Cash is the one asset whose carrying value is not an estimate, which is why it anchors net-debt and most solvency tests. But not all of it is available: cash held in foreign subsidiaries may face tax on repatriation, and some is operationally required just to run the payroll cycle.
Watch the trend alongside operating-cash-flow. Cash that rises because the company drew on a revolver is a very different signal from cash that rises because customers paid.
Example: Northwind Tools reports $210M of cash and equivalents, of which $64M sits in its European subsidiary and roughly $40M is working balance the treasurer will not let fall below.
Related: marketable-securities, net-debt, operating-cash-flow, current-assets, cash-ratio