solved According to Brigham and Ehrhardt (2016), there is considerable debate
According to Brigham and Ehrhardt (2016), there is considerable debate over which method is most useful. Many accountants, scholar-practitioners, and users believe that the direct method, emphasizing cash receipts and cash payments, provides the most information. Others believe that the indirect method is better because it focuses on the differences between net income and net cash provided by operations. Under the indirect method, net income is reported at the top of the Operating Activities section, and adjustments are made to convert income to a cash basis. Sales revenue is included in net income. However, we are interested in cash collections from sales on a cash basis, not the sales on an accrual basis. A decrease in accounts receivable indicates that cash collections exceeded sales revenue. Therefore, the excess is added back to the net income of the period. The Accounting Standards Board allows either method, but companies are strongly encouraged to use the direct method.Regardless of which method is used, Brigham and Ehrhardt (2016) believe that a decrease in income taxes payable means that cash paid to the government during the period exceeded income tax expense on the income statement. Under the direct method, the amount of cash paid is reported as a cash outflow in the statement’s Operating Activities section. If the indirect method is used, the decrease in taxes payable is deducted from net income to arrive at net cash flow from operations. Which method would you advise your client to use, and why?Book: Brigham, E. F., & Ehrhardt, M. C. (2016). Financial management: theory and practice. Boston (MA): Cengage Learning.