Sources and Uses: A British View

Abstract

In July, 1963, European Federation of Financial Analysts Societies held an international congress at University of Cambridge. One of ten study groups for congress was instructed to explore the usefulness in company accounts of tables showing sources and employment of company's funds. The group included members from Belgium, France, Germany, Netherlands, Switzerland and United Kingdom. For several months prior to congress, question was considered by each national study section,1 an interim report was submitted and, at congress proceedings and were formulated. In process, certain broad aspects of subject came to light that may be of interest, not only to American observers of European views of subject but also to practitioners in field generally. This article, it should be stressed, gives a British view; it does not claim to give British view, which, not surprisingly, does not exist. Only a very small minority of British companies append Sources and Uses tables to their published accounts; such British practice as there is varies considerably, and forms adopted are often not very enlightening. For this reason, British section of study group sought to consider subject without any preconceptions. We studied American examples; if our conclusions are found to lie outside mainstream of American practice, explanation lies in relative novelty of subject in Britain (and in rest of Europe) rather than in any desire to fight a war of British independence in this field.