Analyze information contained in the statement of cash flows.

- Effective analysis of the statement of cash flows requires an examination of the statement of cash flows itself; a comparison of the information on the current statement of cash flows with earlier statements, as well as with the related statements of financial position and statement of earnings; and a comparison of the information in the current statement of cash flows with information from other companies' statements of cash flow.

- Financial statement users may also rely on summary cash flow measures such as free cash flow (the cash flow that a company is able to generate after considering the maintenance or expansion of its assets) and the cash flow adequacy ratio (a measure of a company's ability to meet its debt obligations).

- Financial statement fraud may be uncovered by a thorough analysis of cash flows over several years.