The Role of the Statement of Comprehensive Income in Financial Reporting: A Comparative Analysis in the Banking Sector

Abstract

Within the framework of financial reporting, the statement of comprehensive income is a financial statement that enables the reporting of valuation-based items recognized outside profit or loss together with the profit of the period. However, in practice, financial performance is often assessed through a net profit–focused approach based on the income statement, which causes the content and position of the statement of comprehensive income within the financial statements to remain relatively overshadowed by this approach. This study examines the accounting nature of the statement of comprehensive income and its role in the financial reporting process, both conceptually within the framework of accounting standards and in the context of banking sector practices. In this regard, independently audited financial reports of the five largest banks for the period 2019–2024 are used, and the relationship between asset items generating comprehensive income and the corresponding valuation differences reported under equity is analyzed through a descriptive and comparative approach. The findings suggest that asset items generating comprehensive income and the related valuation components reported under equity tend to exhibit similar directional movements across periods, while this relationship varies across banks.