In a series of posts in this blog I've discussed the basics of accounting, going through the varous items on the balance sheet. Today I will complete the overview by looking much more concisely at the other critical document, the income statement. -------------------------------------------- The income statement, also known as the profit-and-loss statement, represents a period of time, rather than the moment-in-time of the balance sheet. If all is working properly, the income statement should give investors an idea of the underlying processes that have made the present condition of the company what it is. One is pasted below. We won’t spend a lot of time on the income statement, simply because much of what we might say about it we’ve already said. The issues that arise in compiling an income statement look familiar to anyone who understands the latest balance sheet. For example, the expenses part of an income statement should indicate the costs of goods sold (COG...