Using the Statement of Change in Financial Position
介绍财务状况变动表（SCFP）的历史和用途，帮助小企业管理者理解并利用该表预测现金流、评估收入质量、分析经营能力、财务灵活性和流动性。
USING THE STATEMENT OF CHANGE IN FINANCIAL POSITION An accountant can provide a vast amount of financial data about a business. The three financial statements provided by the accountant include an income statement, a balance sheet and a statement of change in financial position (SCFP). Most business managers know how to interpret and use the information provided on the balance sheet and the income statement. However, some statement users have difficulty understanding, interpreting, and utilizing the information provided by the statement of change in financial position.1 Therefore, the SCFP is often under-utilized. This is unfortunate, because it is often the most useful statement for small business managers. 1 Allen H. Seed III, The Funds Statement: Structure and Use (Morristown, New Jersey: Financial Executive Research Information, 1984), pp. 16-17. The SCFP is important to the small business manager for the following reasons: (1) the information provided on the SCFP can be compared with the cash budget to assist in the prediction of future cash flow; (2) the quality of income can be better assessed, because estimates are not included on the SCFP and it is easier to see what was received and what was spent in terms of dollars; (3) the possibility of expanding or reducing operating capacity can be addressed by analyzing the funds provided by operations; (4) the financial flexibility and liquidity of the company can be analyzed; and (5) the small business manager can see at a glance the financing and investing activities which have taken place in the last time period. The purpose of this article is to describe the SCFP and to explain how small business managers can use the important information contained in this statement. HISTORY OF THE SCFP The accounting profession has been struggling with the SCFP for over twenty years. In 1963, the Accounting Principles Board (APB) issued APB Opinion No. 3, which encouraged the presentation of an SCFP (then called a funds statement) as an integral part of a company's financial statements. The SCFP was not required, however, and no specific format or definition of funds was given. Needless to say, all companies did not present a SCFP as part of their statements, nor did the SCFPs which were presented follow any set format. In 1971, the APB issued APB Opinion No. 19, which required that the public accounting profession provide, as a basic component of financial statements, not only a balance sheet and income statement, but also an SCFP. The SCFP was required for each period for which an income statement and a balance sheet was presented. APB Opinion No. 19 also required that a broad concept of funds be used. This meant that changes in cash, working capital, cash and temporary investments, or in all quick assets had to be reported along with all important aspects of a company's financing and investing activities. The accountant could decide whether the statement should be prepared on the working capital or the cash basis; however, APB No. 19 called for specific disclosure requirements. The specific disclosure requirements included the disclosure of funds provided by operations, the separate reporting of extraordinary items and other sources and uses of funds, and the disclosure of other significant financial resources provided and used not affecting funds.2 During the period preceding these requirements, very little was published in the accounting literature on this third' type of statement. Therefore, very few accountants were trained to prepare SCFPs, and most small business managers were not exposed to the statement, even during academic training. Accountants tended to prepare SCFPs and charged clients for them without explaining why they were necessary. 2 Accounting Principles Board, APB Opinion No. 19-- Reporting Changes in Financial Opinion (New York, New York: AICPA, 1971). …