Comprehensive income is defined by the U.S. Financial Accounting Standards Board, or FASB, as “the change in equity of a business enterprise during a period from transactions and other events and circumstances from nonowner sources. It includes all changes in equity during a period except those resulting from investments by owners and distributions to owners.”
Comprehensive income is the sum of net income and other items that must bypass the income statement because they have not been realized, including items like an unrealized holding gain or loss from available for sale securities and foreign currency translation gains or losses. These items are not part of net income, yet are important enough to be included in comprehensive income, giving the user a bigger, more comprehensive picture of the organization as a whole.
Items included in comprehensive income, but not net income are reported under the accumulated other comprehensive income section of shareholder's equity.
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