Glossary of financial accounting terms pearson education. This guide provides easytounderstand definition and explanation of financial terms arranged in alphabetical order. The guide is an important resource that will help to create a much greater understanding of the dense and obscure jargon which is used on a daily basis in relation. Glossary of finance terms national association of counties. Bonds that are issued to refund an out standing issue before its natural. In the most general sense, equity is assets minus liabilities. Understanding population health terminology healthworks. He is the sole author of all the materials on accountingcoach.
You will become familiar with accounting debits and credits as we show you how to record transactions. Define analytically by referring the term to the immediate superordinate concept and then synthetically by listing differenciating features. Glossary of cost accounting terms established in sffas 4, managerial cost accounting concepts and standards for the federal government activity the actual work task or step performed in producing and delivering products and services. A laymans guide to financial terms utsc university of toronto. Cash basis accounting is a simple method of keeping track of revenue and expensesrevenue is recorded when the customer makes payment and expenses are recorded when paid out. The accounting cycle is a tenstep process that consists of the procedures necessary to collect, process, and report economic events in the financial statements for the reporting period the accounting equation refers to the main accounting formula that lays the foundation of doubleentry. It is most often used by sole proprietorships and small businesses that dont maintain inventory.
Accounting attempts to recognize noncash events and circumstances as they occur. It contains a separate account for each item that appears in the balance sheet and income statement. Accounting period expenditure and revenue measurement within a predetermined time frame. Accounting concepts, principles and basic terms mba. It includes a unique number, the date the money was withdrawn, details of the transaction, and total amount withdrawn. Clear and concise article style description with practical examples. Accrual is concerned with expected future cash receipts and payments. Employee benefit plan authorized by internal revenue code section 401 k, whereby an employer establishes an account for each participating employee and each participant elects to deposit a. My accounting dictionary is written completely in everyday, nonaccounting language, so you can understand it.
The worldview of accounting and accountants may certainly involve some unhelpful characters poring over formidable figures stacked up in indecipherable columns. For a more in depth discussion of each accounting term, simply click the link associated with each term. Generally accepted accounting principles gaap are a common set of accounting principles. Accounting is a system meant for measuring business activities, processing of information into reports and making the findings available to decisionmakers. In addition to recording financial transactions, it involves reporting, analyzing and summarizing information. A small amount of cash withdrawn from the bank used to buy miscellaneous items, e.
With accurate financial records, the equation balances. Accounting 101 well explain the basics of accounting in easy to understand terms with real life examples, showing you the impact on your. Prior to entering the partnership, ebs recognised that many challenges existed in tackling the barriers to family and financial literacy. Basic accounting concepts n matching n revenues and expenses shown on the income statement must be matched for the period. If any further amendments are made to ifrs 9 by 30 september 2011 for example, in relation to accounting. Basic accounting terminologies include all those important terms which are frequently used while studying financial accounting. This accounting glossary isnt an ordinary dictionary that you find in the back of one of your accounting textbooks. The accounting terms explained below are the most frequently used terms in accounting and will help you understand the subject of accounting better. Of course, there are those accounting terms that dont pertain to a particular financial statement. Basic accounting principles business environment 64 the results disclosed in the financial statements will be uniform and comparable.
The ebs building society partnered with the national adult literacy agency nala to develop a programme, which would help to target the growing issue of family and financial literacy. In most cases, accounting assets are tangible assets, such as equipment, property, land, cash and tools. In other words, it can be said that the management accounting can be considered as an extension of cost accounting. Terms like revenue, expenses, gross profit, depreciation, bad debt, and fixed assets have precise definitions when used in business accounting.
Equity and owners equity oe equity and owners equity oe definition. Balance sheet a statement of the financial position of an entity showing assets, liabilities. An accounting period is designated in all financial statements income statement, balance sheet, and statement of cash flows. As stated earlier, accounting ratios ar e an important tool of financial statements analysis. An owners equity is typically explained in terms of the percentage of stock a person has ownership interest in the company. While accounting and bookkeeping software have made the task of recording and summarizing financial information easier and faster, its still good to know whats actually being done behind the scenes by the software. Accounting is concerned with the timely and accurate recording of transactions, providing useful management information, and properly reporting such information for various user needs. Accounting accounting keeps track of the financial records of a business. This is used whenever cash is withdrawn from the petty cash fund. The documents, which communicate these findings about the performance of an organisation in monetary terms, are called financial statements.
International accounting standards are an older set of standards that were replaced by international financial reporting standards ifrs in 2001. Accounting terminology guide over 1,000 accounting and. Most ledgers are now computerised eg sage, quickbooks. The first meaning of the word terminology is the set of special words belonging to. Accounting is the bookkeeping methodology involved in creating a financial record of all business transactions and in preparing statements concerning the assets, liabilities and operating results of the business accounting methods and terms have standard rules known as. Harold averkamp cpa, mba has worked as a university accounting instructor, accountant, and consultant for more than 25 years.
Audit an audit is the independent examination of, and expression of opinion on, financial statements of an entity. An aggregation of actions performed within an organization that is useful for purposes of activitybased costing. Accounting period any period of time utilised to measure accounting performance e. If the customer has credit terms, the revenue is not recorded until full payment is. Contingencies exist when a company has an existing circumstance as of the date of the financial statements that may cause a gain or loss in the future, depending on events that havent yet happened and, indeed, may never happen. Corporations currently operate on a fiscal year beginning on july 1st and ending june 30th. Five free bookkeeping tutorials explain and illustrate whats involved in keeping the books. But intangible assets, such as stock, s, patents and trademarks, can also fall under this category. Whether you work in that department or no, there are certain accounting terms that. Some of the basic accounting terms that you will learn include revenues, expenses, assets, liabilities, income statement, balance sheet, and statement of cash flows.
Population health is a relatively new term, with no agreement about. Management accounting helps the management to conduct the business in a more ef. Basic accounting terms are very important for accounting s beginner to understand it. However, a short and sweet description of accounting. Accounting encompasses the broader responsibilities over developing and maintaining the accounting systems under which bookkeeping functions are performed. Accounts payable sundry creditors short term or current financial obligations that are created through the purchase of merchandise, or obtaining of service. Click one of the letters above to advance the page to terms beginning with that letter. The american institute of certified public accountant has defined financial accounting as. In compliance with this section, the accounting standards and procedures for counties manual was issued in 1961. Well also discuss working with your cpa, no matter what platform they are using. Learn about the most important accounting concepts, such as bookkeeping, the double entry system, accruals and matching principles, how to prepare financial statements, and more. You just cant take a quick look into the crystal ball to decide what contingencies to. Glossary of terms used in terminology available in pdf 145kb. Most comprehensive financial dictionary with over popular financial terms.
Since then the manual has been changed and updated as required. The scope of management accounting is broader than that of cost accounting. General accounting terms and definitions accounting cycle composed of several accounting periods spanning over twelve consecutive months. Accounting book bookkeeping, principles, and statements. Since manual terminology files are rapidly being replaced by computerized. Accounting standards as 2 are issued amended by the accounting standards board of icai, to establish uniform standards for preparation of financial statements, in accordance with indian gaap generally accepted accounting practices, for better understanding of the users. You need to understand exactly what is meant by accounting terms like these. Cfis principles of accounting book is free and available for anyone to download as a pdf. Words in bold indicate that such a definition is available. Glossary of financial accounting terms the definition of one word or phrase may depend on understanding another word or phrase defined elsewhere in the reference list. Pdf documents involve a wide range of technical areas which this glossary seeks to explain.
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