acquisitions (primarily BEA), net repayments of our short-term commercial paper notes, and repurchases of our common stock. The decrease in cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities at May 31, 2007 in comparison to May 31, 2006 is a result of cash used to pay for acquisitions and stock repurchases during fiscal 2007, partially offset by an increase in our operating cash flows from higher net income, increases in our short-term and long-term borrowings and proceeds from stock option exercises.

 

Days sales outstanding, which is calculated by dividing period end accounts receivable by average daily sales for the quarter, was 63 days at May 31, 2008 compared with 62 days at May 31, 2007. The days sales outstanding calculation excludes the adjustment to reduce software license updates and product support revenues related to adjusting the carrying value for deferred support revenues acquired to fair value. Our increase in days sales outstanding is primarily due to differences in the timing of completion of certain sales transactions between years and a slight decline in timeliness of collections in certain countries.



Cash flows from operating activities:   Our largest source of operating cash flows is cash collections from our customers following the purchase and renewal of their software license updates and product support agreements.



Payments from customers for software license updates and product support agreements are generally received near the beginning of the contract term, which is generally one year in length. We also generate significant cash from new software license sales and, to a lesser extent, services. Our primary uses of cash from operating activities are for personnel related expenditures as well as payments related to taxes and leased facilities.

 

Fiscal 2008 Compared to Fiscal 2007:   Net cash provided by operating activities increased in fiscal 2008 primarily due to higher net income, partially offset by increased accounts receivable due to fourth quarter fiscal 2008 revenue growth.

 

Fiscal 2007 Compared to Fiscal 2006:   Cash flows provided by operating activities increased in fiscal 2007 primarily due to higher net income, partially offset by increased accounts receivable due to fourth quarter fiscal 2007 revenue growth, cash payments to terminate leases associated with excess facilities assumed in the Siebel acquisition, and the settlement of a pre-acquisition lawsuit filed against PeopleSoft.

 

Cash flows from investing activities:   The changes in cash flows from investing activities primarily relate to acquisitions and the timing of purchases, maturities and sales of our investments in marketable securities. We also use cash to invest in capital and other assets to support our growth.

 

Fiscal 2008 Compared to Fiscal 2007:   Net cash used for investing activities increased in fiscal 2008 due to an increase in cash used for acquisitions (primarily BEA), net of cash acquired and an increase in cash used to purchase marketable securities (net of proceeds received from maturities).

 

Fiscal 2007 Compared to Fiscal 2006:   Net cash used for investing activities increased in fiscal 2007 due to an