Comparatives and the cash flow's current-year column
Where comparatives in a set of statements come from in Achekam, how the current-year cash flow is derived from balance changes, and when to type over it.
By Achekam · · 4 min read · For Accountants & audit firms in South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya
New client, first year on your system, and last year's statements exist only as a PDF from the previous accountant. Or an existing client whose cash flow never quite makes sense because a vehicle was bought on instalment sale. These are the two places where a set of statements most often goes wrong without anyone noticing: the prior-year column and the current-year cash flow.
This article explains where Achekam takes comparatives from, how it works out the current year of the cash flow statement, when you should type your own figure over it, and which checks continue to run afterwards.
Three places comparatives can come from
Comparatives in a set prepared in Achekam can come from:
- figures a person enters;
- last year's statements that the firm issued in Achekam;
- a prior-year set that a person has reviewed.
For a continuing client whose statements you issued in Achekam last year, the issued set is the natural source. For a client new to the firm, the prior-year figures usually arrive as a PDF.
Reading last year's statements from a PDF
Staff can upload last year's financial statements as a PDF, and Achekam reads them into figures for a person to review and approve before they are used as comparatives. Where AI is available, it fills in details such as the entity name. It never supplies numbers; those come from the reading of the document.
Treat the review as more than proofreading. Previous accountants group lines differently, and a reclassification you make this year may need the prior year restated to match. Check that the comparative figures total to the prior year's published totals, that the lines map to this year's presentation, and that nothing material has been lost in the reading. Then approve. If the prior year was audited or reviewed by another firm, keep their report with the PDF on the file, since it tells the reader of this year's set what assurance the comparatives once carried.
The cash flow worked out from balance changes
The Studio builds the full set from the mapped trial balance, including the cash flow statement. The cash flow's current-year column is worked out from the change in balances between the opening and closing positions.
That works well for a straightforward year. It needs help where balances move for reasons that are not cash:
- an asset bought on finance, where the asset and the liability both rise but little cash moves;
- a revaluation, which changes an asset balance with no cash at all;
- a disposal, where the proceeds are cash but the movement in cost and accumulated depreciation is not;
- a loan converted to equity, or a dividend declared but not yet paid.
In each case, a pure balance-change approach can show investing or financing cash flows that did not happen. Example in words: a client acquires a delivery vehicle on an instalment sale agreement. Property, plant and equipment rises by the cost of the vehicle and borrowings rise by the financed amount. Read off the balance changes, the cash flow would show the vehicle as cash spent on investing and the finance as cash received from borrowing. In reality, only the deposit and the instalments paid were cash. The IFRS Foundation's summary of IAS 7 describes the standard that prescribes how an entity presents the changes in its cash and cash equivalents in a statement of cash flows.
Typing your own figure for a line
Staff can type their own figure for any line of the cash flow, and that figure then takes priority over the derived one. For the vehicle above, that means entering the actual cash paid for the asset and the actual repayments, and leaving the non-cash part out of both.
Keep a short working for every override. A typed figure is a judgement, and the reviewer and the partner need to see why it differs from what the balances suggest. A one-line note on the file, saying what was non-cash and how much, is usually enough.
Checks that still run afterwards
An override does not switch off the checks. The Validation & Math Engine runs its fixed, non-AI checks on the set, such as double entry and note ties. Staff can also run the automated review, which lists findings for a person to accept, resolve or dismiss; it is advice only and does not block signing.
The reviewer should add one check of their own: the cash flow's closing cash and cash equivalents must agree to the statement of financial position, and the opening figure to last year's closing. If an override broke that agreement, the reconciliation will show it.
Next year
When a set is rolled forward to the next year, typed comparatives are not carried forward. The new year's comparatives come from the right source again, which is usually the set you have just issued. Overrides in this year's cash flow are this year's judgements and should be revisited, not inherited.
A short checklist
- Choose the comparative source deliberately for each client.
- Review figures read from a PDF against the prior-year totals before approving.
- List the non-cash movements of the year before reading the cash flow.
- Override lines affected by them, with a short working.
- Agree closing cash to the statement of financial position.
- Clear the automated review findings.
Where the cash flow meets the rest of the set
Most cash flow overrides come from a handful of transactions; finding them early saves a late rework. How the rest of the draft is assembled is set out in building draft statements from a mapped trial balance, and the movement that most often confuses the cash flow, depreciation, is covered in depreciation in the statements: checked, not calculated.
General guidance only, not advice on your own circumstances. Tax and payroll rules change: check the current position with the authority or your adviser.
