From the Inside Flap

Contrary to popular opinion, managers have a degree of discretion in reporting operating cash flow. In this era, when the trustworthiness of reported earnings is in question, a reliance on as-reported operating cash flow is not the convenient substitute measure of financial performance that it might appear to be.

Creative Cash Flow Reporting: Uncovering Sustainable Financial Performance identifies how the routine application of either current accounting standards or other measures employed by some companies can yield misleading operating cash flow statements in financial analysis.

When adjusted using the methods described in this clear guide, operating cash flow is a more effective tool for uncovering reported earnings that have been increased through questionable means. Premature or fictitious revenue will result in growing receivables but not cash. Also, steps taken to misstate inventory might boost gross profit and net income but will not reflect cash flow. The same is true about aggressive cost capitalization and other creative accounting acts.

Creative Cash Flow Reporting demonstrates how to use adjusted operating cash flow to uncover earnings that have been misreported by even the most aggressive and fraudulent accounting practices.

Real-world practice is demonstrated through the results of a study designed to adjust the cash flow statements of the S&P 100 for the years 2000, 2001, and 2002. Many

companies included in this sample had significant differences between reported and adjusted operating cash flow. The book is illustrated using hundreds of actual and recent company financial reports and applies recommendations to a large sample of actual companies.

Creative Cash Flow Reporting: Uncovering Sustainable Financial Performance is a must-have reference for serious readers of financial statements, including equity analysts and investors, credit professionals, serious individual investors, professional money managers, and anyone interested in uncovering true sustainable financial performance.



About the Author

Charles W. Mulford, PhD, CPA, is Invesco Chair and Professor of Accounting in the College of Management at the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta. He has coauthored three books, including the bestselling The Financial Numbers Game, published by Wiley. He has appeared on numerous broadcast networks, including CNBC, ABC News, and Bloomberg TV. He regularly consults with major domestic and international commercial banks and money management firms on issues related to credit and investment decision-making.

Eugene E. Comiskey, PhD, CPA, CMA, is Associate Dean for Faculty and Research, Callaway Chair, and Professor of Accounting in the College of Management at the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta. For more than twenty years, he has consulted with commercial banks around the world. He is the coauthor of three books, including The Financial Numbers Game, and has published numerous papers in a wide range of professional and academic journals.

Successful methodology for identifying earnings-related reporting indiscretions

Creative Cash Flow Reporting and Analysis capitalizes on current concerns with misleading financial reporting on misleading financial reporting. It identifies the common steps used to yield misleading cash flow amounts, demonstrates how to adjust the cash flow statement for more effective analysis, and how to use adjusted operating cash flow to uncover earnings that have been misreported using aggressive or fraudulent accounting practices.

Charles W. Mulford, PhD, CPA (Atlanta, GA), is the coauthor of three books, including the bestselling The Financial Numbers Game: Identifying Creative Accounting Practices. Eugene E. Comiskey, PhD, CPA, CMA (Atlanta, GA), is the coauthor of the bestselling The Financial Numbers Game: Identifying Creative Accounting Practices.