1. 1
   Introduction to financial statements
2. 2
   Income statement
3. 3
   Statement of changes in owner's equity
4. 4
   Balance sheet
5. 5
   Statement of cash flows

Income statement
or Profit and loss statement

Here is a sample income statement of a service type sole proprietorship business. We've named the company Carter Printing Services. All amounts are assumed and simplified for illustration purposes.

Income Statement Example

Explanation and Pointers

1. An income statement shows the net income or net loss of a business. This is achieved by deducting all expenses from all income.
2. A typical income statement starts with a heading which consists of three lines. The first line presents the name of the company; the second describes the title of the report; and the third states the period covered in the report.
3. Notice that the third line is worded "For the Year Ended..." This means that the income statement presents information for a specific span of time. In the above example, the period covers 1 year that ends on December 31, 2021. Hence, the amounts presented in the report are income and expenses from January 1, 2021 to December 31, 2021.
4. Income accounts are presented before expenses. In the above statement, the income account is Service Revenue. Other income accounts for service type businesses include Professional Fees, Rent Income, Tuition Fees, etc.
5. Expenses are presented after the income accounts. It is a good practice to arrange expenses according to amount (largest to smallest). Some users who are interested in the company's expenses are concerned about the size of each expense. Arranging the expenses from largest to smallest results in a more useful and organized report. Nonetheless, Miscellaneous Expense or Sundry Expense is presented last.
6. If income exceeds expenses, there is a net income. If expenses exceed income, there is a net loss. Notice how computations are presented. A single line is drawn every time an amount is computed. The resulting amount is double-ruled when it is no longer followed by any operation. For example, $57,100 (the net income).
7. The income statement complies with the accrual basis of accounting. Income is recognized when earned regardless of when collected. Expenses are recognized when incurred regardless of when paid. This means that the income and expenses presented in the income statement have already been earned and incurred. Nonetheless, it does not mean that they have all been collected or paid.
8. International accounting standards suggest that companies should present other comprehensive income in their financial statements. A Statement of Comprehensive Income shows the contents of an income statement followed by a list of "other comprehensive income".
9. Other comprehensive income includes gains and losses that cannot be reported as profit and loss, such as unrealized gains and losses, and revaluation surplus. This is taken up in higher financial accounting studies.
10. When the company does not have other comprehensive income, the contents of the income statement and the statement of comprehensive income are the same. In any case, international accounting standards favor the use of the title "Statement of Comprehensive Income".

Statement of Comprehensive Income

International reporting standards now required a Statement of Comprehensive Income rather than just an Income Statement.

The Income Statement may be presented in a separate report and another report for Statement of Comprehensive Income can be prepared to show the additional other comprehensive income.

Alternatively, the computation of income statement and other comprehensive income can all be presented in only one report.