Inflow/(outflow)

Inflow / (outflow) sign convention under which:

1. Positive numbers are used for cash inflows, items of income and assets.
2. Negative numbers are used for cash outflows, expenditure and other costs, and liabilities.

Negative numbers are often shown (in brackets) for emphasis.

For example:

Cash inflows +9

- Cash outflows (5)

= Net inflow +4

Taking another example:

Cash inflows +9

- Cash outflows (15)

= Net outflow (6)

The inflow/(outflow) convention is used for many types of financial reporting, but it is not universal.

A widely used alternative convention is the 'mostly positive' sign convention.

See also

• Mostly positive
• Model
• B/(W)
• Corporate finance
• FP&A