What does nonfinancial mean?
Nonfinancial means not relating to money, finance, or financial matters. The adjective is used for a broad range of subjects that fall outside financial analysis, including customer satisfaction, employee relations, regulatory exposure, environmental impact, and organizational reputation. Its broad scope distinguishes it from terms such as monetary, which focus specifically on money and payment. In accounting and corporate finance, nonfinancial assets include valuable resources such as property, equipment, patents, and customer relationships that are not simply holdings of cash or marketable securities. As a noun, nonfinancial refers to such an asset or item, though this usage is relatively uncommon compared with the adjective. The term is formal and particularly associated with business, investment, and economic reporting. It is useful because it identifies dimensions of value or risk that financial statements may not adequately represent, while remaining more general than a narrowly monetary classification.
Not relating to money, finance, or financial matters.
"The board considered both financial results and nonfinancial indicators of the company's health."
Formal and especially common in business, economics, accounting, and investment contexts.
An asset, activity, or other item that is not financial or monetary in nature.
"Brand reputation and intellectual property were important nonfinancials in the valuation."
This noun is comparatively uncommon and chiefly occurs in business and financial contexts.
Chiefly used in business and finance for assets or items that are not financial or monetary in nature.
"The buyer paid separate amounts for the company's financial assets and its nonfinancials."
A business can be financially successful and still fail in every nonfinancial measure.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does nonfinancial come from?
Nonfinancial is a modern English formation combining the prefix non- with financial. Financial comes from finance, which entered English through French and ultimately derives from Latin fortuna, meaning chance, fortune, or wealth. The prefix non- follows the common English pattern of forming an opposite or exclusionary term from an adjective.
Related word forms
How nonfinancial is actually used
The adjective is formal and especially common in business, economics, accounting, and investment contexts. It may describe information, performance, assets, risks, or activities that are not primarily financial. The noun is less common and is chiefly used in business and finance.
Easily confused with nonfinancial
Monetary specifically concerns money, currency, and payment, whereas nonfinancial is broader and covers matters outside the financial sphere generally.