Cash flow statement template: indirect method with reconciliation
From operating result to movement in cash and cash equivalents in three blocks, worked out for a fictitious transport company, with the presentation that changes from financial year 2027.
The short answer
A cash flow statement explains why the bank balance has changed, split into operating, investing and financing activities. The law does not mention it; the Dutch Accounting Standards Board (RJ) guidelines (RJ 360) require it of medium-sized and large legal entities. Below is the model under the indirect method, with figures that tie in with the balance sheet.
Updated 30 October 2026
Key facts
| Statutory obligation | None: art. 2:361(1) DCC mentions only the balance sheet, profit and loss account and notes |
| Guideline | RJ 360 The cash flow statement, for medium-sized and large legal entities |
| Methods | Direct (receipts and payments as such) or indirect (result with adjustments) |
| Amendment | RJ-Uiting (RJ Pronouncement) 2026-6, final since 1 July 2026, for reporting years beginning on or after 1 January 2027 |
The example: Rijnmond Logistiek B.V.
Rijnmond Logistiek B.V. is a fictitious medium-sized transport company. In 2025 it bought trucks, took out a new loan and paid a dividend: enough to fill all three blocks.
The statement below is the model. There is no spreadsheet with it; which cells are formulas is described in words further down.
Model: cash flow statement 2025
| Line | 2025 (€) | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Operating result | 620.000 | Profit and loss account |
| Depreciation | 410.000 | No payment, so add back |
| Movement in provisions | 30.000 | Balance sheet: closing minus opening |
| Movement in inventories | -20.000 | Balance sheet: opening minus closing |
| Movement in trade receivables | -85.000 | Balance sheet: opening minus closing |
| Movement in trade payables | 45.000 | Balance sheet: closing minus opening |
| Movement in accruals and deferrals | 10.000 | Balance sheet |
| Cash flow from business operations | 1.010.000 | Subtotal |
| Interest paid | -95.000 | Bank movements |
| Corporate income tax paid | -120.000 | Assessments paid |
| Cash flow from operating activities | 795.000 | |
| Investments in tangible fixed assets | -680.000 | Depreciation schedule, paid part |
| Disposals of tangible fixed assets | 40.000 | Sale price received |
| Cash flow from investing activities | -640.000 | |
| Long-term loan drawn | 300.000 | Loan agreement |
| Repayment of long-term liabilities | -250.000 | Repayment schedule |
| Dividend paid | -100.000 | Resolution and bank movement |
| Cash flow from financing activities | -50.000 | |
| Movement in cash and cash equivalents | 105.000 | Sum of the three blocks |
| Cash and cash equivalents at 1 January | 310.000 | Balance sheet 2024 |
| Cash and cash equivalents at 31 December | 415.000 | Balance sheet 2025 |
Line by line
- Starting point. Under the indirect method you adjust the reported result; the RJ names the operating result as the preference (paragraph 360.212).
- Adjustments. Items without a receipt or payment in the year, such as depreciation, and the movements in provisions, accruals and deferrals, inventories, trade receivables and trade payables.
- Sign. A higher inventory or receivables balance has cost cash and gets a minus; a higher payables balance a plus.
- Disposal. You include the price received, not the carrying amount. A book gain you remove from the operating result, otherwise it counts twice. Rijnmond sold at carrying amount.
- Finance lease. An asset acquired that way does not run through the statement; you explain the amount (paragraph 360.207).
You check the investment line against the fixed assets: 2.900.000 opening carrying amount plus 680.000 investments minus 410.000 depreciation minus 40.000 sold is 3.130.000 closing carrying amount.
What changes from financial year 2027
The Dutch Accounting Standards Board (RJ) has amended RJ 360 following IFRS 18. The draft text of 24 April 2026 was made final unchanged on 1 July 2026.
| Subject | Up to and including financial year 2026 | From financial year 2027 |
|---|---|---|
| Interest paid | Operating or financing, by choice | Financing |
| Interest and dividend received | Operating or investing, by choice | Investing |
| Dividend paid | Preferably financing; operating is allowed | Financing |
| Starting point of the indirect method | Preferably the operating result; result before or after tax is also allowed | A subtotal from the profit and loss account under the Annual Accounts Formats Decree (Besluit modellen jaarrekening); the operating result remains recommended |
| Subtotal for business operations | Recommended (paragraph 360.216) | The recommendation lapses |
For Rijnmond, the interest paid of 95.000 moves to the third block. Operating cash flow becomes 890.000 and financing cash flow -145.000; the movement of 105.000 stays the same. You process the transition as a change in accounting policy. Whoever makes financing or investing their ordinary business may keep showing interest and dividend received as operating (paragraph 360.213a).
The cash flow statement in a spreadsheet
- Input: the balance sheet of two years side by side and the profit and loss account. Add a column with the difference per balance sheet item.
- Formulas: each line refers to one balance sheet difference or one item from the profit and loss account. Investments, disposals, loans drawn and repayments you fill in from the underlying schedules.
- Check 1: the movement in cash and cash equivalents minus the difference between closing and opening cash and cash equivalents is zero.
- Check 2: explain for each balance sheet item the difference between opening and closing balance. Separate cash flows from depreciation, sales at carrying amount and other movements without payment; then tie in to the change in cash and cash equivalents.
Who the statement applies to
RJ 360 belongs to the guidelines for medium-sized and large legal entities. For micro and small legal entities there is no obligation; they may add the statement voluntarily. See the size criteria.
Mistakes that skew the statement
- Taking the investments from the depreciation schedule while part of the invoices is still open. That part is not an expense of this year.
- Forgetting the movement in provisions; the balancing difference is then exactly the addition.
- Showing a loan converted into share capital as two cash flows, while no money was transferred.
- Making the balancing difference disappear in accruals and deferrals instead of tracking it down.
The cash flow set-up in Jaarrekening.io
From the balance sheet and result figures, Jaarrekening.io prepares a set-up under the indirect method. Working capital movements, items without cash flow and purchases and sales of fixed assets you complete from the ledger. The figures come from the imported XAF audit file or trial balance (Excel or CSV). If you want to begin, create an account.
Sources
- RJ-Uiting 2026-6: draft guidelines following IFRS 18, final as of 1 July 2026 (in Dutch)
- RJ-Uiting 2026-6, full text with the paragraphs of RJ 360 (pdf, in Dutch)
- Dutch Civil Code Book 2: art. 2:361(1) (parts of the annual accounts) (in Dutch)
- Accountant.nl (NBA), 17 July 2025: cash flow statement is an RJ requirement, not a statutory obligation (in Dutch)
Frequently asked questions
Does a small BV have to prepare a cash flow statement?
No. Book 2 of the Dutch Civil Code does not make the cash flow statement a mandatory part, and the guideline that prescribes it applies to medium-sized and large legal entities.
Is the direct method also permitted?
Yes. Then you show the receipts from customers and the payments to suppliers and staff as such. The Dutch Accounting Standards Board (RJ) recommends a reconciliation between the operating result and the cash flow from business operations (paragraph 360.211).
Why is the cash flow different from the profit?
Because profit is not cash. Depreciation lowers profit without a payment, an investment is a payment without the profit falling, and a repayment or dividend does not touch the profit at all. In the example, an operating result of 620.000 is matched by an increase in cash and cash equivalents of 105.000.
From when do the new rules for interest and dividend apply?
For reporting years beginning on or after 1 January 2027. Up to and including financial year 2026 you keep the choice you made earlier. The amendment is in RJ-Uiting 2026-6.
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