Exceptional Item
Charges incurred that must be noted on a company's balance sheet, in accordance with GAAP principles. Even though they are considered to be part of ordinary business charges, exceptional items must be disclosed due to their sheer size or frequency.
Investopedia Commentary
Don't confuse exceptional items with extraordinary items: the latter are not part of a company's ordinary business dealings. Exceptional items, on the other hand, are material and need to be documented in order to provide investors and regulators with accurate and informative financial statements.
Related Links
Reading The Balance Sheet
Introduction to Fundamental Analysis
Advanced Financial Statement Analysis
Off-Balance-Sheet Entities: The Good, The Bad And The Ugly
See also: Balance Sheet, Extraordinary Items, GAAP, Income Statement, Write Down
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