Financial statements from company - no cash flow?

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December 04, 2024

by a searcher in Toronto, ON, Canada

I come from a finance background but have had hard time with a number of companies I have approached and gotten financial information sent to. I typically ask and receive a P&L and Balance Sheet from their accountants for the last 2-3 years. My immediate thought is to put together a historical statement of cash flow for the company. I have run into this issue now a number of times where I can not simply get the cash flow statement to tie, based on working through the financials sent. Wondering if this is a common issue with certain non cash add backs not being disclosed etc that makes it difficult to do without context.. Am I the only one with this issue? Is there a good workaround you would suggest? Perhaps getting the pull from QuickBooks?

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Reply by a professional
from University of Massachusetts at Lowell in Chicago, IL, USA
Having a finance background is valuable, but accounting skills are a different ballgame. These disciplines may seem similar, but they’re distinct both academically and professionally. If you’re looking for guidance, feel free to reach out. With an income statement and a balance sheet (where equity rolls), you should be able to prepare a cash flow statement—I’d be happy to help you get there.
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Reply by a searcher
from Northwestern University in Toronto, ON, Canada
So long as the balance sheet balances, and you have a reported or unadjusted P&L, then you should be able to re-create the cashflow statement. If they are giving you a P&L with addbacks, then ask them to reconcile it back to GAAP financials. Your suggestion of a raw pull from Quickbooks should also do the trick, then manually create the CF statement
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