Cash Flow For Dummies Book

Introduction 1

Part I: Fitting Cash Flow into the Big Picture of Running a Business 7

Chapter 1: Getting in Sync with the Rhythm of Cash 9

Chapter 2: Why Accrual Accounting Is Essential 23

Chapter 3: The Big Three Financial Statements 37

Chapter 4: Getting a Grip on the Statement of Cash Flows 59

Part II: Using Financial Statements to Assess Cash Health 81

Chapter 5: Mining the Balance Sheet for Cash 83

Chapter 6: Digging Deeper into Cash Flow 113

Chapter 7: Understanding Liquidity versus Available Cash 131

Part III: Getting Intimate with Your Company's Cash Flow Needs 157

Chapter 8: Creating a Business Plan to Secure Cash 159

Chapter 9: Building Best-in-Class Projection Models to Manage Cash 173

Chapter 10: Identifying and Securing External Sources of Capital 193

Chapter 11: Knowing When to Use Debt to Finance Your Business 213

Part IV: Managing Your Business with Cash Flow in Mind 239

Chapter 12: Covering the Basics of Cash and Cash Activity 241

Chapter 13: Preventing Cash Losses from Embezzlement and Fraud 267

Chapter 14: Managing the Selling Cycle to Improve Cash Flows 281

Chapter 15: Managing the Disbursement Cycle to Improve Cash Flows 311

Part V: The Part of Tens 331

Chapter 16: Ten Keys to Managing Cash Flows in a Small Business 333

Chapter 17: Ten Tales of Cash-Flow Woes 341

Index 351