Can you use NAV account schedules to create a statement of cash flows? Yes, you can!

John Bellinger of Archerpoint recently posted a great article illustrating how to use account schedules to build the statement of cash flows, using both the indirect as well as the direct methods.  For those of you who have struggled with this sometimes challenging financial statement using NAV account schedules, find your answers here!

Here’s a bit from his recent posting:

This blog is an attempt to document how a Cash Flow Statement can be created using standard NAV Account Schedules.

I’ve been asked a few times by Finance Type individuals for a Cash Flow Statement report (yes there is not an out of the box report . . . darn!).  It usually takes me a couple attempts to explain how to accomplish using Account Schedules, and I usually kick myself for not keeping an example on hand.

As some may know, there are two methods, Direct and Indirect, that can be used for a Cash Flow Statement.  I understand the Indirect Method is the more common of the two, regardless I choose to do both in this blog.  Other than the operating activities section, the methods are similar.  A well-structured chart of accounts will greatly assist in setup/maintenance of this Account Schedule.  You’ll see from my examples that I’m largely using Total Accounts to accomplish; hopefully this will eliminate the necessity to reconsider this account schedule if new accounts are setup in the future.  For those of you that are new to NAV or have not yet implanted NAV, a good exercise may be to consider the necessary structure to accomplish a cash flow statement. This may dictate certain accounts/structure in your chart of accounts for your reporting requirements.

For the rest of his posting, including some really useful screen shots to illustrate what he’s showing, follow the link below.

http://www.archerpoint.com/blog/Posts/using-nav-account-schedules-create-cash-flow-statements