OUR NEW ARTICLE IN ZfKE: THE CASH FLOW STATEMENT AS A MANAGEMENT AND CONTROL INSTRUMENT IN CORPORATE PLANNING: A CASE STUDY FOR A MEDIUM-SIZED ENTERPRISE

In corporate planning practice, the cash flow statement has often been neglected to date, even though it represents a central instrument for ensuring the consistency of integrated corporate planning and for deriving valuation-relevant cash flows. This article addresses this gap by systematically elaborating on the relevance and diverse applicability of the cash flow statement in the context of corporate planning, analysis, and valuation. The aim of the article is to demonstrate, using a continuous case study, how an error-free cash flow statement can be structured and derived from integrated P and balance sheet planning and used to validate the plausibility of the planning calculations. The cash flow statement is used not only as a retrospective control instrument but also as a central basis for risk-based liquidity and cash flow analysis. The scientific contribution of the article consists of presenting a holistic approach to using the cash flow statement as a planning instrument. This ranges from methodologically correct preparation to the performance of control calculations and risk analysis. In doing so, the integration into unbiased planning and the use of Monte Carlo simulation for
risk aggregation are demonstrated. The results show that a methodologically soundly derived
cash flow statement contributes significantly to the identification of planning errors, the quantification of liquidity risks, and the realistic derivation of operating free cash flow. Thus, the article makes a practical and theoretical contribution to strengthening the cash flow statement as an integral component of modern corporate planning.