Line items

Every finance metric is a formula over these line items. Each one is defined once and mapped to the accounts of every chart of accounts, so the same formula works whichever chart a company uses.

Balance sheet

Line item	Description
Cash and cash equivalents	Cash on hand and in bank accounts, plus deposits that can be withdrawn at short notice without loss of value.
Current assets	Assets expected to turn into cash within a year: cash, short-term investments, receivables, inventory, prepayments.
Current liabilities	Obligations due within a year: trade payables, short-term borrowings, tax and payroll liabilities, accruals.
Equity	Owners’ stake: share capital, reserves and retained earnings, including the current year’s result.
Financial debt	Interest-bearing borrowings, short- and long-term: bank loans, overdrafts, bonds, lease liabilities.
Inventory	Raw materials, work in progress, finished goods and goods for resale, at cost.
Non-current assets	Assets held for more than a year: intangible, tangible and long-term financial assets, net of accumulated depreciation.
Non-current liabilities	Obligations due after more than a year, mainly long-term borrowings and provisions.
Short-term investments	Marketable securities and deposits held for less than a year that are not cash equivalents.
Total assets	Everything the company owns or controls: non-current plus current assets.
Total liabilities	Everything the company owes to others: current plus non-current liabilities.
Trade payables	Amounts owed to suppliers for goods and services already received.
Trade receivables	Amounts customers owe for goods and services already invoiced.

Income statement

Line item	Description
Cost of sales	Direct cost of the goods and services sold in the period.
Income tax	Tax on the period’s profit, current and deferred.
Interest expense	Interest charged on financial debt for the period.
Net profit	The period’s result after all income, expenses and taxes.
Operating expenses	Costs of running the business that are not part of the cost of sales: personnel, premises, marketing, administration, depreciation.
Other income and expenses, net	Income and expenses outside the main operations, net: interest and investment income, currency gains and losses, gains and losses on disposals.
Revenue	Net sales of goods and services for the period, after discounts and allowances.