You can now read all three statements. This final lesson teaches you to read them the way a detective does — because financial reports are written by the people being judged on them, and while outright fraud is rare, flattering presentation is practically universal.
None of these flags proves wrongdoing. Each one means: stop and ask why.
Flag 1 — Profit rising, operating cash falling
The classic, promised twice already in this module. If net profit climbs year after year while cash from operations stagnates or sinks, the "profit" is accumulating in receivables and inventory rather than the bank.
Innocent explanation: fast growth genuinely parks cash in working capital. Sinister explanation: sales are being booked that will never truly be collected. Either way, the gap must eventually close — and it closes in cash's favour, never profit's.
Flag 2 — Receivables growing faster than sales
Sales up 10%, receivables up 45%? Customers are taking far longer to pay — or the company relaxed its standards and "sold" to anyone with a pulse to hit targets, or is stuffing sales into the final week of the period.