Cash-Flow Diagrams

A cash-flow diagram is a picture of a cash-flow stream. In the same sense that a picture is worth a thousand words, the cash-flow diagram gives the reader a very quick overview of the financial picture of that subject. Figure 3-1 shows an example cash-flow diagram for a proposal.

Figure 3.1. An example cash-flow diagram

A cash-flow diagram shows the cash-flow stream two dimensions: Time runs from left to right, and amounts of money run up and down. Each cash-flow instance is drawn on the diagram at a left-to-right position relative to the timing of that cash flow after the start of the proposal. The horizontal axis is divided ...

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