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Why Cash Matters
by Karen Berman and Joe Knight,
with John Case
There are three big reasons for understanding the cash
fl ow statement.
First, it will help you see what is going on now,
where the business is headed, and what senior man-
agement’s priorities are likely to be. You need to know
not just whether the overall cash position is healthy but
specifi cally where the cash is coming from. Is much of
it coming from regular business operations, rather than
from lenders or investors? That’s a good thing—it means
the business itself is generating cash. Is investing cash
fl ow a sizable negative number? If it isn’t, that may mean
the company isn