Accounting Vocabulary

A systematic way of recording and reporting financial transactions for a business or organization.

A

The amount of money a company owes creditors (suppliers, etc.) in return for goods and/or services they have delivered. (2 words)

A

The amount of money owed by customers or clients to a business after goods or services have been delivered and/or used. (2 words)

A

An incurred expense that hasn’t been paid yet. (2 words)

A

A group of securities that behaves similarly in the marketplace. (2 words)

A

A financial report that summarizes a company's assets (what it owns), liabilities (what it owes) and owner or shareholder equity, at a given time. (2 words)

B

A financial asset or the value of a financial asset, such as cash or goods.

C

The revenue or expense expected to be generated through business activities (sales, manufacturing, etc.) over a period of time. (2 words)

C

The direct expenses related to producing the goods sold by a business. (4 words)

C

An accounting entry that may either decrease assets or increase liabilities and equity on the company's balance sheet, depending on the transaction.

C

Assets that will be converted to cash within one year. (2 words)

C

Debts that are payable within a year. (2 words)

C

An accounting entry where there is either an increase in assets or a decrease in liabilities on a company's balance sheet.

D

The process of allocating or spreading capital investments into varied assets to avoid over-exposure to risk.

D

Long-term assets likely to provide benefits to a company for more than one year, such as a real estate, land or major machinery. (2 words)

F

Payments (e.g., rent) that will be made on a regular schedule. (2 words)

F

A complete record of the financial transactions over the life of a company. (2 words)

G

A set of rules and guidelines developed by the accounting industry for companies to follow when reporting financial data. (4 words)

G

A state whereby an individual or organization can no longer meet financial obligations with lender(s) when their debts come due.

I

Debts that are typically payable over a period of time greater than one year, e.g. a mortgage. (3 words)

L

A company's total earnings, calculated by subtracting total expenses from total revenues. (2 words)

N

Business expenditures not directly associated with the production of goods or services, e.g., advertising costs, property taxes or insurance premiums. (2 words)

O

A financial statement that is used to summarize a company’s performance and financial position by reviewing revenues, costs and expenses during a specific period of time, such as quarterly or annually. (4 words)

P

A business document in which all ledgers are compiled into debit and credit columns in order to ensure a company’s bookkeeping system is mathematically correct. (2 words)

T

Expenditures that may change from one time period to another, e.g., labor costs. (2 words)

V