What is the difference between the cash flow and income statement?
submitted by Art Weingartner

Jenkins

The income statement is your report card for how much money the company made or lost. That would include things like sales and expenses. Some of those transactions might not involve actual cash.

The cash flow statement, on the other hand, is like a bank statement that shows only the money that actually came in or went out, so it's all about cash, not accounting profits.

Evan Sutherland

The income statement tells you if the business made a profit or loss, and it includes things like depreciation or credit sales that don't affect the actual cash. The cash flow statement just shows the real cash coming in and going out, so it's more about the liquid money you have on hand.

Mtn Man

The income statement shows a company's revenues and expenses over a specific period. It gives you the net income or loss .

The cash flow statement tracks actual cash inflows and outflows during that same period. So, while net income can include non-cash things like depreciation, cash flow statements focus solely on real cash movements.