Cash At Beginning Of Period (Historical)

Returns the cash and cash equivalents balance at the start of a reporting period. This is the opening balance from which the period's cash flows are added or subtracted.

Understanding the Metric

This represents:

  • Cash in bank accounts
  • Highly liquid short-term investments
  • Other cash equivalents

Relationship:

Beginning Cash + Net Change in Cash = Ending Cash

This equals the prior period's ending cash balance.

Parameters

Parameter Description
Symbol Stock ticker (e.g., AAPL, MSFT)
Year Fiscal year or period code (lq, ly, lq-1, ly-1, lt, lt-1)
Quarter Optional: 1, 2, 3, or 4 (default: 1)
TTM Optional: "TTM" for trailing twelve months

Period Codes

Code Meaning
lq Last reported quarter
lq-1 Quarter before last
ly Last fiscal year
ly-1 Year before last
lt Last trailing twelve months
lt-1 Prior trailing twelve months

Examples

=hf_Cash_at_beginning_of_period("AAPL", 2023, 4)
Q4 2023 beginning cash
=hf_Cash_at_beginning_of_period("MSFT", "ly")
Last fiscal year start
=hf_Cash_at_beginning_of_period("GOOGL", 2023, , "TTM")
TTM period start
=hf_Cash_at_beginning_of_period(A1, B1, C1)
Cell references
=hf_Cash_at_beginning_of_period("META", "lq")
Last quarter start

When to Use

  • Reconciling cash flow statements
  • Verifying period-over-period cash changes
  • Building cash flow waterfall charts
  • Understanding starting liquidity position
  • Financial modeling and forecasting

When NOT to Use

Scenario Use Instead
Need ending cash balance hf_Cash_at_end_of_period()
Need cash change amount hf_Net_change_in_cash_and_cash_equivalents()
Need current cash position Use current period's ending cash
Need total liquidity Include short-term investments

Common Issues & FAQ

Q: Why doesn't beginning cash match last period's ending cash? A: There could be restatements, acquisitions, or accounting changes. For annual reports, Q4 beginning cash may include adjustments.

Q: Does this include restricted cash? A: Reporting varies by company. Some include restricted cash in this balance, others report it separately. Check the company's cash flow statement footnotes.

Q: What's the difference from cash on the balance sheet? A: These should match. The cash flow statement shows beginning and ending balances and reconciles the change between them.

Get Access to 1 Billion Usable Market data points IN YOUR EXCEL SHEETS WITH EASY TO USE EXCEL FUNCTIONS

Get started today
MarketXLS Excel Add-in Tutorial - How to Use Cash At Beginning Of Period (Historical) and Other Financial Formulas
▶
How does MarketXLS work?

Related Functions