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The best way to introduce yourself to a company that doesn’t appear to be actively looking is to know the “What, where, and how you can help the company.” I can give you a better-than-even chance to get the door to open to be able to introduce yourself, perhaps even create a job that is just right for you. It will take time and careful preparation, but it will pay a dividend. Here are seven steps for opening a career door: Step 1 – Functional Strengths Begin by listing all your functional strengths across the top of a sheet of paper. Some examples of ‘functional strengths’ are marketing, financial operations, research and development, information technology, engineering, strategic planning, recruiting, training and development, and so on. Some people have several; some only one. List as many as you can. Step 2 – Core Competencies Next, under each functional strength you listed, write down anything and everything it qualifies you to do: Qualifies you to do for any organization, not just those you may be considering today. Of course, not every organization needs help in every area but it is good for you to know in any event what you have in your armory. To do this, you need to think in terms of employers’ needs, not just in terms of your strengths. Step 3 – Think Like An Employer In order to think like an employer, you need to think in terms of solving problems and recognizing opportunities. For example, if “Marketing” is your functional strength, under it you might list Uncovering new markets; Identifying markets for new products; Finding new usage for old products; Improving internal/corporate communications; Stimulating client communications; Evaluating expansion opportunities; Stimulating sales; Writing brochures; Coordinating events, Community outreach, and so on. as ‘competencies’ tied to your that strength and where problems and/or opportunities may be found. Hence, you are thinking like an employer. Step 4 – The “Big Picture” You will need to develop a big picture perspective for targeting employers. First, carefully review your experience and interests, giving equal consideration to both. There may be experiences you have where you performed well but didn’t enjoy yourself. No sense focusing where job satisfaction will be lacking. Next, with an open mind, review all of your experiences – trying not to lock yourself in to traditional position or industry boundaries. Take the “blinders” off… broaden the scope. For instance, your experience may be in the Pet Supply Industry, but your “Marketing” prowess extends throughout “supply chain.” Or, maybe it lies more in the program management and strategic planning side and ties less to a specific product category. Or, perhaps you may enjoy service-oriented environments, organizing people, and moving them forward smoothly and well. This may suggest other organizations. Maybe your perspective turns to the client-side suggesting a very different set of organizations such as ad agencies or associations, councils… or consulting firms, for example. Step 5 – Targets Once your have completed Step 4, you are ready to identify the types of companies most appropriate for your strengths, experiences, skill-sets, and competencies. Then, you can begin to find the names and decision-makers of such companies with the confidence that those you uncover are also those most likely to have need for someone like you. (This part can be accomplished with a minimum amount of Internet savvy). Once you have identified companies’ names that are likely to need you, and the decision-makers, you are ready to prepare your approach strategy. (If you already had a company or companies in mind, take the time to complete steps 1-4.  The exercise is still invaluable for developing your personal introduction as an “individual solutions provider”). Step 6 – Ready… Aim… MARKET As you may already know from job searching experience, your initial approach should be a letter targeted to a decision-maker a

Margins matter. The more Altisource Portfolio Solutions (NAS: ASPS) keeps of each buck it earns in revenue, the more money it has to invest in growth, fund new strategic plans, or (gasp!) distribute to shareholders. Healthy margins often separate pretenders from the best stocks in the market. That's why we check up on margins at least once a quarter in this series. I'm looking for the absolute numbers, so I can compare them to current and potential competitors, and any trend that may tell me how strong Altisource Portfolio Solutions's competitive position could be. Here's the current margin snapshot for Altisource Portfolio Solutions over the trailing 12 months: Gross margin is 35.8%, while operating margin is 22.5% and net margin is 19.5%. Unfortunately, a look at the most recent numbers doesn't tell us much about where Altisource Portfolio Solutions has been, or where it's going. A company with rising gross and operating margins often fuels its growth by increasing demand for its products. If it sells more units while keeping costs in check, its profitability increases. Conversely, a company with gross margins that inch downward over time is often losing out to competition, and possibly engaging in a race to the bottom on prices. If it can't make up for this problem by cutting costs -- and most companies can't -- then both the business and its shares face a decidedly bleak outlook. Of course, over the short term, the kind of economic shocks we recently experienced can drastically affect a company's profitability. That's why I like to look at five fiscal years' worth of margins, along with the results for the trailing 12 months, the last fiscal year, and last fiscal quarter (LFQ). You can't always reach a hard conclusion about your company's health, but you can better understand what to expect, and what to watch. Here's the margin picture for Altisource Portfolio Solutions over the past few years. Source: S&P Capital IQ. Dollar amounts in millions. FY = fiscal year. TTM = trailing 12 months.Because of seasonality in some businesses, the numbers for the last period on the right -- the TTM figures -- aren't always comparable to the FY results preceding them. To compare quarterly margins to their prior-year levels, consult this chart. Source: S&P Capital IQ. Dollar amounts in millions. FQ = fiscal quarter.Here's how the stats break down:Over the past five years, gross margin peaked at 37.5% and averaged 34.7%. Operating margin peaked at 22.4% and averaged 18.8%. Net margin peaked at 19.5% and averaged 14.2%.TTM gross margin is 35.8%, 110 basis points better than the five-year average. TTM operating margin is 22.5%, 370 basis points better than the five-year average. TTM net margin is 19.5%, 530 basis points better than the five-year average.With recent TTM operating margins exceeding historical averages, Altisource Portfolio Solutions looks like it is doing fine.Add Altisource Portfolio Solutions to My Watchlist.

There's no foolproof way to know the future for AAON (NAS: AAON) or any other company. However, certain clues may help you see potential stumbles before they happen -- and before your stock craters as a result. A cloudy crystal ball In this series, we use accounts receivable and days sales outstanding to judge a company's current health and future prospects. It's an important step in separating the pretenders from the market's best stocks. Alone, AR -- the amount of money owed the company -- and DSO -- the number of days' worth of sales owed to the company -- don't tell you much. However, by considering the trends in AR and DSO, you can sometimes get a window onto the future. Sometimes, problems with AR or DSO simply indicate a change in the business (like an acquisition), or lax collections. However, AR that grows more quickly than revenue, or ballooning DSO, can, at times, suggest a desperate company that's trying to boost sales by giving its customers overly generous payment terms. Alternately, it can indicate that the company sprinted to book a load of sales at the end of the quarter, like used-car dealers on the 29th of the month. (Sometimes, companies do both.) Why might an upstanding firm like AAON do this? For the same reason any other company might: to make the numbers. Investors don't like revenue shortfalls, and employees don't like reporting them to their superiors. Is AAON sending any potential warning signs? Take a look at the chart below, which plots revenue growth against AR growth, and DSO: Source: S&P Capital IQ. Data is current as of last fully reported fiscal quarter. FQ = fiscal quarter.The standard way to calculate DSO uses average accounts receivable. I prefer to look at end-of-quarter receivables, but I've plotted both above.Watching the trends When that red line (AR growth) crosses above the green line (revenue growth), I know I need to consult the filings. Similarly, a spike in the blue bars indicates a trend worth worrying about. AAON's latest average DSO stands at 55.5 days, and the end-of-quarter figure is 51.9 days. Differences in business models can generate variations in DSO, and business needs can require occasional fluctuations, but all things being equal, I like to see this figure stay steady. So, let's get back to our original question: Based on DSO and sales, does AAON look like it might miss its numbers in the next quarter or two?The numbers don't paint a clear picture. For the last fully reported fiscal quarter, AAON's year-over-year revenue grew 2.9%, and its AR grew 11.7%. That looks OK. End-of-quarter DSO increased 7.3% over the prior-year quarter. It was about the same as the prior quarter. Still, I'm no fortuneteller, and these are just numbers. Investors putting their money on the line always need to dig into the filings for the root causes and draw their own conclusions.Looking for alternatives to AAON? It takes more than great companies to build a fortune for the future. Learn the basic financial habits of millionaires next door and get focused stock ideas in our free report, "3 Stocks That Will Help You Retire Rich." Click here for instant access to this free report.Add AAON to My Watchlist.

There's no foolproof way to know the future for McClatchy (NYS: MNI) or any other company. However, certain clues may help you see potential stumbles before they happen -- and before your stock craters as a result. A cloudy crystal ball In this series, we use accounts receivable and days sales outstanding to judge a company's current health and future prospects. It's an important step in separating the pretenders from the market's best stocks. Alone, AR -- the amount of money owed the company -- and DSO -- the number of days' worth of sales owed to the company -- don't tell you much. However, by considering the trends in AR and DSO, you can sometimes get a window onto the future. Sometimes, problems with AR or DSO simply indicate a change in the business (like an acquisition), or lax collections. However, AR that grows more quickly than revenue, or ballooning DSO, can, at times, suggest a desperate company that's trying to boost sales by giving its customers overly generous payment terms. Alternately, it can indicate that the company sprinted to book a load of sales at the end of the quarter, like used-car dealers on the 29th of the month. (Sometimes, companies do both.) Why might an upstanding firm like McClatchy do this? For the same reason any other company might: to make the numbers. Investors don't like revenue shortfalls, and employees don't like reporting them to their superiors. Is McClatchy sending any potential warning signs? Take a look at the chart below, which plots revenue growth against AR growth, and DSO: Source: S&P Capital IQ. Data is current as of last fully reported fiscal quarter. FQ = fiscal quarter.The standard way to calculate DSO uses average accounts receivable. I prefer to look at end-of-quarter receivables, but I've plotted both above.Watching the trends When that red line (AR growth) crosses above the green line (revenue growth), I know I need to consult the filings. Similarly, a spike in the blue bars indicates a trend worth worrying about. McClatchy's latest average DSO stands at 50.0 days, and the end-of-quarter figure is 41.3 days. Differences in business models can generate variations in DSO, and business needs can require occasional fluctuations, but all things being equal, I like to see this figure stay steady. So, let's get back to our original question: Based on DSO and sales, does McClatchy look like it might miss its numbers in the next quarter or two?I don't think so. AR and DSO look healthy. For the last fully reported fiscal quarter, McClatchy's year-over-year revenue shrank 3.8%, and its AR dropped 1.3%. That looks OK. End-of-quarter DSO increased 2.6% over the prior-year quarter. It was down 15.4% versus the prior quarter. Still, I'm no fortuneteller, and these are just numbers. Investors putting their money on the line always need to dig into the filings for the root causes and draw their own conclusions.Looking for alternatives to McClatchy? It takes more than great companies to build a fortune for the future. Learn the basic financial habits of millionaires next door and get focused stock ideas in our free report, "3 Stocks That Will Help You Retire Rich." Click here for instant access to this free report.Add McClatchy to My Watchlist.

There's no foolproof way to know the future for Park Electrochemical (NYS: PKE) or any other company. However, certain clues may help you see potential stumbles before they happen -- and before your stock craters as a result. A cloudy crystal ball In this series, we use accounts receivable and days sales outstanding to judge a company's current health and future prospects. It's an important step in separating the pretenders from the market's best stocks. Alone, AR -- the amount of money owed the company -- and DSO -- the number of days' worth of sales owed to the company -- don't tell you much. However, by considering the trends in AR and DSO, you can sometimes get a window onto the future. Sometimes, problems with AR or DSO simply indicate a change in the business (like an acquisition), or lax collections. However, AR that grows more quickly than revenue, or ballooning DSO, can, at times, suggest a desperate company that's trying to boost sales by giving its customers overly generous payment terms. Alternately, it can indicate that the company sprinted to book a load of sales at the end of the quarter, like used-car dealers on the 29th of the month. (Sometimes, companies do both.) Why might an upstanding firm like Park Electrochemical do this? For the same reason any other company might: to make the numbers. Investors don't like revenue shortfalls, and employees don't like reporting them to their superiors. Is Park Electrochemical sending any potential warning signs? Take a look at the chart below, which plots revenue growth against AR growth, and DSO: Source: S&P Capital IQ. Data is current as of last fully reported fiscal quarter. FQ = fiscal quarter.The standard way to calculate DSO uses average accounts receivable. I prefer to look at end-of-quarter receivables, but I've plotted both above.Watching the trends When that red line (AR growth) crosses above the green line (revenue growth), I know I need to consult the filings. Similarly, a spike in the blue bars indicates a trend worth worrying about. Park Electrochemical's latest average DSO stands at 58.5 days, and the end-of-quarter figure is 59.4 days. Differences in business models can generate variations in DSO, and business needs can require occasional fluctuations, but all things being equal, I like to see this figure stay steady. So, let's get back to our original question: Based on DSO and sales, does Park Electrochemical look like it might miss its numbers in the next quarter or two?The raw numbers suggest potential trouble ahead. For the last fully reported fiscal quarter, Park Electrochemical's year-over-year revenue shrank 2.3%, and its AR grew 10.0%. That's a yellow flag. End-of-quarter DSO increased 21.2% over the prior-year quarter. It was up 7.5% versus the prior quarter. Still, I'm no fortuneteller, and these are just numbers. Investors putting their money on the line always need to dig into the filings for the root causes and draw their own conclusions.If you're interested in companies like Park Electrochemical, you might want to check out the jaw-dropping technology that's about to put 100 million Chinese factory workers out on the street - and the 3 companies that control it. We'll tell you all about them in "The Future is Made in America." Click here for instant access to this free report.Add Park Electrochemical to My Watchlist.

There's no foolproof way to know the future for Calgon Carbon (NYS: CCC) or any other company. However, certain clues may help you see potential stumbles before they happen -- and before your stock craters as a result. A cloudy crystal ball In this series, we use accounts receivable and days sales outstanding to judge a company's current health and future prospects. It's an important step in separating the pretenders from the market's best stocks. Alone, AR -- the amount of money owed the company -- and DSO -- the number of days' worth of sales owed to the company -- don't tell you much. However, by considering the trends in AR and DSO, you can sometimes get a window onto the future. Sometimes, problems with AR or DSO simply indicate a change in the business (like an acquisition), or lax collections. However, AR that grows more quickly than revenue, or ballooning DSO, can, at times, suggest a desperate company that's trying to boost sales by giving its customers overly generous payment terms. Alternately, it can indicate that the company sprinted to book a load of sales at the end of the quarter, like used-car dealers on the 29th of the month. (Sometimes, companies do both.) Why might an upstanding firm like Calgon Carbon do this? For the same reason any other company might: to make the numbers. Investors don't like revenue shortfalls, and employees don't like reporting them to their superiors. Is Calgon Carbon sending any potential warning signs? Take a look at the chart below, which plots revenue growth against AR growth, and DSO: Source: S&P Capital IQ. Data is current as of last fully reported fiscal quarter. FQ = fiscal quarter.The standard way to calculate DSO uses average accounts receivable. I prefer to look at end-of-quarter receivables, but I've plotted both above.Watching the trends When that red line (AR growth) crosses above the green line (revenue growth), I know I need to consult the filings. Similarly, a spike in the blue bars indicates a trend worth worrying about. Calgon Carbon's latest average DSO stands at 79.5 days, and the end-of-quarter figure is 81.3 days. Differences in business models can generate variations in DSO, and business needs can require occasional fluctuations, but all things being equal, I like to see this figure stay steady. So, let's get back to our original question: Based on DSO and sales, does Calgon Carbon look like it might miss its numbers in the next quarter or two?The raw numbers suggest potential trouble ahead. For the last fully reported fiscal quarter, Calgon Carbon's year-over-year revenue shrank 1.1%, and its AR grew 8.7%. That looks OK. End-of-quarter DSO increased 8.8% over the prior-year quarter. It was up 7.5% versus the prior quarter. Still, I'm no fortuneteller, and these are just numbers. Investors putting their money on the line always need to dig into the filings for the root causes and draw their own conclusions.Looking for alternatives to Calgon Carbon? It takes more than great companies to build a fortune for the future. Learn the basic financial habits of millionaires next door and get focused stock ideas in our free report, "3 Stocks That Will Help You Retire Rich." Click here for instant access to this free report.Add Calgon Carbon to My Watchlist.

There's no foolproof way to know the future for Matrix Service (NAS: MTRX) or any other company. However, certain clues may help you see potential stumbles before they happen -- and before your stock craters as a result. A cloudy crystal ball In this series, we use accounts receivable and days sales outstanding to judge a company's current health and future prospects. It's an important step in separating the pretenders from the market's best stocks. Alone, AR -- the amount of money owed the company -- and DSO -- the number of days' worth of sales owed to the company -- don't tell you much. However, by considering the trends in AR and DSO, you can sometimes get a window onto the future. Sometimes, problems with AR or DSO simply indicate a change in the business (like an acquisition), or lax collections. However, AR that grows more quickly than revenue, or ballooning DSO, can, at times, suggest a desperate company that's trying to boost sales by giving its customers overly generous payment terms. Alternately, it can indicate that the company sprinted to book a load of sales at the end of the quarter, like used-car dealers on the 29th of the month. (Sometimes, companies do both.) Why might an upstanding firm like Matrix Service do this? For the same reason any other company might: to make the numbers. Investors don't like revenue shortfalls, and employees don't like reporting them to their superiors. Is Matrix Service sending any potential warning signs? Take a look at the chart below, which plots revenue growth against AR growth, and DSO: Source: S&P Capital IQ. Data is current as of last fully reported fiscal quarter. FQ = fiscal quarter.The standard way to calculate DSO uses average accounts receivable. I prefer to look at end-of-quarter receivables, but I've plotted both above.Watching the trends When that red line (AR growth) crosses above the green line (revenue growth), I know I need to consult the filings. Similarly, a spike in the blue bars indicates a trend worth worrying about. Matrix Service's latest average DSO stands at 56.7 days, and the end-of-quarter figure is 52.5 days. Differences in business models can generate variations in DSO, and business needs can require occasional fluctuations, but all things being equal, I like to see this figure stay steady. So, let's get back to our original question: Based on DSO and sales, does Matrix Service look like it might miss its numbers in the next quarter or two?I don't think so. AR and DSO look healthy. For the last fully reported fiscal quarter, Matrix Service's year-over-year revenue grew 22.9%, and its AR grew 15.7%. That looks OK. End-of-quarter DSO decreased 6.9% from the prior-year quarter. It was down 17.3% versus the prior quarter. Still, I'm no fortuneteller, and these are just numbers. Investors putting their money on the line always need to dig into the filings for the root causes and draw their own conclusions.Is Matrix Service the right energy stock for you? Read about a handful of timely, profit-producing plays on expensive crude in "3 Stocks for $100 Oil." Click here for instant access to this free report.Add Matrix Service to My Watchlist.

Margins matter. The more National Research (NAS: NRCI.B) keeps of each buck it earns in revenue, the more money it has to invest in growth, fund new strategic plans, or (gasp!) distribute to shareholders. Healthy margins often separate pretenders from the best stocks in the market. That's why we check up on margins at least once a quarter in this series. I'm looking for the absolute numbers, so I can compare them to current and potential competitors, and any trend that may tell me how strong National Research's competitive position could be. Here's the current margin snapshot for National Research over the trailing 12 months: Gross margin is 58.6%, while operating margin is 26.8% and net margin is 17.6%. Unfortunately, a look at the most recent numbers doesn't tell us much about where National Research has been, or where it's going. A company with rising gross and operating margins often fuels its growth by increasing demand for its products. If it sells more units while keeping costs in check, its profitability increases. Conversely, a company with gross margins that inch downward over time is often losing out to competition, and possibly engaging in a race to the bottom on prices. If it can't make up for this problem by cutting costs -- and most companies can't -- then both the business and its shares face a decidedly bleak outlook. Of course, over the short term, the kind of economic shocks we recently experienced can drastically affect a company's profitability. That's why I like to look at five fiscal years' worth of margins, along with the results for the trailing 12 months, the last fiscal year, and last fiscal quarter (LFQ). You can't always reach a hard conclusion about your company's health, but you can better understand what to expect, and what to watch. Here's the margin picture for National Research over the past few years. Source: S&P Capital IQ. Dollar amounts in millions. FY = fiscal year. TTM = trailing 12 months.Because of seasonality in some businesses, the numbers for the last period on the right -- the TTM figures -- aren't always comparable to the FY results preceding them. To compare quarterly margins to their prior-year levels, consult this chart. Source: S&P Capital IQ. Dollar amounts in millions. FQ = fiscal quarter.Here's how the stats break down:Over the past five years, gross margin peaked at 62.2% and averaged 58.8%. Operating margin peaked at 26.3% and averaged 24.2%. Net margin peaked at 17.4% and averaged 15.1%.TTM gross margin is 58.6%, 20 basis points worse than the five-year average. TTM operating margin is 26.8%, 260 basis points better than the five-year average. TTM net margin is 17.6%, 250 basis points better than the five-year average.With recent TTM operating margins exceeding historical averages, National Research looks like it is doing fine.Is National Research the best health care stock for you? Learn how to maximize your investment income and "Secure Your Future With 9 Rock-Solid Dividend Stocks," including one above-average health care logistics company. Click here for instant access to this free report.Add National Research to My Watchlist.

Although business headlines still tout earnings numbers, many investors have moved past net earnings as a measure of a company's economic output. That's because earnings are very often less trustworthy than cash flow, since earnings are more open to manipulation based on dubious judgment calls. Earnings' unreliability is one of the reasons Foolish investors often flip straight past the income statement to check the cash flow statement. In general, by taking a close look at the cash moving in and out of the business, you can better understand whether the last batch of earnings brought money into the company, or merely disguised a cash gusher with a pretty headline. Calling all cash flows When you are trying to buy the market's best stocks, it's worth checking up on your companies' free cash flow once a quarter or so, to see whether it bears any relationship to the net income in the headlines. That's what we do with this series. Today, we're checking in on Ruth's Hospitality Group (NAS: RUTH) , whose recent revenue and earnings are plotted below. Source: S&P Capital IQ. Data is current as of last fully reported fiscal quarter. Dollar values in millions. FCF = free cash flow. FY = fiscal year. TTM = trailing 12 months.Over the past 12 months, Ruth's Hospitality Group generated $35.6 million cash while it booked net income of $17.9 million. That means it turned 8.8% of its revenue into FCF. That sounds OK.All cash is not equal Unfortunately, the cash flow statement isn't immune from nonsense, either. That's why it pays to take a close look at the components of cash flow from operations, to make sure that the cash flows are of high quality. What does that mean? To me, it means they need to be real and replicable in the upcoming quarters, rather than being offset by continual cash outflows that don't appear on the income statement (such as major capital expenditures).For instance, cash flow based on cash net income and adjustments for non-cash income-statement expenses (like depreciation) is generally favorable. An increase in cash flow based on stiffing your suppliers (by increasing accounts payable for the short term) or shortchanging Uncle Sam on taxes will come back to bite investors later. The same goes for decreasing accounts receivable; this is good to see, but it's ordinary in recessionary times, and you can only increase collections so much. Finally, adding stock-based compensation expense back to cash flows is questionable when a company hands out a lot of equity to employees and uses cash in later periods to buy back those shares.So how does the cash flow at Ruth's Hospitality Group look? Take a peek at the chart below, which flags questionable cash flow sources with a red bar. Source: S&P Capital IQ. Data is current as of last fully reported fiscal quarter. Dollar values in millions. TTM = trailing 12 months.When I say "questionable cash flow sources," I mean items such as changes in taxes payable, tax benefits from stock options, and asset sales, among others. That's not to say that companies booking these as sources of cash flow are weak, or are engaging in any sort of wrongdoing, or that everything that comes up questionable in my graph is automatically bad news. But whenever a company is getting more than, say, 10% of its cash from operations from these dubious sources, investors ought to make sure to refer to the filings and dig in.With 22.5% of operating cash flow coming from questionable sources, Ruth's Hospitality Group investors should take a closer look at the underlying numbers. Within the questionable cash flow figure plotted in the TTM period above, other operating activities (which can include deferred income taxes, pension charges, and other one-off items) provided the biggest boost, at 6.6% of cash flow from operations. Overall, the biggest drag on FCF came from capital expenditures, which consumed 24.7% of cash from operations.A Foolish final thought Most investor

Although business headlines still tout earnings numbers, many investors have moved past net earnings as a measure of a company's economic output. That's because earnings are very often less trustworthy than cash flow, since earnings are more open to manipulation based on dubious judgment calls. Earnings' unreliability is one of the reasons Foolish investors often flip straight past the income statement to check the cash flow statement. In general, by taking a close look at the cash moving in and out of the business, you can better understand whether the last batch of earnings brought money into the company, or merely disguised a cash gusher with a pretty headline. Calling all cash flows When you are trying to buy the market's best stocks, it's worth checking up on your companies' free cash flow once a quarter or so, to see whether it bears any relationship to the net income in the headlines. That's what we do with this series. Today, we're checking in on TECO Energy (NYS: TE) , whose recent revenue and earnings are plotted below. Source: S&P Capital IQ. Data is current as of last fully reported fiscal quarter. Dollar values in millions. FCF = free cash flow. FY = fiscal year. TTM = trailing 12 months.Over the past 12 months, TECO Energy generated $203.3 million cash while it booked net income of $203.7 million. That means it turned 6.9% of its revenue into FCF. That sounds OK. However, FCF is less than net income. Ideally, we'd like to see the opposite.All cash is not equal Unfortunately, the cash flow statement isn't immune from nonsense, either. That's why it pays to take a close look at the components of cash flow from operations, to make sure that the cash flows are of high quality. What does that mean? To me, it means they need to be real and replicable in the upcoming quarters, rather than being offset by continual cash outflows that don't appear on the income statement (such as major capital expenditures).For instance, cash flow based on cash net income and adjustments for non-cash income-statement expenses (like depreciation) is generally favorable. An increase in cash flow based on stiffing your suppliers (by increasing accounts payable for the short term) or shortchanging Uncle Sam on taxes will come back to bite investors later. The same goes for decreasing accounts receivable; this is good to see, but it's ordinary in recessionary times, and you can only increase collections so much. Finally, adding stock-based compensation expense back to cash flows is questionable when a company hands out a lot of equity to employees and uses cash in later periods to buy back those shares.So how does the cash flow at TECO Energy look? Take a peek at the chart below, which flags questionable cash flow sources with a red bar. Source: S&P Capital IQ. Data is current as of last fully reported fiscal quarter. Dollar values in millions. TTM = trailing 12 months.When I say "questionable cash flow sources," I mean items such as changes in taxes payable, tax benefits from stock options, and asset sales, among others. That's not to say that companies booking these as sources of cash flow are weak, or are engaging in any sort of wrongdoing, or that everything that comes up questionable in my graph is automatically bad news. But whenever a company is getting more than, say, 10% of its cash from operations from these dubious sources, investors ought to make sure to refer to the filings and dig in.With 28.2% of operating cash flow coming from questionable sources, TECO Energy investors should take a closer look at the underlying numbers. Within the questionable cash flow figure plotted in the TTM period above, other operating activities (which can include deferred income taxes, pension charges, and other one-off items) provided the biggest boost, at 21.4% of cash flow from operations. Overall, the biggest drag on FCF came from capital expenditures, which consumed 70.6% of cash from operations.A Foolish