Corporate Cash Flow Statement
Requires the Banking & Finance DLC. The Cash Flow Statement is part of the Banking & Finance DLC, together with CSV export of financial statements. Without the DLC the tab and the toggle described below do not appear, and the Balance Sheet and Income Statement behave as before. The Income Tax Paid line additionally needs the City Economic Simulation DLC, because corporate tax only exists when a city economy is simulated.
Where to find it
The statement can be opened in two places, and both show the same report:
| Screen | How to get there |
|---|---|
| Financials report | Open the Financials report and pick the Cash Flow Statement tab, next to Balance Sheet and Income Statement. It shows your own company; use Corporate Details to see the statement of any other company. |
| Corporate Details | Open a company’s Corporate Details page and choose Balance Sheet. A Balance Sheet / Cash Flow Statement toggle sits above the report; click Cash Flow Statement. |
Like the Income Statement, the report has a Year-to-date column and a Last Year column. If it is taller than the screen it scrolls with the mouse wheel or the scroll bar, while the column headings stay put. Hovering a section heading shows a tooltip explaining what that section counts.
How to read it
Inflows are shown as positive amounts. Outflows are shown in red, in brackets. The statement is built top to bottom:
| Section | What it covers |
|---|---|
| Section 1: Operating activities | Cash generated by running the business. It starts from the profit on the Income Statement and adjusts it for things that changed profit without moving cash. |
| Section 2: Investing activities | Cash spent on, or received from, long-term assets: firms, land, technology, stocks, bonds, deposits and financial subsidiaries. |
| Section 3: Financing activities | Cash raised from, or returned to, lenders and shareholders: loans, bonds, share issues and dividends. |
The three subtotals add up to Net Change in Cash. Below it, Cash at Beginning of Year plus the net change gives Cash at End of Year, which is the Cash figure on the Balance Sheet.
Operating activities, line by line
| Line | What it means |
|---|---|
| NET PROFIT / PROFIT BEFORE TAX | The headline profit from the Income Statement, so the two reports always agree. With the City Economic Simulation DLC the Income Statement shows tax, and this line is labelled Profit Before Tax. |
| Income Tax Paid | Corporate income tax paid during the year. Shown only with the City Economic Simulation DLC. |
| Write-offs | Added back. A write-off of business assets or lost deposits reduced profit but no cash left the company. |
| Revaluation Gains | Taken out. Land, technology, stock and bond revaluations raised profit on paper without any cash arriving. A large positive profit with a large negative line here is a company living on paper gains. |
| Bank Net Profit / Insurance Net Profit | Taken out. The profit of a bank or insurance subsidiary is counted in group profit but stays inside the subsidiary. It shows up under Investing instead, as growth in the subsidiary’s net assets. |
| Change in Inventory & Other | Cash tied up in, or released from, inventory, plus any remaining small timing differences. Building stock costs cash before it is sold. |
| Cash from Operating Activities | The subtotal. This is the number to watch: a business that cannot generate cash from operations will run down its reserves or borrow. |
Investing activities
Each line is the cash actually paid or received for that asset class. Buying is an outflow, selling is an inflow. Revaluations and write-offs are excluded here, because they are not cash; they are dealt with under Operating.
| Line | Cash spent on or received from |
|---|---|
| Business Assets | Building, buying, expanding or selling firms and their equipment. |
| Land and Natural Resources | Land purchases and sales, mines, oil wells and similar resource sites. |
| Intangible Asset: Technology | Technology bought from or sold to other companies. |
| Stock Investments | Shares of other companies bought or sold. |
| Owned Bonds | Bonds of other issuers bought, sold or redeemed. |
| Bank Net Assets / Insurance Net Assets | Capital put into or taken out of a bank or insurance subsidiary. |
| Bank Deposits | Money placed on deposit or withdrawn. |
Financing activities
| Line | Inflow when | Outflow when |
|---|---|---|
| Loans | A loan is taken | A loan is repaid |
| Issued Bonds | Your company issues bonds | Bonds are redeemed or bought back |
| Paid-in Capital | Shares are issued, including an IPO | Shares are bought back |
| Dividend Paid | — | A dividend is paid to shareholders |
A worked example
A company reports a profit of $8.1 million, yet its cash grew by only $1.28 million. The statement shows why:
| Line | Year-to-date |
|---|---|
| PROFIT BEFORE TAX | $8,100,000 |
| Income Tax Paid | ($250,000) |
| Write-offs | $40,000 |
| Revaluation Gains | ($6,940,000) |
| Change in Inventory & Other | ($70,000) |
| Cash from Operating Activities | $880,000 |
| Business Assets | ($1,200,000) |
| Land and Natural Resources | ($300,000) |
| Stock Investments | ($2,500,000) |
| Cash from Investing Activities | ($4,000,000) |
| Loans | $5,000,000 |
| Dividend Paid | ($600,000) |
| Cash from Financing Activities | $4,400,000 |
| NET CHANGE IN CASH | $1,280,000 |
| Cash at Beginning of Year | $55,000,000 |
| Cash at End of Year | $56,280,000 |
Most of the $8.1 million profit was a revaluation gain on shares the company holds: real on the Income Statement, but not a dollar of it reached the bank. The business itself produced $0.88 million of cash. It then spent $4 million on new firms, land and shares, and covered the gap with a $5 million loan while still paying a dividend. Profitable, growing, and borrowing to do it.
Reading tip. Strong Operating cash with heavy Investing outflow is a company investing in growth. Weak Operating cash propped up by Financing inflow is a company borrowing to stay afloat. Large Revaluation Gains taken out under Operating mean the profit is mostly on paper. Look at the three subtotals first, then drill into the lines.
Exporting to a spreadsheet
Click the Export to File icon beside the statement to write it to a CSV file that Excel and other spreadsheet programs open directly. The file goes to the game’s Export folder under My Games\Capitalism Lab, named after the company, the statement and the game date. On the Corporate Details page the same icon exports whichever of the two reports the toggle is showing.
The statement can also be exported automatically. Open Data Export Options and set:
| Setting | Choices | Default |
|---|---|---|
| Export Cash Flow Statements Scope | Player Company · Player Company and Subsidiaries · All Companies | Player Company |
| Export Cash Flow Statements Frequency | Disabled · Every Year · Every Quarter · Every Month | Disabled |
Automatic exports are written to a sub-folder named after the game, one file per company in scope, at the start of each period. Scenario scripts can preset the same two settings with Export Cash Flow Statement Scope and Export Cash Flow Statement Frequency.
At a glance
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| What do I need? | Banking & Finance DLC. The Income Tax Paid line also needs the City Economic Simulation DLC. |
| Where is it? | Financials → Cash Flow Statement tab, or Corporate Details → Balance Sheet → Cash Flow Statement toggle |
| Which companies? | Any company whose financial reports you can view, with Year-to-date and Last Year columns |
| Does it balance? | Always. Operating + Investing + Financing = Net Change in Cash = the change in Cash on the Balance Sheet |
| Why does profit differ from cash? | Revaluations, write-offs, subsidiary profit and inventory change profit without moving cash; investments and financing move cash without touching profit |
| Can I export it? | Yes: the Export icon on the statement, or automatically through Data Export Options |
See also: Version 12.5 new features.