Interest Income / Expense
Net interest for the period as a SIGNED line: interest earned on cash/deposits (positive) net of interest paid on loans, venture debt, or other financing (negative). For cash-rich post-raise companies this is often net positive income. — Finance KPI, I'mBoard-authored (editorial tier).
I'mBoard-authored (editorial tier)
No public third-party standard anchors this KPI yet, so I'mBoard authors and maintains the definition — transparently labeled as editorial tier. See the ontology methodology for the published vs editorial tier system and the back-attribution workstream.
Rogue ID: finance.interest_income_expense
Type: Currency
Domain: Finance
Definition
Net interest for the period as a SIGNED line: interest earned on cash/deposits (positive) net of interest paid on loans, venture debt, or other financing (negative). For cash-rich post-raise companies this is often net positive income.
Formula
Signed net interest: interest income − interest expense for the period (positive = net income).Why it matters
Surfaces financing effects below the operating line; meaningful for companies with venture debt or large cash balances.
How to interpret
Enter signed: net interest income positive, net interest expense negative. Material venture-debt interest should be footnoted.
Calculation policy
How an AI agent should compute this KPI from messy company data. Free-text rules consumed at reasoning time — not a deterministic DSL. The most common ways to get this wrong are listed under Common miscomputations.
Inclusion rules
- SIGNED net interest for the period: interest earned on cash, deposits, and money-market balances (positive) net of interest paid on loans, venture debt, or other financing (negative).
Exclusion rules
- Debt principal movements — those are financing cash flows, not P&L interest.
- FX revaluation on those balances (finance.fx_gain_loss).
- Operating revenue.
Required inputs
- Treasury interest-income statements and debt schedules with interest expense.
Edge cases
- Cash-rich post-raise companies are often net-positive here.
- Material venture-debt interest should be footnoted.
Validation checks
- Enter signed: net interest income positive, net interest expense negative.
- Sits below the operating line on the path to net income.
Common miscomputations
- Sign errors flipping income and expense.
- Netting debt principal repayment into interest, or classifying interest income as operating inflow.
Related KPIs
finance.net_incomefinance.total_cash_in_bank
Source
I'mBoard editorial — authored and maintained by I'mBoard, first published 2026-04-01. No third-party standard is cited for this KPI; when one emerges, the definition is back-attributed and promoted to the published tier (a minor version bump). Read the ontology methodology for the published vs editorial tier system, attribution rules, and dispute process.
Stage relevance
| Company stage | Priority |
|---|---|
| Series A | Recommended |
| Series B | Recommended |
| Series C+ | Recommended |
| Public | Recommended |
Suggested for stages: Series A, Series B, Series C+, Public.
Default owning functions
- Finance
Machine-readable
- This KPI as JSON:
/api/ontology/finance/interest_income_expense.json - All Finance KPIs:
/api/ontology/finance.json - Full catalog:
/api/ontology/index.json
Insurance / Compliance
Cost of D&O and cyber insurance, SOC 2, and regulatory compliance for the period. Rises with company size, customer requirements, and financing stage. — Finance KPI, I'mBoard-authored (editorial tier).
Legal, Accounting & Professional Services
Cost of legal, accounting, audit, tax, fractional CFO, and outside consultants for the period. Often spikes around financings, audits, and major contracts. — Finance KPI, I'mBoard-authored (editorial tier).