Comparative income statement definition

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What is a Comparative Income Statement?

A comparative income statement presents the results of multiple accounting periods in separate columns. The intent of this format is to allow the reader to compare the results of multiple historical periods, thereby giving a view of how a business is performing over time. A sample of this type of format appears in the following exhibit.

Presentation Formats

The most common presentation format for a comparative income statement is to show the results of the most recent accounting period in the column immediately adjacent to the row titles, while the results of earlier periods are shown progressively further to the right. An example of this format for a multi-month presentation is March | February | January.

An alternative presentation format is the reverse, where the results of the most recent period are listed furthest to the right. However, this is a less usable format, since if many columns are used, the reader cannot easily associate the line descriptions on the far left side of the presentation with the most recent financial results listed on the far right side. An example of this format for a multi-month presentation is January | February | March.

Related AccountingTools Courses

The Income Statement

The Interpretation of Financial Statements

Advantages of a Comparative Income Statement

Spikes and dips in revenues and expenses are immediately obvious when this format is used, and can then be investigated by management. In particular, one could use the report to discern patterns in sales from month to month that might be used to forecast future sales.

Disadvantages of a Comparative Income Statement

The results of this comparison may not be useful if an account has been shifted into a different line item at some point during the reporting period. Such a change would cause a downward spike in one line item and an upward spike in another line item. Consequently, such changes in reporting should be as infrequent as possible, or all clustered at the beginning of a fiscal year.