What are Income Statements?

This eBook you will give you a thorough understanding of the income statement, a powerful decision-making tool that every manager should be familiar with.

You will learn:

• How an income statement is prepared and what it can tell you
• The importance of transaction timing and how it influences the income statement totals
• How to use accounting standards to help you define operating and non-operating expenses
• How to use income statements to measure financial performance against expectations
• How to compare income statements for different sized organizations

1. Purpose of the Income Statement
2. Income Statement Formats
   1. The Single-Step Format
   2. Multiple-Step Income Statement
   3. Importance of Transaction Timing
   4. Other Operating Expenses
   5. Other Generic Terms
3. Using Income Statements Effectively
   1. Income Statements in Comparative Formats
   2. Performing a Common-Size Analysis
4. Comparison with Cash Flow Statements
5. Summary
6. References