Non-Core Item

A non-core item is an engagement considered to be outside of business activities or operations that are the main revenue source of the business. Non-core items are considered to be from peripheral or incidental activities, while core items are considered central to operations. Often, businesses will outsource non-core items to firms that specialize in these activities. This is especially true for smaller firms.

In accounting, non-core items can also relate to interest, taxes and other expenses.

Non-core items are prevalent in most businesses. These are the activities that make the business run, even though they are not directly related to producing the service or product which the business sells to generate its revenue. Some examples of non-core items are human resources, data processing, supply-chain management and logistics. Many firms that specialize in these areas and businesses who wish to offload these tasks to free up manpower to focus on other things can outsource these tasks.

Even if non-core items are considered separate from revenue producing business operations, they may still represent a substantial part of a business' health and often represent a significant portion of the business' expenses. If non-core items are not reported with the same level of transparency, then stakeholders are not being given the entire picture.