29 August 2026
Why students lose marks on Cash Flow Statements
The marks are rarely lost on the arithmetic. They go on classification, and on treating a non-cash item as though it moved money.
Almost nobody loses marks here because the addition is wrong.
Where the marks actually go
Three mistakes account for most of it:
- Depreciation treated as an outflow. It never moved any cash. It is added back precisely because it was deducted in arriving at profit.
- Interest paid put under Operating by a company that should classify it as Financing.
- Proceeds from sale of an asset recorded at book value rather than at what was received.
A quick check before you submit
Does your closing cash equal the balance sheet figure? If not, something has been classified, not calculated, incorrectly.
Read the question for what CHANGED, not for what the balances are.