This page is a
list of accounting topics.
Accounting ethicsAccounting ethics is primarily a field of applied ethics, the study of moral values and judgments as they apply to accountancy. It is an example of professional ethics. Accounting ethics were first introduced by Luca Pacioli, and later expanded by government groups, professional organizations, and...
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Accounting information systemAn accounting information system is the system of records a business keeps to maintain its accounting system. This includes the purchase, sales, and other financial processes of the business...
- Accounting methods
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Accounting periodAn accounting period is a period with reference to which United Kingdom corporation tax is charged. It helps dictate when tax is paid on income and gains...
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Accounting reformAccounting reform is an expansion of accounting rules that goes beyond the realm of financial measures for both individual economic entities and national economies...
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Accounting scandalsAccounting scandals, or corporate accounting scandals, are political and business scandals which arise with the disclosure of misdeeds by trusted executives of large public corporations...
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Accounting softwareAccounting software is application software that records and processes accounting transactions within functional modules such as accounts payable, accounts receivable, payroll, and trial balance. It functions as an accounting information system...
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Accounts payableAccounts payable is a file or account that contains money that a person or company owes to suppliers, but has not paid yet . When you receive an invoice you add it to the file, and then you remove it when you pay...
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Accounts receivableAccounts receivable is one of a series of accounting transactions dealing with the billing of customers who owe money to a person, company or organization for goods and services that have been provided to the customer...
- Accrual basis accounting
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American Institute of Certified Public AccountantsThe American Institute of Certified Public Accountants is the national, professional association of CPAs in the United States, with more than 330,000 members, including CPAs in business and industry, public practice, government, and education; student affiliates; and international associates. It...
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AmortizationIn business, amortization is the distribution of a single lump-sum cash flow into many smaller cash flow installments, as determined by an amortization schedule. Unlike other repayment models, each repayment installment consists of both principal and interest. Amortization is chiefly used in loan...
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Annual reportAn Annual report is a comprehensive report on a company's activities throughout the preceding year. Annual reports are intended to give shareholders and other interested persons information about the company's activities and financial performance...
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AnnuityAnnuity may refer to:* Annuity any recurring periodic series of payments* Life annuity: a financial contract providing payments for a person's lifetime* Annuity...
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AssetIn business and accounting, assets are economic resources owned by business or company. Anything tangible or intangible that one possesses, usually considered as applicable to the payment of one's debts is considered an asset. Simplistically stated, assets are things of value that can be readily...
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Assurance servicesAssurance services have been defined by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants as 'Independent Professional Services that improve information quality or its context'. Assurance services reduce the information risk; risk that the information provided is incorrect, on more than just...
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Auditor independenceAuditor independence refers to the independence of the auditor from parties, that have an interest in the financial statements of an entity. It is essentially an attitude of mind characterized by integrity and an objective approach to the audit process...
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AuditA financial audit, or more accurately, an audit of financial statements, is the review of the financial statements of a company or any other legal entity , resulting in the publication of an independent opinion on whether or not those financial statements are relevant, accurate, complete, and...
Balance sheetIn financial accounting, a balance sheet or statement of financial position is a summary of a person's or organization's balances. Assets, liabilities and ownership equity are listed as of a specific date, such as the end of its financial year. A balance sheet is often described as a snapshot of a...
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Big Four auditorsThe Big Four are the four largest international accountancy and professional services firms, which handle the vast majority of audits for publicly traded companies as well as many private companies, creating an oligopoly over the auditing industry...
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BondIn finance, a bond is a debt security, in which the authorized issuer owes the holders a debt and, depending on the terms of the bond, is obliged to pay interest and/or to repay the principal at a later date, termed maturity...
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BookkeepingBookkeeping is the recording of financial transactions. Transactions include sales, purchases, income, and payments by an individual or organization. Bookkeeping is usually performed by a bookkeeper. Bookkeeping should not be confused with accounting. The accounting process is usually performed by...
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Book valueIn accounting, book value or carrying value is the value of an asset according to its balance sheet account balance. For assets, the value is based on the original cost of the asset less any depreciation, amortization or impairment costs made against the asset. Traditionally, a company's book value...
Cash-basis accounting
- Cash-basis versus accrual-basis accounting
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Cash flow statementIn financial accounting, a cash flow statement or statement of cash flows is a financial statement that shows how changes in balance sheet and income accounts affect cash and cash equivalents, and breaks the analysis down to operating, investing, and financing activities...
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Certified General AccountantCertified General Accountant is the designation of professionals who are jointly members of the Certified General Accountants Association of Canada and a provincial or territorial CGA association, or a CGA association overseas...
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Certified Management AccountantThe Institute of Management Accountants' Certified Management Accountant certification is a comprehensive credentialing program that assesses mastery of the management accounting and financial management body of knowledge...
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Certified Public AccountantCertified Public Accountant is the statutory title of qualified accountants in the United States who have passed the Uniform Certified Public Accountant Examination and have met additional state education and experience requirements for certification as a CPA...
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Chartered AccountantChartered Accountants were the first accountants to form a professional body, initially established in Britain in 1854. The Edinburgh Society of Accountants , the Glasgow Institute of Accountants and Actuaries and the Aberdeen Society of Accountants were each granted a royal charter almost from...
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Chart of accounts__FORCETOC__Chart of accounts is a list of the accounts used by an organization. The list can be numerical, alphabetic, or alpha-numeric. Each nominal ledger account is unique to allow its ledger to be located...
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Common stockCommon stock is a form of corporate equity ownership, a type of security. It is called "common" to distinguish it from preferred stock. In the event of bankruptcy, common stock investors receive their funds after preferred stock holders, bondholders, creditors, etc...
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Comprehensive incomeComprehensive income is a specific term used in companies' financial reporting from the company-whole point of view. Because that use excludes the effects of changing ownership interest, an economic measure of comprehensive income is necessary for financial analysis from the shareholders' point...
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Construction accountingConstruction accounting is a form of project accounting applied to construction projects. See also production accounting. Construction accounting is a vitally necessary form of accounting, especially when multiple contracts come into play. The construction field uses many terms not used in other...
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Convention of conservatismIn business, investment, and accounting, the principle or convention of conservatism has at least two meanings.In investment and finance, it is a strategy which aims at long-term capital appreciation with low risk...
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Convention of disclosureThe convention of disclosure means that all material facts must be disclosed in the financial statements. For example, in case of sundry debtors not only the total amount of sundry debtors should be disclosed, but also the amount of good and secured debtors, the amount of good, but amount of...
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Cost accountingIn management accounting, cost accounting establishes budget and actual cost of operations, processes, departments or product and the analysis of variances, profitability or social use of funds. Managers use cost accounting to support decision-making to cut a company's costs and improve profitability...
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Cost of capitalIn business and finance, the cost of capital is the cost of obtaining funds for, or, conversely, the required return necessary to meet its cost of financing a capital budgeting project...
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Cost of goods soldIn financial accounting, cost of goods sold or cost of sales includes the direct costs attributable to the production of the goods sold by a company. This amount includes the materials cost used in creating the goods along with the direct labour costs used to produce the good. It excludes indirect...
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Creative accountingCreative accounting and earnings management are euphemisms referring to accounting practices that may follow the letter of the rules of standard accounting practices, but certainly deviate from the spirit of those rules...
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CreditCredit is the provision of resources by one party to another party where that second party does not reimburse the first party immediately, thereby generating a debt, and instead arranges either to repay or return those resources at a later date. It is any form of deferred payment...
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Credit noteA credit note is a monetary instrument issued by a seller that allows a buyer to purchase an item or service from that seller on a future date; I.e A gift card or store card credit...
- Culture Impact on Internal Control Compliance
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Current assetIn accounting, a current asset is an asset on the balance sheet which is expected to be sold or otherwise used up in the near future, usually within one year, or one business cycle - whichever is longer...
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Current liabilityIn finance, current liabilities are considered liabilities of the business that are to be settled in cash within the fiscal year or the operating cycle, whichever period is longer....
DebitDebit and credit are formal bookkeeping and accounting terms. They are the most fundamental concepts in accounting, representing the two sides of each individual transaction recorded in any accounting system. A debit transaction indicates an asset or an expense transaction, a credit indicates a...
capital reserve
- Debit note
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DebtDebt is that which is owed; usually referencing assets owed, but the term can also cover moral obligations and other interactions not requiring money. In the case of assets, debt is a means of using future purchasing power in the present before a summation has been earned...
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DeficitA budget deficit occurs when an entity spends more money than it takes in. The opposite of a budget deficit is a budget surplus. Debt is essentially an accumulated flow of deficits. In other words, a deficit is a flow, and debt is a stock....
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DepreciationDepreciation is a term used in accounting, economics and finance to spread the cost of an asset over the span of several years.In simple words we can say that depreciation is the reduction in the value of an asset due to usage, passage of time, wear and tear, technological outdating or...
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Diluted earnings per shareDiluted Earnings Per Share is a company's earnings per share calculated using fully diluted shares outstanding...
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DividendDividends are payments made by a corporation to its shareholder members. It is the portion of corporate profits paid out to stockholders. When a corporation earns a profit or surplus, that money can be put to two uses: it can either be re-invested in the business , or it can be paid to the...
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Double-entry bookkeeping systemDouble-entry bookkeeping system ensures the integrity of the financial values recorded in a financial accounting system. It does this by ensuring that each individual transaction is recorded in at least two different nominal ledgers of the financial accounting system and so implementing a double...
- Dual aspect
E-accounting E-accounting is the application of online and Internet technologies to the business accounting function. Similar to e-mail being an electronic version of traditional mail, e-accounting is "electronic enablement" of accounting and accounting processes which are more traditionally manual and...
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EBIT*In finance, EBIT stands for Earnings before interest and taxes.*In physics, EBIT stands for Electron beam ion trap.*In quantum information theory, an ebit is an entangled bit and is the fundamental unit of bipartite entanglement....
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EBITDAEBITDA «ee-bit-dah» is the acronym for Earnings before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization. It is a non-GAAP metric that is measured exactly as stated. All interest, tax, depreciation and amortization entries in the Income Statement are reversed out from the bottom line Net Income...
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Earnings per shareEarnings per share are the earnings returned on the initial investment amount.In the US, the Financial Accounting Standards Board requires companies' income statements to report EPS for each of the major categories of the income statement: continuing operations, discontinued operations,...
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Engagement LetterAn engagement letter defines the legal relationship between a professional firm and its client...
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Entity conceptIn accounting the separate entity concept treats a business as distinct and completely separate from the owners. The business stands apart from other organizations as separate economic unit. It is necessary to record the business transactions separately to distinguish it from the owner's personal...
- Environmental accounting
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ExpenseIn common usage, an expense or expenditure is an outflow of money to another person or group to pay for an item or service, or for a category of costs. For a tenant, rent is an expense. For students or parents, tuition is an expense. Buying food, clothing, furniture or an automobile is often...
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EquityEquity, in finance and accounting, is the residual claim or interest of the most junior class of investors in an asset, after all liabilities are paid. If valuations placed on assets do not exceed liabilities, negative equity exists...
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Equivalent Annual CostIn finance the equivalent annual cost is the cost per year of owning and operating an asset over its entire lifespan.EAC is often used as a decision making tool in capital budgeting when comparing investment projects of unequal lifespans...
Financial Accounting Standards BoardThe Financial Accounting Standards Board is a private, not-for-profit organization whose primary purpose is to develop generally accepted accounting principles within the United States in the public's interest. The Securities and Exchange Commission designated the FASB as the organization...
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Financial accountancyFor differences between this and managerial accounting, see here.Financial accountancy is the field of accountancy concerned with the preparation of financial statements for decision makers, such as stockholders, suppliers, banks, employees, government agencies, owners, and other stakeholders...
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Financial auditA financial audit, or more accurately, an audit of financial statements, is the review of the financial statements of a company or any other legal entity , resulting in the publication of an independent opinion on whether or not those financial statements are relevant, accurate, complete, and...
- Financial reports
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Financial statementsFinancial statements are formal records of the financial activities of a business, person, or other entity. In British English, including United Kingdom company law, financial statements are often referred to as accounts, although the term financial statements is also used, particularly by...
- Fixed assets
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Fixed assets managementFixed assets management is an accounting process that seeks to track fixed assets for the purposes of financial accounting, preventive maintenance, and theft deterrence.thumb|A typical asset tag...
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Forensic accountingForensic accounting is the specialty practice area of accountancy that describes engagements that result from actual or anticipated disputes or litigation. "Forensic" means "suitable for use in a court of law", and it is to that standard and potential outcome that forensic accountants generally...
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Fraud deterrenceFraud deterrence has gained public recognition and spotlight since the 2002 inception of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. Of the many reforms enacted through Sarbanes-Oxley, one major goal was to regain public confidence in the reliability of financial markets in the wake of corporate scandals such as...
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Free cash flowIn corporate finance, free cash flow is cash flow available for distribution among all the securities holders of an organization. They include equity holders, debt holders, preferred stock holders, convertible security holders, and so on....
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Fund AccountingFund Accounting is an accounting system often used by nonprofit organizations and by the public sector. According to StartHereGoPlaces, fund accounting is a "[m]ethod of accounting and presentation whereby assets and liabilities are grouped according to the purpose for which they are to be...
GainGain is a measure of a system's response to feedback. If the gain in a positive feedback loop is less than 1, the feedback is not of itself sufficient to make the system become unstable. For example, water evaporating from the World's oceans causes a positive feedback, as it is a greenhouse gas...
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General ledgerThe general ledger, sometimes known as the nominal ledger, is the main accounting record of a business which uses double-entry bookkeeping. It will usually include accounts for such items as current assets, fixed assets, liabilities, revenue and expense items, gains and losses. Each General Ledger...
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Generally Accepted Accounting PrinciplesGenerally Accepted Accounting Principles is the term used to refer to the standard framework of guidelines for financial accounting used in any given jurisdiction...
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Going concernA going concern is a business that functions without the intention or threat of liquidation for the foreseeable future, usually regarded as at least within 12 months.-Use in Accounting:...
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GoodwillGoodwill is an accounting term used to reflect the portion of the book value of a business entity not directly attributable to its assets and liabilities; it normally arises only in case of an acquisition. It reflects the ability of the entity to make a higher profit than would be derived from...
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Governmental Accounting Standards BoardThe Governmental Accounting Standards Board is currently the source of generally accepted accounting principles used by State and Local governments in the United States of America...
IncomeIncome is the consumption and savings opportunity gained by an entity within a specified time frame, which is generally expressed in monetary terms. However, for households and individuals, "income is the sum of all the wages, salaries, profits, interests payments, rents and other forms of earnings...
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Income statementIncome statement, also called profit and loss statement and Statement of Operations, is a company's financial statement that indicates how the revenue is transformed into the net income Income statement, also called profit and loss statement (P&L) and Statement of Operations, is a company's...
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Institute of Chartered Accountants in England & WalesThe Institute of Chartered Accountants in England & Wales was established by a Royal Charter in 1880. It has over 130,000 members. Over 15,000 of these members live and work outside the UK...
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Institute of Chartered Accountants of ScotlandThe Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland is the Scottish professional accountancy body for chartered accountants and auditors. It is based in Edinburgh....
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Institute of Management AccountantsThe Institute of Management Accountants is a professional organization headquartered in Montvale, New Jersey consisting of over 70,000 members worldwide...
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Intangible assetIntangible assets are defined as identifiable non-monetary assets that cannot be seen, touched or physically measured, which are created through time and/or effort and that are identifiable as a separate asset...
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InterestInterest is a fee paid on borrowed assets. It is the price paid for the use of borrowed money, or, money earned by deposited funds. Assets that are sometimes lent with interest include money, shares, consumer goods through hire purchase, major assets such as aircraft, and even entire factories in...
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Internal auditInternal auditing is a profession and activity involved in helping organizations achieve their stated objectives. It does this by using a systematic methodology for analyzing business processes, procedures and activities with the goal of highlighting organizational problems and recommending...
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International Accounting Standards BoardThe International Accounting Standards Board founded on April 1, 2001 is the successor of the International Accounting Standards Committee founded in June 1973 in London...
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International Accounting Standards CommitteeInternational Accounting Standards Committee was founded in June 1973 in London and replaced by the International Accounting Standards Board on April 1, 2001...
- International Accounting Standards
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International Federation of AccountantsThe International Federation of Accountants is the global organization for the accountancy profession. IFAC has 157 member bodies and associates in 123 countries and jurisdictions, representing more than 2.5 million accountants employed in public practice, industry and commerce, government, and...
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International Financial Reporting StandardsInternational Financial Reporting Standards are Standards, Interpretations and the Framework for the Preparation and Presentation of Financial Statements adopted by the International Accounting Standards Board .Many of the standards forming part of IFRS are known by the older name of...
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InventoryInventory is a list for goods and materials, or those goods and materials themselves, held available in stock by a business. It is also used for a list of the contents of a household and for a list for testamentary purposes of the possessions of someone who has died...
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InvestmentInvestment or investing is a term with several closely-related meanings in business management, finance and economics, related to saving or deferring consumption. Investing is the active redirection of resources: from being consumed today, to creating benefits in the future; the use of assets to...
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InvoiceAn invoice or bill is a commercial document issued by a seller to the buyer, indicating the products, quantities, and agreed prices for products or services the seller has provided the buyer...
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Lean accountingThe purpose of Lean Accounting is to support the lean enterprise as a business strategy. It seeks to move from traditional cost accounting to a system that measures and motivates good business practices in the lean enterprise.- Introduction :...
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LedgerA ledger or lieger , is the principal book for recording transactions...
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LiabilityA liability is anything that is a hindrance or puts an individual or group at a disadvantage.Liability may also refer to:* legal liability* public liability- Finance :...
- Long-term asset
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Long-term liabilitiesLong-term liabilities are liabilities with a future benefit over one year, such as notes payable that mature longer than one year.In accounting, the long-term liabilities are shown on the right wing of the balance-sheet representing the sources of funds, which are generally bounded in form of...
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LossLoss may refer to:*A negative difference between retail price and cost of production*An event in which the team or individual in question did not win.*Loss , a pitching statistic in baseball...
Management accountingManagement accounting is concerned with the provisions and use of accounting information to managers within organizations, to provide them with the basis to make informed business decisions that will allow them to be better equipped in their management and control functions.There is little...
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Management AssertionsIn a financial audit, management assertions or financial statement assertions is the set of information that the preparer of financial statements is providing to another party. Financial statements represent a very complex and interrelated set of assertions...
- Mark-to-market accounting
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Matching principleMatching principle is a cornerstone of accrual accounting together with the revenue recognition principle. They both determine the accounting period, in which revenues and expenses are recognized. According to the principle, expenses are recognized when obligations are incurred Matching principle...
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Materiality'Materiality' a concept or convention within auditing and accounting relating to the importance/significance of an amount, transaction, or discrepancy...
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Money measurement conceptThe money measurement concept underlines the fact that in accounting, every recorded event or transaction is measured in terms of money. Using this principle, a fact or a happening which cannot be expressed in terms of money is not recorded in the accounting books.One of the basic principles in...
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Mortgage loanA mortgage loan is a loan secured by real property through the use of a document which evidences the existence of the loan and the encumbrance of that realty through the granting of a mortgage which secures the loan...
Negative assuranceMethod used by the Certified Public Accountant to assure various parties, such as bankers and stockbrokers, that financial data under review by them is correct. Negative assurance tells the data user that nothing has come to the CPA's attention of an adverse nature or character regarding the...
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Net incomeNet income is equal to the income that a firm has after subtracting costs and expenses from the total revenue. Net income can be distributed among holders of common stock as a dividend or held by the firm as retained earnings. Net income is an accounting term. In some countries profit is the usual...
- Normal account
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Notes to the Financial StatementsNotes to the Financial Statements are additional notes and information added to the end of the financial statements to supplement the reader with more information. Notes to Financial Statements help explain the computation of specific items in the financial statements as well as provide a more...
PayrollIn a company, payroll is the sum of all financial records of salaries, wages, bonuses and deductions.-Paycheck:A paycheck, is traditionally a paper document issued by an employer to pay an employee for services rendered...
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Petty cashPetty cash is a small amount of discretionary funds in the form of cash used for expenditures where it is not sensible to make the disbursement by check, because of the inconvenience and costs of writing, signing and then cashing the check....
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Philosophy of AccountingThe philosophy of accounting is the conceptual framework for the professional preparation and auditing of financial statements and accounts. The issues which arise include the difficulty of establishing a true and fair value of an enterprise and its assets; the moral basis of disclosure and...
- Preferred stock
- Price earnings ratio
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Positive accountingPositive accounting is the branch of academic research in accounting that seeks to explain and predict actual accounting practices. This contrasts with normative accounting, that seeks to derive and prescribe "optimal" accounting standards....
- Positive assurance
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PricewaterhouseCoopersPricewaterhouseCoopers is one of the world's largest professional services firms. It was formed in 1998 from a merger between Price Waterhouse and Coopers & Lybrand, both formed in London....
- Profit and loss account
- Pro-forma amount
- Production accounting
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Project accountingProject accounting is the practice of creating financial reports specifically designed to track the financial progress of projects, which can then be used by managers to aid project management....
SecurityA security is a fungible, negotiable instrument representing financial value. Securities are broadly categorized into debt securities ; equity securities, e.g., common stocks; and derivative contracts, such as forwards, futures, options and swaps. The company or other entity issuing the security...
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Social accountingSocial accounting is the process of communicating the social and environmental effects of organisations' economic actions to particular interest groups within society and to society at...
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SpreadsheetA spreadsheet is a computer application that simulates a paper worksheet. It displays multiple cells that together make up a grid consisting of rows and columns, each cell containing either alphanumeric text or numeric values...
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Statement of Retained EarningsThe Statement of Retained Earnings is one of the basic financial statements as per Generally Accepted Accounting Principles, and it explains the changes...
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Statutory accounting principlesThe Statutory Accounting Principles are a set of accounting rules for insurance companies set forth by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners. They are used to prepare the statutory financial statements of insurance companies...
- Stock option
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Stock splitA stock split or stock divide increases or decreases the number of shares in a public company. The price is adjusted such that the market capitalization of the company remains the same after the split, so that dilution does not occur...
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StockIn the investment world, a share of stock represents a share of ownership in a corporation ....
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ShareholderA mutual shareholder or stockholder is an individual or company that legally owns one or more shares of stock in a joint stock company. A company's shareholders collectively own that company. Thus, the typical goal of such companies is to enhance shareholder value.Stockholders are granted...
- Shareholders' equity
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South African Institute of Chartered AccountantsThe South African Institute of Chartered Accountants is a non-profit organisation that represents the interests of the accounting profession...
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Sunk costIn economics and business decision-making, sunk costs are retrospective costs which have already been incurred and cannot be recovered. Sunk costs are sometimes contrasted with prospective costs which are future costs that may be incurred or changed if an action is taken...
UK generally accepted accounting principles
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Unified Ledger AccountingWhat is Unified Ledger Accounting?The concept of a Unified Ledger Accounting Application is often new to people who have used traditional Modular Accounting Systems, though the idea is very simple. Traditional modular systems have separate General, Purchase and Sales Ledgers which reflect times...
- U.S.
This page is a
list of accounting topics.
A
Accounting ethicsAccounting ethics is primarily a field of applied ethics, the study of moral values and judgments as they apply to accountancy. It is an example of professional ethics. Accounting ethics were first introduced by Luca Pacioli, and later expanded by government groups, professional organizations, and...
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Accounting information systemAn accounting information system is the system of records a business keeps to maintain its accounting system. This includes the purchase, sales, and other financial processes of the business...
- Accounting methods
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Accounting periodAn accounting period is a period with reference to which United Kingdom corporation tax is charged. It helps dictate when tax is paid on income and gains...
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Accounting reformAccounting reform is an expansion of accounting rules that goes beyond the realm of financial measures for both individual economic entities and national economies...
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Accounting scandalsAccounting scandals, or corporate accounting scandals, are political and business scandals which arise with the disclosure of misdeeds by trusted executives of large public corporations...
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Accounting softwareAccounting software is application software that records and processes accounting transactions within functional modules such as accounts payable, accounts receivable, payroll, and trial balance. It functions as an accounting information system...
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Accounts payableAccounts payable is a file or account that contains money that a person or company owes to suppliers, but has not paid yet . When you receive an invoice you add it to the file, and then you remove it when you pay...
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Accounts receivableAccounts receivable is one of a series of accounting transactions dealing with the billing of customers who owe money to a person, company or organization for goods and services that have been provided to the customer...
- Accrual basis accounting
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American Institute of Certified Public AccountantsThe American Institute of Certified Public Accountants is the national, professional association of CPAs in the United States, with more than 330,000 members, including CPAs in business and industry, public practice, government, and education; student affiliates; and international associates. It...
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AmortizationIn business, amortization is the distribution of a single lump-sum cash flow into many smaller cash flow installments, as determined by an amortization schedule. Unlike other repayment models, each repayment installment consists of both principal and interest. Amortization is chiefly used in loan...
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Annual reportAn Annual report is a comprehensive report on a company's activities throughout the preceding year. Annual reports are intended to give shareholders and other interested persons information about the company's activities and financial performance...
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AnnuityAnnuity may refer to:* Annuity any recurring periodic series of payments* Life annuity: a financial contract providing payments for a person's lifetime* Annuity...
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AssetIn business and accounting, assets are economic resources owned by business or company. Anything tangible or intangible that one possesses, usually considered as applicable to the payment of one's debts is considered an asset. Simplistically stated, assets are things of value that can be readily...
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Assurance servicesAssurance services have been defined by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants as 'Independent Professional Services that improve information quality or its context'. Assurance services reduce the information risk; risk that the information provided is incorrect, on more than just...
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Auditor independenceAuditor independence refers to the independence of the auditor from parties, that have an interest in the financial statements of an entity. It is essentially an attitude of mind characterized by integrity and an objective approach to the audit process...
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AuditA financial audit, or more accurately, an audit of financial statements, is the review of the financial statements of a company or any other legal entity , resulting in the publication of an independent opinion on whether or not those financial statements are relevant, accurate, complete, and...
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Balance sheetIn financial accounting, a balance sheet or statement of financial position is a summary of a person's or organization's balances. Assets, liabilities and ownership equity are listed as of a specific date, such as the end of its financial year. A balance sheet is often described as a snapshot of a...
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Big Four auditorsThe Big Four are the four largest international accountancy and professional services firms, which handle the vast majority of audits for publicly traded companies as well as many private companies, creating an oligopoly over the auditing industry...
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BondIn finance, a bond is a debt security, in which the authorized issuer owes the holders a debt and, depending on the terms of the bond, is obliged to pay interest and/or to repay the principal at a later date, termed maturity...
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BookkeepingBookkeeping is the recording of financial transactions. Transactions include sales, purchases, income, and payments by an individual or organization. Bookkeeping is usually performed by a bookkeeper. Bookkeeping should not be confused with accounting. The accounting process is usually performed by...
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Book valueIn accounting, book value or carrying value is the value of an asset according to its balance sheet account balance. For assets, the value is based on the original cost of the asset less any depreciation, amortization or impairment costs made against the asset. Traditionally, a company's book value...
C
Cash-basis accounting
- Cash-basis versus accrual-basis accounting
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Cash flow statementIn financial accounting, a cash flow statement or statement of cash flows is a financial statement that shows how changes in balance sheet and income accounts affect cash and cash equivalents, and breaks the analysis down to operating, investing, and financing activities...
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Certified General AccountantCertified General Accountant is the designation of professionals who are jointly members of the Certified General Accountants Association of Canada and a provincial or territorial CGA association, or a CGA association overseas...
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Certified Management AccountantThe Institute of Management Accountants' Certified Management Accountant certification is a comprehensive credentialing program that assesses mastery of the management accounting and financial management body of knowledge...
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Certified Public AccountantCertified Public Accountant is the statutory title of qualified accountants in the United States who have passed the Uniform Certified Public Accountant Examination and have met additional state education and experience requirements for certification as a CPA...
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Chartered AccountantChartered Accountants were the first accountants to form a professional body, initially established in Britain in 1854. The Edinburgh Society of Accountants , the Glasgow Institute of Accountants and Actuaries and the Aberdeen Society of Accountants were each granted a royal charter almost from...
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Chart of accounts__FORCETOC__Chart of accounts is a list of the accounts used by an organization. The list can be numerical, alphabetic, or alpha-numeric. Each nominal ledger account is unique to allow its ledger to be located...
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Common stockCommon stock is a form of corporate equity ownership, a type of security. It is called "common" to distinguish it from preferred stock. In the event of bankruptcy, common stock investors receive their funds after preferred stock holders, bondholders, creditors, etc...
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Comprehensive incomeComprehensive income is a specific term used in companies' financial reporting from the company-whole point of view. Because that use excludes the effects of changing ownership interest, an economic measure of comprehensive income is necessary for financial analysis from the shareholders' point...
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Construction accountingConstruction accounting is a form of project accounting applied to construction projects. See also production accounting. Construction accounting is a vitally necessary form of accounting, especially when multiple contracts come into play. The construction field uses many terms not used in other...
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Convention of conservatismIn business, investment, and accounting, the principle or convention of conservatism has at least two meanings.In investment and finance, it is a strategy which aims at long-term capital appreciation with low risk...
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Convention of disclosureThe convention of disclosure means that all material facts must be disclosed in the financial statements. For example, in case of sundry debtors not only the total amount of sundry debtors should be disclosed, but also the amount of good and secured debtors, the amount of good, but amount of...
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Cost accountingIn management accounting, cost accounting establishes budget and actual cost of operations, processes, departments or product and the analysis of variances, profitability or social use of funds. Managers use cost accounting to support decision-making to cut a company's costs and improve profitability...
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Cost of capitalIn business and finance, the cost of capital is the cost of obtaining funds for, or, conversely, the required return necessary to meet its cost of financing a capital budgeting project...
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Cost of goods soldIn financial accounting, cost of goods sold or cost of sales includes the direct costs attributable to the production of the goods sold by a company. This amount includes the materials cost used in creating the goods along with the direct labour costs used to produce the good. It excludes indirect...
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Creative accountingCreative accounting and earnings management are euphemisms referring to accounting practices that may follow the letter of the rules of standard accounting practices, but certainly deviate from the spirit of those rules...
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CreditCredit is the provision of resources by one party to another party where that second party does not reimburse the first party immediately, thereby generating a debt, and instead arranges either to repay or return those resources at a later date. It is any form of deferred payment...
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Credit noteA credit note is a monetary instrument issued by a seller that allows a buyer to purchase an item or service from that seller on a future date; I.e A gift card or store card credit...
- Culture Impact on Internal Control Compliance
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Current assetIn accounting, a current asset is an asset on the balance sheet which is expected to be sold or otherwise used up in the near future, usually within one year, or one business cycle - whichever is longer...
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Current liabilityIn finance, current liabilities are considered liabilities of the business that are to be settled in cash within the fiscal year or the operating cycle, whichever period is longer....
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DebitDebit and credit are formal bookkeeping and accounting terms. They are the most fundamental concepts in accounting, representing the two sides of each individual transaction recorded in any accounting system. A debit transaction indicates an asset or an expense transaction, a credit indicates a...
capital reserve
- Debit note
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DebtDebt is that which is owed; usually referencing assets owed, but the term can also cover moral obligations and other interactions not requiring money. In the case of assets, debt is a means of using future purchasing power in the present before a summation has been earned...
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DeficitA budget deficit occurs when an entity spends more money than it takes in. The opposite of a budget deficit is a budget surplus. Debt is essentially an accumulated flow of deficits. In other words, a deficit is a flow, and debt is a stock....
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DepreciationDepreciation is a term used in accounting, economics and finance to spread the cost of an asset over the span of several years.In simple words we can say that depreciation is the reduction in the value of an asset due to usage, passage of time, wear and tear, technological outdating or...
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Diluted earnings per shareDiluted Earnings Per Share is a company's earnings per share calculated using fully diluted shares outstanding...
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DividendDividends are payments made by a corporation to its shareholder members. It is the portion of corporate profits paid out to stockholders. When a corporation earns a profit or surplus, that money can be put to two uses: it can either be re-invested in the business , or it can be paid to the...
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Double-entry bookkeeping systemDouble-entry bookkeeping system ensures the integrity of the financial values recorded in a financial accounting system. It does this by ensuring that each individual transaction is recorded in at least two different nominal ledgers of the financial accounting system and so implementing a double...
- Dual aspect
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E-accounting E-accounting is the application of online and Internet technologies to the business accounting function. Similar to e-mail being an electronic version of traditional mail, e-accounting is "electronic enablement" of accounting and accounting processes which are more traditionally manual and...
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EBIT*In finance, EBIT stands for Earnings before interest and taxes.*In physics, EBIT stands for Electron beam ion trap.*In quantum information theory, an ebit is an entangled bit and is the fundamental unit of bipartite entanglement....
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EBITDAEBITDA «ee-bit-dah» is the acronym for Earnings before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization. It is a non-GAAP metric that is measured exactly as stated. All interest, tax, depreciation and amortization entries in the Income Statement are reversed out from the bottom line Net Income...
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Earnings per shareEarnings per share are the earnings returned on the initial investment amount.In the US, the Financial Accounting Standards Board requires companies' income statements to report EPS for each of the major categories of the income statement: continuing operations, discontinued operations,...
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Engagement LetterAn engagement letter defines the legal relationship between a professional firm and its client...
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Entity conceptIn accounting the separate entity concept treats a business as distinct and completely separate from the owners. The business stands apart from other organizations as separate economic unit. It is necessary to record the business transactions separately to distinguish it from the owner's personal...
- Environmental accounting
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ExpenseIn common usage, an expense or expenditure is an outflow of money to another person or group to pay for an item or service, or for a category of costs. For a tenant, rent is an expense. For students or parents, tuition is an expense. Buying food, clothing, furniture or an automobile is often...
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EquityEquity, in finance and accounting, is the residual claim or interest of the most junior class of investors in an asset, after all liabilities are paid. If valuations placed on assets do not exceed liabilities, negative equity exists...
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Equivalent Annual CostIn finance the equivalent annual cost is the cost per year of owning and operating an asset over its entire lifespan.EAC is often used as a decision making tool in capital budgeting when comparing investment projects of unequal lifespans...
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Financial Accounting Standards BoardThe Financial Accounting Standards Board is a private, not-for-profit organization whose primary purpose is to develop generally accepted accounting principles within the United States in the public's interest. The Securities and Exchange Commission designated the FASB as the organization...
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Financial accountancyFor differences between this and managerial accounting, see here.Financial accountancy is the field of accountancy concerned with the preparation of financial statements for decision makers, such as stockholders, suppliers, banks, employees, government agencies, owners, and other stakeholders...
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Financial auditA financial audit, or more accurately, an audit of financial statements, is the review of the financial statements of a company or any other legal entity , resulting in the publication of an independent opinion on whether or not those financial statements are relevant, accurate, complete, and...
- Financial reports
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Financial statementsFinancial statements are formal records of the financial activities of a business, person, or other entity. In British English, including United Kingdom company law, financial statements are often referred to as accounts, although the term financial statements is also used, particularly by...
- Fixed assets
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Fixed assets managementFixed assets management is an accounting process that seeks to track fixed assets for the purposes of financial accounting, preventive maintenance, and theft deterrence.thumb|A typical asset tag...
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Forensic accountingForensic accounting is the specialty practice area of accountancy that describes engagements that result from actual or anticipated disputes or litigation. "Forensic" means "suitable for use in a court of law", and it is to that standard and potential outcome that forensic accountants generally...
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Fraud deterrenceFraud deterrence has gained public recognition and spotlight since the 2002 inception of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. Of the many reforms enacted through Sarbanes-Oxley, one major goal was to regain public confidence in the reliability of financial markets in the wake of corporate scandals such as...
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Free cash flowIn corporate finance, free cash flow is cash flow available for distribution among all the securities holders of an organization. They include equity holders, debt holders, preferred stock holders, convertible security holders, and so on....
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Fund AccountingFund Accounting is an accounting system often used by nonprofit organizations and by the public sector. According to StartHereGoPlaces, fund accounting is a "[m]ethod of accounting and presentation whereby assets and liabilities are grouped according to the purpose for which they are to be...
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GainGain is a measure of a system's response to feedback. If the gain in a positive feedback loop is less than 1, the feedback is not of itself sufficient to make the system become unstable. For example, water evaporating from the World's oceans causes a positive feedback, as it is a greenhouse gas...
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General ledgerThe general ledger, sometimes known as the nominal ledger, is the main accounting record of a business which uses double-entry bookkeeping. It will usually include accounts for such items as current assets, fixed assets, liabilities, revenue and expense items, gains and losses. Each General Ledger...
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Generally Accepted Accounting PrinciplesGenerally Accepted Accounting Principles is the term used to refer to the standard framework of guidelines for financial accounting used in any given jurisdiction...
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Going concernA going concern is a business that functions without the intention or threat of liquidation for the foreseeable future, usually regarded as at least within 12 months.-Use in Accounting:...
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GoodwillGoodwill is an accounting term used to reflect the portion of the book value of a business entity not directly attributable to its assets and liabilities; it normally arises only in case of an acquisition. It reflects the ability of the entity to make a higher profit than would be derived from...
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Governmental Accounting Standards BoardThe Governmental Accounting Standards Board is currently the source of generally accepted accounting principles used by State and Local governments in the United States of America...
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IncomeIncome is the consumption and savings opportunity gained by an entity within a specified time frame, which is generally expressed in monetary terms. However, for households and individuals, "income is the sum of all the wages, salaries, profits, interests payments, rents and other forms of earnings...
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Income statementIncome statement, also called profit and loss statement and Statement of Operations, is a company's financial statement that indicates how the revenue is transformed into the net income Income statement, also called profit and loss statement (P&L) and Statement of Operations, is a company's...
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Institute of Chartered Accountants in England & WalesThe Institute of Chartered Accountants in England & Wales was established by a Royal Charter in 1880. It has over 130,000 members. Over 15,000 of these members live and work outside the UK...
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Institute of Chartered Accountants of ScotlandThe Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland is the Scottish professional accountancy body for chartered accountants and auditors. It is based in Edinburgh....
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Institute of Management AccountantsThe Institute of Management Accountants is a professional organization headquartered in Montvale, New Jersey consisting of over 70,000 members worldwide...
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Intangible assetIntangible assets are defined as identifiable non-monetary assets that cannot be seen, touched or physically measured, which are created through time and/or effort and that are identifiable as a separate asset...
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InterestInterest is a fee paid on borrowed assets. It is the price paid for the use of borrowed money, or, money earned by deposited funds. Assets that are sometimes lent with interest include money, shares, consumer goods through hire purchase, major assets such as aircraft, and even entire factories in...
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Internal auditInternal auditing is a profession and activity involved in helping organizations achieve their stated objectives. It does this by using a systematic methodology for analyzing business processes, procedures and activities with the goal of highlighting organizational problems and recommending...
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International Accounting Standards BoardThe International Accounting Standards Board founded on April 1, 2001 is the successor of the International Accounting Standards Committee founded in June 1973 in London...
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International Accounting Standards CommitteeInternational Accounting Standards Committee was founded in June 1973 in London and replaced by the International Accounting Standards Board on April 1, 2001...
- International Accounting Standards
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International Federation of AccountantsThe International Federation of Accountants is the global organization for the accountancy profession. IFAC has 157 member bodies and associates in 123 countries and jurisdictions, representing more than 2.5 million accountants employed in public practice, industry and commerce, government, and...
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International Financial Reporting StandardsInternational Financial Reporting Standards are Standards, Interpretations and the Framework for the Preparation and Presentation of Financial Statements adopted by the International Accounting Standards Board .Many of the standards forming part of IFRS are known by the older name of...
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InventoryInventory is a list for goods and materials, or those goods and materials themselves, held available in stock by a business. It is also used for a list of the contents of a household and for a list for testamentary purposes of the possessions of someone who has died...
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InvestmentInvestment or investing is a term with several closely-related meanings in business management, finance and economics, related to saving or deferring consumption. Investing is the active redirection of resources: from being consumed today, to creating benefits in the future; the use of assets to...
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InvoiceAn invoice or bill is a commercial document issued by a seller to the buyer, indicating the products, quantities, and agreed prices for products or services the seller has provided the buyer...
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Lean accountingThe purpose of Lean Accounting is to support the lean enterprise as a business strategy. It seeks to move from traditional cost accounting to a system that measures and motivates good business practices in the lean enterprise.- Introduction :...
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LedgerA ledger or lieger , is the principal book for recording transactions...
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LiabilityA liability is anything that is a hindrance or puts an individual or group at a disadvantage.Liability may also refer to:* legal liability* public liability- Finance :...
- Long-term asset
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Long-term liabilitiesLong-term liabilities are liabilities with a future benefit over one year, such as notes payable that mature longer than one year.In accounting, the long-term liabilities are shown on the right wing of the balance-sheet representing the sources of funds, which are generally bounded in form of...
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LossLoss may refer to:*A negative difference between retail price and cost of production*An event in which the team or individual in question did not win.*Loss , a pitching statistic in baseball...
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Management accountingManagement accounting is concerned with the provisions and use of accounting information to managers within organizations, to provide them with the basis to make informed business decisions that will allow them to be better equipped in their management and control functions.There is little...
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Management AssertionsIn a financial audit, management assertions or financial statement assertions is the set of information that the preparer of financial statements is providing to another party. Financial statements represent a very complex and interrelated set of assertions...
- Mark-to-market accounting
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Matching principleMatching principle is a cornerstone of accrual accounting together with the revenue recognition principle. They both determine the accounting period, in which revenues and expenses are recognized. According to the principle, expenses are recognized when obligations are incurred Matching principle...
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Materiality'Materiality' a concept or convention within auditing and accounting relating to the importance/significance of an amount, transaction, or discrepancy...
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Money measurement conceptThe money measurement concept underlines the fact that in accounting, every recorded event or transaction is measured in terms of money. Using this principle, a fact or a happening which cannot be expressed in terms of money is not recorded in the accounting books.One of the basic principles in...
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Mortgage loanA mortgage loan is a loan secured by real property through the use of a document which evidences the existence of the loan and the encumbrance of that realty through the granting of a mortgage which secures the loan...
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Negative assuranceMethod used by the Certified Public Accountant to assure various parties, such as bankers and stockbrokers, that financial data under review by them is correct. Negative assurance tells the data user that nothing has come to the CPA's attention of an adverse nature or character regarding the...
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Net incomeNet income is equal to the income that a firm has after subtracting costs and expenses from the total revenue. Net income can be distributed among holders of common stock as a dividend or held by the firm as retained earnings. Net income is an accounting term. In some countries profit is the usual...
- Normal account
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Notes to the Financial StatementsNotes to the Financial Statements are additional notes and information added to the end of the financial statements to supplement the reader with more information. Notes to Financial Statements help explain the computation of specific items in the financial statements as well as provide a more...
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PayrollIn a company, payroll is the sum of all financial records of salaries, wages, bonuses and deductions.-Paycheck:A paycheck, is traditionally a paper document issued by an employer to pay an employee for services rendered...
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Petty cashPetty cash is a small amount of discretionary funds in the form of cash used for expenditures where it is not sensible to make the disbursement by check, because of the inconvenience and costs of writing, signing and then cashing the check....
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Philosophy of AccountingThe philosophy of accounting is the conceptual framework for the professional preparation and auditing of financial statements and accounts. The issues which arise include the difficulty of establishing a true and fair value of an enterprise and its assets; the moral basis of disclosure and...
- Preferred stock
- Price earnings ratio
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Positive accountingPositive accounting is the branch of academic research in accounting that seeks to explain and predict actual accounting practices. This contrasts with normative accounting, that seeks to derive and prescribe "optimal" accounting standards....
- Positive assurance
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PricewaterhouseCoopersPricewaterhouseCoopers is one of the world's largest professional services firms. It was formed in 1998 from a merger between Price Waterhouse and Coopers & Lybrand, both formed in London....
- Profit and loss account
- Pro-forma amount
- Production accounting
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Project accountingProject accounting is the practice of creating financial reports specifically designed to track the financial progress of projects, which can then be used by managers to aid project management....
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SecurityA security is a fungible, negotiable instrument representing financial value. Securities are broadly categorized into debt securities ; equity securities, e.g., common stocks; and derivative contracts, such as forwards, futures, options and swaps. The company or other entity issuing the security...
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Social accountingSocial accounting is the process of communicating the social and environmental effects of organisations' economic actions to particular interest groups within society and to society at...
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SpreadsheetA spreadsheet is a computer application that simulates a paper worksheet. It displays multiple cells that together make up a grid consisting of rows and columns, each cell containing either alphanumeric text or numeric values...
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Statement of Retained EarningsThe Statement of Retained Earnings is one of the basic financial statements as per Generally Accepted Accounting Principles, and it explains the changes...
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Statutory accounting principlesThe Statutory Accounting Principles are a set of accounting rules for insurance companies set forth by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners. They are used to prepare the statutory financial statements of insurance companies...
- Stock option
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Stock splitA stock split or stock divide increases or decreases the number of shares in a public company. The price is adjusted such that the market capitalization of the company remains the same after the split, so that dilution does not occur...
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StockIn the investment world, a share of stock represents a share of ownership in a corporation ....
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ShareholderA mutual shareholder or stockholder is an individual or company that legally owns one or more shares of stock in a joint stock company. A company's shareholders collectively own that company. Thus, the typical goal of such companies is to enhance shareholder value.Stockholders are granted...
- Shareholders' equity
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South African Institute of Chartered AccountantsThe South African Institute of Chartered Accountants is a non-profit organisation that represents the interests of the accounting profession...
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Sunk costIn economics and business decision-making, sunk costs are retrospective costs which have already been incurred and cannot be recovered. Sunk costs are sometimes contrasted with prospective costs which are future costs that may be incurred or changed if an action is taken...
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UK generally accepted accounting principles
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Unified Ledger AccountingWhat is Unified Ledger Accounting?The concept of a Unified Ledger Accounting Application is often new to people who have used traditional Modular Accounting Systems, though the idea is very simple. Traditional modular systems have separate General, Purchase and Sales Ledgers which reflect times...
- U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
- US generally accepted accounting principles
- Work sheet
- Write off
- Trade & Non Trade Investments