These two categories suggest an important distinction in measurement emphasis between flows and stocks. Flows are productive services that must be measured over some period of time, whereas stocks are resources that are measured at a particular point in time. The matching concept emphasizes flows. This emphasis previously resulted in the direct measurement of flows and reporting stocks as residuals of the matching process. Alternatively, defining earnings as the change in the net assets from nonowner transactions implies that stocks should be measured directly, making flows the residuals. Recent pronouncements of the FASB are consistent with the latter measurement approach, indicating a shift in emphasis from an income statement to an asset-liability, or balance sheet approach to the measurement of net income.