accounting

American  

[uh-koun-ting] / əˈkaʊn tɪŋ /

noun

1. the theory and system of setting up, maintaining, and auditing the books of a firm; art of analyzing the financial position and operating results of a business house from a study of its sales, purchases, overhead, etc. (bookkeeping ).

2. a detailed report of the financial state or transactions of a person or entity.

   an accounting of the estate.

3. the rendering or submission of such a report.

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accounting British  

/ əˈkaʊntɪŋ /

noun

1. 1. the skill or practice of maintaining and auditing accounts and preparing reports on the assets, liabilities, etc, of a business

   2. ( as modifier )

      an accounting period

      accounting entity

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accounting Cultural  

1. The system of recording and auditing business transactions. (See audit.)

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Etymology

Origin of accounting

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English; account + -ing ¹

Example Sentences

“A lot of the manufacturers are banking on profits from selling parts five years out,” said Bryan Powrozek, a partner in the manufacturing practice of accounting firm Wipfli.

From The Wall Street Journal

Beyond Meat reported a drop in fourth-quarter sales and won't file its annual report on time due to new accounting problems.

From The Wall Street Journal

Without my boyfriend’s paycheck buffering our vibes-based accounting, it was time to face the scariest part of managing your money: the spending audit.

From MarketWatch

Car purchases tend to weaken, for example, perhaps because in their mental accounting, people place cars and gasoline into the same spending bucket.

From The Wall Street Journal

The new process essentially compresses the time between a registration statement becoming public and the eventual IPO, according to accounting expert Robert Willens.

From Barron's

Related Words

• bookkeeping
• computing