Accounting statements represent a company's earnings, but this is not the real cash that a company generates. Earnings data can be manipulated and can be deceiving. Thus, corporate decision makers and security analysts focus on the free cash flow that a firm generates to analyze the company's real cash position. Which of the following statements best describes free cash flow? The amount of a firm's available cash used to write off capital expenditures and depreciation The amount of a firm's available cash that can be used without harming operations or the ability to produce future cash flows Suppose you are the only owner of a chain of coffee shops near universities. Your current cafes are doing well, but you are interested in starting a fine-dining restaurant. You decide to use the cash generated from your existing business to enter into a new business. Your accountant provides you with the following data on your current financial performance: Based on your evaluation you have $88,157 in free cash flow. Can a company have negative free cash flow? No Yes