When
you hear a word called “profit”, the image that comes to your mind is monetary
benefits. But according to economists, profit is way more than monetary
benefits.
It
is not just cost/expenses reduced from the revenues but there are multiple
terms for the profits. Some of the types of profits are accounting profit and
economic profits.
While most people think these terms are the same and relate these terms to the profits of organizations, they are missing the point that these two terms are entirely different from each other.
Accounting vs Economic Profit
The main difference between accounting and economic Profit is that accounting profit refers to monetary revenue minus monetary costs which includes any type of cost in the organization in the form of rents, salaries, material costs etc. Economic profit refers to the monetary revenue minus total cost. Total cost includes opportunity cost as well as implicit cost consists of salaries, rents etc.
Accounting profit consists of only implicit costs whereas economic profit consists of both explicit and implicit costs.
Comparison Table Between Accounting and Economic Profit (in Tabular Form)
| Parameter of Comparison | Accounting Profit | Economic Profit |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Accounting profit refers to the economic profits earned by the company at the end of the financial year | Economic profits are the profit earned by the company after reducing both the explicit as well as implicit cost from the revenue earned by the organization. |
| Importance | Accounting profits of the company signifies the profitability of the company. | Economic profit signifies how efficiently the company is allocating its resources for earning revenue. |
| Relevance | Accounting profit is relevant for understanding the financial performance of the firm | Economic profits may not provide the correct picture of the financial performance of the firm as it also includes some other aspects like opportunity costs. |
| Numerical calculation | Accounting profits = Revenue – Explicit costs | Economic profits = Revenue – (Explicit + Implicit costs) |
What is Accounting Profit?
Accounting
profit is the net income earned by the company after reducing both the explicit
cost and other expenses from the net revenue earned by the company by selling
the core product or service of the company.
Accounting
profit is calculated in compliance with the GAAP accounting standards.
Explicit costs are the costs that can be measured easily. It includes rent, labor charges, administrative costs, bills, etc. Accounting profits are also referred to as book profits.
Accounting
profit = Total revenue – Explicit costs
Let’s
understand accounting profit with a simple example.
There
is a firm named ABC which is into the business of selling t-shirts. If the
annual turnover of the firm is Rs 1000000. Some of the expenses of the firm are
the raw material cost of Rs 700000 and salaries of Rs 50000.
Then
accounting profit of ABC is 1000000 – (700000+50000)
Accounting
profit = Rs 250000
Some of the advantages of accounting
profit are
- It is useful in taking some of the important business decisions like investments etc.
- Investors are interested in investing in those businesses which have high accounting profits.
It also shows the financial performance of the company in a financial
year.
What is Economic Profit?
Economic
profits are defined as the net profits earned by the firm after reducing both
explicit and implicit costs like opportunity costs from the total revenue
earned by the company.
Numerically, economic profits can be calculated using the below-mentioned formula.
Economic
profit =Total revenue – (Explicit cost + Implicit cost)
Let’s
try to understand economic profits with the help of an example.
Let’s say, there is a manufacturing firm named ABC who are facing losses from the last few years.
The manager of this company suggested its top management that the can survive in the market by ether reducing the cost of manufacturing or by the addition of new products to its product line.
Top
management of the firm decided to reduce the cost of manufacturing. Then, in
this case, the revenue which the firm could not earn as they have not launched
new products is known as opportunity costs.
But
all in all both accounting profits and economic profits are great ways of
ensuring both shareholders and investors that your company is performing well
in the market.
References
- https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1037&context=econ_pub
- https://www.bostonfed.org/-/media/Documents/neer/neer498c.pdf