{"id":4414,"date":"2026-04-15T11:52:18","date_gmt":"2026-04-15T11:52:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.brasser-accounting.de\/?post_type=glossar&#038;p=4414"},"modified":"2026-05-12T10:12:55","modified_gmt":"2026-05-12T10:12:55","slug":"profit-and-loss-account","status":"publish","type":"glossar","link":"https:\/\/www.brasser-accounting.de\/en\/glossar\/erfolgsrechnung-guv\/","title":{"rendered":"Profit and Loss Account (P&amp;L)"},"content":{"rendered":"<nav class=\"toc\" aria-label=\"Table of Contents\">\n<h2>Table of Contents<\/h2>\n<ul>\n        <li><a href=\"#einleitung\">Brief definition<\/a><\/li>\n        <li><a href=\"#grundlagen\">Basics<\/a><\/li>\n        <li><a href=\"#recht\">Legal framework<\/a><\/li>\n        <li><a href=\"#einordnung\">Classification<\/a><\/li>\n        <li><a href=\"#tools\">Components<\/a><\/li>\n        <li><a href=\"#schritte\">Procedure<\/a><\/li>\n        <li><a href=\"#praxis\">Practice<\/a><\/li>\n        <li><a href=\"#fehler\">Sources of error<\/a><\/li>\n        <li><a href=\"#faq\">FAQ<\/a><\/li>\n        <li><a href=\"#fazit\">Conclusion<\/a><\/li>\n      <\/ul>\n<\/nav>\n\n<section id=\"einleitung\">\n        <div class=\"snippet info\">\n          <p><strong>Profit and Loss Account<\/strong>, also <strong>Profit and Loss Statement<\/strong>, sets out the income and expenses of a financial year and determines the profit or loss for the period. It is part of the <a href=\"\/en\/glossary\/jahresabschluss-vorbereiten\/\">Annual financial statement<\/a> and builds on the ongoing <a href=\"\/en\/glossary\/financial-accounting\/\">Financial accounting<\/a> On.<\/p>\n        <\/div>\n      <\/section>\n\n      <section id=\"grundlagen\">\n        <h2>Basics<\/h2>\n        <p>In the profit and loss statement, all business transactions affecting profit for a financial year are summarised. The basis for this is the <a href=\"\/en\/glossary\/double-entry-bookkeeping\/\">double-entry bookkeeping<\/a> recognised expenses and income.<\/p>\n        <p>The result may show a profit or loss.<\/p>\n      <\/section>\n\n      <section id=\"recht\">\n        <h2>Legal framework<\/h2>\n        <p>For accounting companies, the profit and loss statement is legally required and part of the annual financial statements.<\/p>\n      <\/section>\n\n      <section id=\"einordnung\">\n        <h2>Systematic classification<\/h2>\n        <p>The profit and loss account is closely related to:<\/p>\n        <ul>\n          <li><a href=\"\/en\/glossary\/financial-accounting\/\">Financial accounting<\/a><\/li>\n          <li><a href=\"\/en\/glossary\/bilanzierung\/\">Accounting<\/a><\/li>\n          <li><a href=\"\/en\/glossary\/jahresabschluss-vorbereiten\/\">Annual financial statements<\/a><\/li>\n        <\/ul>\n        <p>While the balance sheet shows the asset and capital structure, the profit and loss account shows the earnings situation of a financial year.<\/p>\n      <\/section>\n\n      <section id=\"tools\">\n        <h2>Core components<\/h2>\n        <ul>\n          <li>Yields<\/li>\n          <li>Expenses<\/li>\n          <li>Period result<\/li>\n        <\/ul>\n      <\/section>\n\n      <section id=\"schritte\">\n        <h2>Typical procedure<\/h2>\n        <ol>\n          <li>Recording of all performance-relevant bookings<\/li>\n          <li>Closing of income and expense accounts<\/li>\n          <li>Determination of the annual result<\/li>\n        <\/ol>\n      <\/section>\n\n      <section id=\"praxis\">\n        <h2>Practical relevance<\/h2>\n        <p>Proper and complete bookkeeping is a prerequisite for an accurate profit and loss account. Errors in accounting or incomplete recording of expenses and revenues have a direct impact on the reported profit.<\/p>\n      <\/section>\n\n      <section id=\"fehler\">\n        <h2>Typical sources of error<\/h2>\n        <div class=\"snippet warn\">\n          <ul>\n            <li>Incomplete capture of revenues<\/li>\n            <li>Incorrect allocation of expenses<\/li>\n            <li>Unreconciled accounts before closing<\/li>\n          <\/ul>\n        <\/div>\n      <\/section>\n\n      <section id=\"faq\">\n        <h2>FAQ<\/h2>\n        <div class=\"snippet info\">\n        <h3>Is the income statement the same as the profit and loss account?<\/h3>\n        <p>Yes, the terms are used interchangeably.<\/p>\n      <\/div>\n\n        <div class=\"snippet info\">\n        <h3>Is it mandatory for every company?<\/h3>\n        <p>It is compulsory for companies that are obliged to keep accounts.<\/p>\n      <\/div>\n\n        <div class=\"snippet info\">\n        <h3>What does it show?<\/h3>\n        <p>It shows whether a profit or loss was made in the financial year.<\/p>\n      <\/div>\n      <\/section>\n\n      <section id=\"fazit\">\n        <h2>Conclusion<\/h2>\n        <p>The profit and loss account (GuV) is a central component of the annual financial statements and reflects a company's profitability. It is based on proper financial accounting and double-entry bookkeeping.<\/p>\n      <\/section>\n\n      <footer class=\"author\">\n        <strong>Author<\/strong>\n        <span>the BAS editorial team<\/span>\n        <span class=\"note\">Services pursuant to \u00a7 6 No. 3 and 4 StBerG, no tax or legal advice.<\/span>\n      <\/footer>\n\n      <p class=\"disclaimer\">\n        Brasser Accounting Solutions GmbH is a specialised accounting service provider and part of a corporate group with Quint GmbH (tax consultancy\/auditing) and Service Place \u00c5rj\u00e4ng AB (Swedish tax office). BAS exclusively performs services according to \u00a7 6 No. 3 and 4 StBerG and does not provide tax or legal advice.\n      <\/p>","protected":false},"template":"","glossar-kategorien":[20],"class_list":["post-4414","glossar","type-glossar","status-publish","hentry","glossar-kategorien-finanzbuchhaltung"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.brasser-accounting.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/glossar\/4414","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.brasser-accounting.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/glossar"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.brasser-accounting.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/glossar"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.brasser-accounting.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4414"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"glossar-kategorien","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.brasser-accounting.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/glossar-kategorien?post=4414"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}