MicroStrategy was a red-hot software company in the business-to-business Internet sector. Unlike many other Internet companies, MicroStrategy reported profits early and often. Then the bottom fell out when news was released that MicroStrategy had been cooking the books by overstating revenues and profits. The stock price plunged and Zack's Research Report noted that, at the time, nine out of ten analysts had recently published buy or strong buy recommendations. Interestingly, well in advance of the stock price collapse, the company's cash flow from operations told a sobering storynegative $2.5 million instead of a profit of $9 million. Should the analysts have been looking at net cash from operations instead of net income? Why is the statement of cash flows so important based on this example? Discuss various was in which earnings quality can be assessed by comparing net income to cash flow from operations.