• Operating cash flow is an important benchmark for determining the financial success of a company’s core business.

  • Operating cash flow is the first section of the cash flow statement and also includes cash from investing and financing activities.
  • There are two methods for displaying operating cash flow on the cash flow statement - the indirect method and the direct method.
  • The indirect method starts with net income from the income statement and then adds non-monetary items to arrive at a cash-based figure.
  • The direct method tracks all transactions for the period on a cash basis and uses the actual cash inflows and outflows in the cash flow statement.