Nonfinancial

Nonfinancial is an adjective used to describe things that are not related to money, finance, or monetary value. In economics and business, the term helps distinguish activities, data, or assets that do not revolve around financial measurements from those that do.

The term is used in several contexts. In macroeconomics, it can denote the nonfinancial sector, comprising all activities outside financial institutions. In asset classification, nonfinancial assets include tangible assets such as equipment and real estate as well as intangible assets like intellectual property, which are not financial instruments.

In management and reporting, nonfinancial indicators measure operational performance and social or environmental outcomes. Examples include production throughput, product quality, employee safety, customer satisfaction, energy use, and emissions. These indicators are often tracked alongside financial metrics to provide a fuller picture of performance.

Nonfinancial information is central to sustainability and corporate governance reporting. Frameworks and standards guide the disclosure of environmental, social, and governance aspects, along with risk factors that are not purely monetary. Integrated reporting aims to connect nonfinancial and financial data to explain value creation over time.

Nonfinancial risk refers to hazards that do not have a direct monetary value or are not captured by traditional financial metrics, such as supply chain disruption, reputational damage, regulatory noncompliance, technology failures, and climate-related risks.