BNET Business Dictionary

Business Definition for: Accounting Period

a length of time for which businesses may prepare internal accounts so as to monitor progress on a weekly, monthly, or quarterly basis. Accounts are generally prepared for external purposes on an annual basis.

Additional Resources

Understanding Research and Development Accounting: There's more than one way to account for Research and Development (R&D). A business using the accrual method of accounting will treat R&D costs as expenses. A business contracted to undertake R&D for another company might treat it as an operational cost. If that business retains an element of financial...; Tags: Accounting, accrual, Activity, asset, BNET Editorial, Business Operations, Cost, financial, GAAP, income, knowledge, market research, Operational accounting, operational cost, Partnership, R&D, Research & Development, software, software development; Articles 2007-10-02
Financial Statements And Accounting Concepts/Principles: Present in this paper are the important components to be incorporated in a Financial Statement—Balance Sheet, Income Statement, Statement of Retained Earnings and Statement of Cash Flows. The paper briefly describes the components that should be present in each of the accounting concept. The paper also talks about accounting concepts...; Tags: Accounting, Financial, Financial Statement, Financial Statements, Operational Accounting, Financial Services, Financial Planning, Financial Accounting, Finance; Presentations 2003-01-01
IRS updates automatic approval procedures for accounting-period changes.: In Rev. Proc. 2006-45, the Service updated its automatic consent procedures for certain eligible corporations to change their annual accounting periods. The procedure clarifies, modifies, amplifies and supersedes Rev. Proc. 2002-37, and is generally In Rev. Proc. 2006-45, the Service updated its automatic consent ...; Tags: Internal Revenue Service; Research articles 2007-01-01
Accounting - Basic Accounting Balance Sheets: A balance sheet is a snapshot of a business financial condition at a specific moment in time, usually at the close of an accounting period. A balance sheet comprises assets, liabilities, and owners' or stockholders' equity. Assets and liabilities are divided into short- and long-term obligations including cash accounts such...; Tags: Asset, Accounting, Liability, BusinessTown.com, Asset Management, Balance Sheets, Financial Services, Operational Accounting, Operational Planning, Business Operations, Financial Statements, Financial Accounting, Finance; White papers 2009-01-01
Accounting - Balance Sheets: A balance sheet is a snapshot of a business' financial condition at a specific moment in time, usually at the close of an accounting period. It comprises assets, liabilities, and owners' or stockholders' equity. Assets and liabilities are divided into short- and long-term obligations including cash accounts such as checking,...; Tags: Asset, Accounting, Liability, Business Town, Asset Management, Balance Sheets, Financial Services, Operational Planning, Business Operations, Financial Statements, Financial Accounting, Finance; White papers 2003-01-01

Hospitality Industry Managerial Accounting: The paper discusses the financial issues and topics covered in the balance sheet of an organization. The balance sheet is a reflection of the financial health of the organization. The balance sheet is prepared at the end of the accounting period and contains the details about the expenses incurred and...; Tags: Balance Sheet, Balance Sheets, California State Polytechnic University, Finance, Financial, Financial Accounting, Financial Statements; Presentations 2003-01-01
Accounting period changes affecting CFCs and corporations exiting a consolidated group.(controlled foreign corporations): In Rev. Proc. 2007-64, the Service has modified the scope provision set forth in Rev. Proc. 2006-45 for corporations that exit a consolidated group and request consent to change their annual accounting periods. Rev. Proc. 2007-64 also modifies the terms and conditions relating to recordkeeping and...; Tags: accounting, FINANCE, Sec, Taxes; Research articles 2008-01-01
Knowing the Right Time to Recognize Revenue: Products and services can be sold and marketed in many different ways. Guidance is available about how to recognize revenue record income from the most common types of transaction, but it's not possible to provide for every situation—so considerable professional judgment is needed in the less straightforward cases.What You Need...; Tags: accounting, accrual, adjustment, AICPA, asset, BNET Editorial, financial, financial statement, GAAP, income, Operational accounting, payment, retail company, revenue, sales, SEC; Articles 2007-07-05
Income Statements-CCH INCORPORATED: While the balance sheet is a financial snapshot, giving picture of the business's assets and liabilities, the income statement shows a summary of the flow of transactions business has had over the entire accounting period. The income statement mainly tells about the income the business has earned in the accounting...; Tags: Accounting, Income, Income Statement, Balance Sheet, CCH, Operational Accounting, Balance Sheets, Finance, Financial Statements, Financial Accounting; White papers 2003-01-01
Announcement 2003-17: New Revision of Publication 538, Accounting Periods and Methods Publication 538, revised March 2003, is now available from the Internal Revenue Service. It replaces the April 2001 revision. This publication provides information on how to determine the appropriate accounting period and accounting method for your business. It also provides information...; Tags: accounting, FINANCE, Internal Revenue Service; Research articles 2003-04-14
Duties of accounting clerks during the civil war and their influence on current accounting practices: ABSTRACT No single event in United States history has had such a profound impact on our country as the Civil War of 1861 to 1865. An analysis of military accounting documents of the period provides valuable information related to their influence on current accounting and auditing practices. These documents...; Tags: accounting, asset, Company, FINANCE, officer, Regulations, soldier, U.S. Army; Research articles 2004-09-01
Assessing a Profit and Loss Account: A profit and loss account (P&L) is a statement of sales income and expenditure over a specified period, and any profits or losses made. Essentially, the profit or loss is the difference between the money that comes in and the money that goes out. A P&L account does not show...; Tags: advertisement, BNET Editorial, dividend, GAAP, income, net income, net profit, P&L, payment, revenue, sales, stock, tax, Operational accounting; Articles 2007-07-05
Statement of Changes in Equity: This article explains about the Statement of Changes in Equity. This type of financial statement is used to bridge the gap between the amount of equity the owners have in the business at the beginning of the accounting period and the amount of their equity at the end of the...; Tags: Accounting, Equity, CCH, Financial Services, Investment, Finance; White papers 2003-01-01
Medicis' Accounting Error Puts Spotlight on Solodyn Weakness; Allergan Rejoices: Medicis stock tumbled roughly 16 percent yesterday after it announced that it would restate six years of its numbers due to an accounting error. But the magnitude of the fall seems to have drawn attention not to the vanity pharma company's inability to count beans, but the...; Tags: Accounting, Allergan Inc., Medicis, Solodyn, Operational Accounting, Financial Services, Sales Strategy, Finance, Sales, Jim Edwards; Blog posts 2008-09-25
Publishing in the Majors: A Comparison of Accounting, Finance, Management, and Marketing: Publication in top-tier journals is the primary criterion for promotion at many business schools and a strong influence on salary, teaching load, and research support. Business schools evaluate publication records by comparing the quality and quantity of top-tier research articles to those of peers within the same discipline intradisciplinary and...; Tags: Accounting, Marketing, Journal, Operational Accounting, Financial Services, Finance; White papers 2001-01-01
Hawaiian Electric Industries, Inc. Confirms Current Expensing of Stock Options and Announces Plans to Adopt Preferred Method for Stock Option Accounting: Business Editors HONOLULU--BUSINESS WIRE--Sept. 17, 2002 Hawaiian Electric Industries, Inc. (NYSE:HE) confirmed today that for several years it has been expensing stock options over their vesting period in accordance with the Accounting Principles Board Opinion No. 25, "Accounting for Stock Issued to Employees." For the period from January...; Tags: accounting, Benefits, FINANCE, Financial Accounting Standards Board, Hawaiian Electric Industries Inc., Investment, stock; Research articles 2002-09-17
Nomination period to open for 2006 innovation awards.(IN THE NEWS): The nomination period for The CPA Technology Advisor's third annual Tax & Accounting Technology Innovation Awards will open on January 9, 2006, and extend through March 15. The awards, which recognize innovative developments in software, services, hardware and other technologies for the accounting and tax profession,...; Tags: In The News Inc.; Research articles 2006-01-01
How New Accounting Rules Affect High Tech: The changes in revenue recognition rules by the Financial Accounting Standards Board FASB were seen by most in light of what it might mean to Apple earnings, as it would no longer have to delay recognizing a good chunk of iPhone hardware revenue. However, for all the thought that Apple...; Tags: Software, Revenue, Accounting, Apple Inc., Hardware, Operational Accounting, Sales Strategy, Financial Services, Finance, Sales, Erik Sherman; Blog posts 2009-09-28
Rev. proc. 2002-38: CONTENTS SECTION 1. PURPOSE SECTION 2. BACKGROUND .01 Taxable Year Defined (1) In general (2) Annual accounting period (3) Required taxable year .02 Adoption of a Taxable Year .03 Change in Taxable Year (1) In general (2) Annualization of short period return (3) No retroactive change in annual accounting period...; Tags: A Partnership Inc.; Research articles 2002-06-03
Rev. proc. 2002-39: Rev. Proc. 2002-39 CONTENTS SECTION 1. PURPOSE SECTION 2. BACKGROUND .01 Taxable Year Defined (1) In general (2) Annual accounting period (3) Required taxable year .02 Adoption of Taxable Year .03 Change in Taxable Year (1) In general (2) Annualization of short period return (3) No retroactive change in annual...; Tags: A Partnership Inc.; Research articles 2002-06-03