Inc (Dec) in Other
IncreaseDecreaseInOtherOperatingCapitalNetIncreaseDecreaseInOtherOperatingAssetsIncreaseDecreaseInOtherOperatingLiabilitiesChange in other operating assets and liabilities is the catch-all working capital adjustment in the operating section of the cash flow statement. It captures the net cash effect of movements in operating balances that the company does not break out on their own line, such as accrued expenses, deferred revenue, other current assets, and miscellaneous operating liabilities.
Like the other working capital lines, increases in operating assets reduce cash flow and increases in operating liabilities add to it. Because this line nets many items together, it can be positive or negative in any period.
ASC 230's indirect method requires companies to reconcile net income to operating cash flow, and it lets them group smaller changes in operating assets and liabilities. The XBRL taxonomy offers IncreaseDecreaseInOtherOperatingCapitalNet for the combined net figure, and IncreaseDecreaseInOtherOperatingAssets and IncreaseDecreaseInOtherOperatingLiabilities when a company shows the two sides separately. For the asset element, a positive value means the asset grew and is subtracted; for the liability element, a positive value means the liability grew and is added.
What sits inside this line depends entirely on how much detail the company chooses to show elsewhere. One company may list accrued liabilities, deferred revenue, income taxes payable, and contract assets separately, leaving little in "other." Another may show only receivables, inventory, and payables and put everything else here. That makes the line hard to compare across companies and means a large value can hide a meaningful shift in a single balance.
When this line is large relative to operating cash flow, or swings sharply from one period to the next, it is worth reading the balance sheet and footnotes to find the driver. A big inflow may come from customer prepayments or accrued bonuses not yet paid, both of which reverse later. Analysts often combine it with the named working capital lines to get the total change in non-cash working capital.
A: Typically accrued expenses, deferred revenue, other current assets and liabilities, and sometimes income taxes payable. The exact mix depends on which items the company chose to show separately.
A: It nets many balances together, and some of them, such as accrued bonuses or customer deposits, build up and pay out at specific times of year. A single large movement can dominate the total.
A: Not automatically, but it deserves a look. When a big share of operating cash flow comes from unexplained "other" changes, check the balance sheet to see whether it is likely to reverse.
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