Final answer:
The primary difference between single-step and multiple-step income statements lies in their presentation format, where a single-step income statement provides a simplified view and a multiple-step offers a detailed breakdown of financial activities.
Step-by-step explanation:
The difference between single-step and multiple-step income statements is primarily an issue of A. Presentation.
A single-step income statement is a simplified version that consolidates all revenue and gains into one section and all expenses and losses into another, resulting in a single step to find the net income or loss. On the other hand, a multiple-step income statement provides a more detailed breakdown of revenues, costs of goods sold, operating expenses, and other gains or losses, which leads to several steps to find the net income.
The multiple-step income statement discriminates between operational and non-operational items, which helps in assessing the core operating performance of a business separately from its investment and financing activities. Meanwhile, a single-step income statement is straightforward but less informative compared to its multiple-step counterpart.
ingle-step and multiple-step income statements are two different formats used in financial reporting to present a company's financial performance. The main difference between these two formats is the number of steps involved in calculating net income.
In a single-step income statement, all revenues and gains are grouped together, and all expenses and losses are grouped together, resulting in a single calculation of net income.