nature to the current ratio but shows a much starker picture as it looks at the ability of the company to meet its current liabilities purely by the use of cash or cash equivalents. In reality, this is a more realistic view of the company’s liquidity position as its main aim is to be able to pay any liabilities that are imminently due, without the need to cash in any other assets, even if they are considered current. In analysing the acid ratio, it is possible to see a different picture of CWL. Although the current ratio shows a particularly healthy liquidity position, it is clear that much of the current assets of CWL are tied up in inventories or in receivables (Chirinko & Schaller, 1995) [6]. CWL should aim to manage receivables and inventories better in order to bring the quick ratio closer to the desirable 1:1 position. Although the figure of 0.508 falls considerably short of this ideal ratio, it is a vast improvement on the 2006 figure of 0.383.
As well as liquidity the profitability of the company should be considered. This is the view of how well the company is using its assets to produce a suitable rate of return. The main profitability ratio is that of gross profit margin. As CWL is a manufacturing based company, it is expected that the figure will be at the lower end of the scale; however, the figure of 35.95% is relatively healthy and shows a good rate of profit. Despite this, attention should be given to the cost of sales relative to revenues as they have dropped substantially since 2006 where the figure was 50.19%. This could be attributed to the acquisition of a new subsidiary. Therefore, it is anticipated that, in time, better use of the cost of sales will be made and the gross profit margin will recover to a figure closer to 50%.
除了流动性，公司的盈利能力也应该被考虑。这是对公司如何利用其资产产生合适回报率的看法。主要的利润率是毛利率。由于CWL是一家以制造为基础的企业，预计该数字将处于最低水平;但35.95%这个数字是比较健康的，利润率也比较好。尽管如此，我们还是应该关注销售成本相对于收入的比例，因为这一比例自2006年的50.19%以来已经大幅下降。这可能是由于收购了一个新的子公司。因此，可以预期，随着时间的推移，销售成本将得到更好的利用，毛利率将恢复到接近50%的数字。
A final ratio of importance is that of the return on equity. As CWL relies heavily on the shareholders’ equity, it is of considerable importance whether or not the shareholders are receiving a good return on their investment. In its broadest terms, the return on equity ratio shows how much return the company is generating in return for every pound that is put into the company. As a general rule, the higher the return on equity ratio, the better the company is doing, although it should be noted that some companies that require little in the way of financial investment such as consulting firms will almost always have a better return on equity ratio than manufacturing firms such as CWL (Costales & Szurovy, 1994)[7].
最后一个重要的比率是股本回报率。由于CWL严重依赖股东权益，股东的投资能否获得良好的回报是非常重要的。从最广义的角度来说，股本回报率显示了公司投入的每一英镑所产生的回报。作为一般规则,股本回报率的比例越高,公司越好做,但应该注意的是,一些公司要求小的金融投资咨询公司等几乎总是有一个更好的股本回报率比制造业公司如CWL(肋& Szurovy, 1994)[7]。
Once again, in studying the return of equity in relation to CWL, a downward trend between 2006 and 2007 can be seen. This is almost entirely due to the new acquisitions. Therefore, the direct investment in the consolidated company is considerably higher; yet, there has been insufficient time to allow this cash injection to be suitably used to generate increased returns. In a similar way to the gross profit margin, it would be expected that this figure would return to the 2006 figure rapidly and would in the long term be an improvement on the 2006 figures.
It should be noted that when looking at these ratios the consolidated accounts have been used. There was a large acquisition made during the year within the group and this has had an impact on the ratios, during 2007. The overall health of the company in terms of liquidity and profitability is good and the slight apparent wobble in the figures will be reversed in the years to come due to the increasing investments being put into the ongoing expansion of the company.
应当指出的是，在查看这些比率时，已经使用了综合帐户。在2007年，集团内部进行了一项大规模收购，这对比率产生了影响。公司的整体健康状况在流动性和盈利能力方面是良好的，在数字上的轻微明显的波动将在未来几年得到扭转，因为不断增加的投资被投入到公司的持续扩张中。
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