[GNC] Miscalculation in cashflow reports

[Geert Janssens]

Op zaterdag 13 juli 2019 17:20:41 CEST schreef John Ralls:
> There hasn't been much of a response, perhaps because the presentation here
> isn't clear.
> 
> The bug, https://bugs.gnucash.org/show_bug.cgi?id=797093, complains that the
> Cash Flow report on a single bank account reports the following
> transaction:
> 
> Assets:Bank         Cr 500
> Assets:Other       Cr 500
> Expenses:Payroll  Dr 1000
> 
> as
> Money in:
>    Assets: Other         500
> Money Out:
>    Expenses: Payroll    1000
> Difference: -500
> 
> Which isn't right: Although the net at the bottom is correct, the report
> implies that 500 flowed through the Bank and it didn't.
> 
> Where it gets more interesting is when there are multiple in and out splits
> in a single transaction, e.g.
> 
> Assets:Bank           Cr 500
> Assets:Other          Cr 200
> Expenses:Payroll    Dr 600
> Expenses:Else        Dr 200
> 
> In that case, the Cash Flow report on Assets:Bank should show an outflow of
> 500, but how should it be apportioned between Expenses:Payroll and
> Expenses:Else? 500 to Payroll, 300 to Payroll and 200 to Else, 375 to
> Payroll and 125 to Else, or something else?
> 
Does it even make sense to try to determine the "cash flow" on a single 
account ? I can imagine one would see the cash flow for a business and the 
details of how that cash flow was generated. Trying to to so on a single 
account may yield results that don't make sense.

> Or does it even matter?
What does matter to me is an accounting package shouldn't make assumptions. If 
multiple valid distributions are possible it's the user that should be able to 
mark those somehow.

I really would like to have input from users with actual accounting 
backgrounds on 
1. what a cash flow report really should display
2. whether our current cash flow report actually does that or is in effect a 
totally different kind of report with a misleading name.

Geert