An approach to selecting statements for inlining in a COBOL program involving creating a PERFORM Graph (PG), determining whether the PG is a Directed Acyclic Graph (DAG), responsive to determining the PG is not a DAG, identifying a maximum sub-graph DAG corresponding to the PG, computing one or more infeasible paths associated with a Control Flow Graph (CFG), wherein the infeasible paths are induced by PERFORM range calls associated with a plurality of edges corresponding to the PG or the maximum sub-graph DAG, ordering the plurality of edges corresponding to the PG or the maximum sub-graph DAG in a list, selecting one or more edges, based on traversing the list of the plurality of edges and generating an indicator of the one or more selected edges.