The amount of increase or decrease in accounts payable during a specific period. Accounts payable are amounts owed by a company to its suppliers or vendors for goods or services purchased on credit. An increase in accounts payable means that more goods or services have been purchased on credit than have been paid for, implying a cash inflow. A decrease in accounts payable means that less goods or services have been purchased on credit than have been paid for, implying a cash outflow. The increase or decrease in accounts payable is added to or subtracted from net income to calculate cash flow from operations on the cash flow statementю