Assignment task: You belong to a consulting group that delivers concise analytical information about companies for investment purposes. Your competitive advantage is that your group can thoroughly research accounting guidance and analyze complex financial statements while explaining these matters in a manner that is easily understood by your clients. George P. Burdell, a retired Engineering professor and new client, has a basic understanding of accounting and finance, but he would like some help making sense of financial statements. He has heard from his investment adviser that 'some earnings numbers are better than others' and wants an example of phenomena. His goal is to improve his understanding of what 'earnings quality' means and possibly make his own assessment of earning quality just by using published financial reports such as 10-Ks. Many CFOs believe that over time 'adjusted net income' should come close to matching the cash flow provided by operations. That is, in the long-run the 'net income' of a company should turn into cash to operate the company. Because of timing differences from accruals and deferrals the match-up of net income to cash can take more than one accounting period.