define accounting period concept: Accounting concepts definition

However, a financial year refers to the period starting of one full year . Let us understand the advantages and disadvantages of the accounting period principle through the discussion of points from both extremes of this concept. Accounting TransactionsAccounting Transactions are business activities which have a direct monetary effect on the finances of a Company. For example, Apple representing nearly $200 billion in cash & cash equivalents in its balance sheet is an accounting transaction. Accruals are revenues earned or expenses incurred which impact a company’s net income, although cash has not yet exchanged hands. Capitalization is an accounting method in which a cost is included in the value of an asset and expensed over the useful life of that asset.

This means that where your profits increase, your tax bill will rise more slowly. The Internal Revenue Service allows taxpayers to either use the calendar-year taxpayers or fiscal-year for tax reporting. An accrued expense is recognized on the books before it has been billed or paid. It means the collection of cash and payment in cash is ignored while calculating the profit or loss of the year. 13-week fiscal quarters such as the 13 weeks ending on the last Saturday in April, etc. For example, machinery or equipment purchased would be noted at its purchased price rather than its current price, even if the machinery is very old, and is not worth the purchased price.

Each accounting period corresponds to the same accounting period in the previous year and the next year. Provides a review and forecast tool for management and helps in comparative analysis. For example, a business may choose a fiscal year from Feb. 1 to Jan. 31 or observe a week fiscal year, where each year rotates between being 52 or 53 weeks long.

Thus, the one-by-one comparison is possible only regarding the accounting period. Whether a company has incurred losses or profits is a vague question if any fixed interval is not allotted. Thus, the concept gives meaning to financial statements and helps the investors properly analyze financial results. The accounting period principle allows companies to follow a weekly, monthly, quarterly, or annual form of bookkeeping. Monthly accounting periods are the most common forms of accounting for firms as it gives them enough data to compare their growth trajectory, sales, inflows, and outflows in detail. However, the beginning of an accounting period can depend on the jurisdiction of the business.

What is the Significance of an Accounting Period?

The money measurement concept refers to the transaction recorded by a business only in terms of money. What it means is that for a business, an account book can record only those transactions which involve monetary transfers. Any other transfers or transactions which do not involve any money transfer are not recorded into the accounts books.

However, in case of certain situations, preparation of interim financial statements become necessary. For example, at the time of retirement of a partner, the accounting period can be different from twelve months period. It is also typical for a business entity to have multiple concurrent accounting periods active at any given time.

Credit

The term comes from the fact that it also displays if you made a profit or loss during that time. The accounting period has no fixed length, and it can be of any length, such as one year or less and maybe more than one year. For individuals new to the business world, accounting period concept and financial year often sound like the exact same phenomenon. However, there are differences that have been highlighted through the comparison below.

In management accounting the accounting period varies widely and is determined by management. An accounting period may be taken as the time it takes to complete an accounting cycle of the business. In other words, one accounting cycle equals one accounting period. A company records its transactions from 1st January to 31st December every year and closes its financials.

Importance of Accounting Concept

At that point the first Saturday in the following month becomes the date closest to the end of August and it resets to that date and the fiscal year has 53 weeks instead of 52. In this example the fiscal years ending in 2011 and 2016 have 53 weeks. Similar to full disclosure, this convention also bound organizations to put down their cards on the table, meaning they need to totally disclose all the material facts about the company.

You can efile income tax return on your income from salary, house property, capital gains, business & profession and income from other sources. Further you can also file TDS returns, generate Form-16, use our Tax Calculator software, claim HRA, check refund status and generate rent receipts for Income Tax Filing. The following information is available from the financial records of X Company. In case of situations such as a merger or an acquisition, if an organization wants to change its accounting period, such a change is difficult to be done. Now suppose, he takes away Rs. 5000 cash or goods for the same worth for his domestic purposes. This withdrawal of cash/goods by the owner from the business is his private expense and not the business expense.

Net Profit

Working capital defines the sum that remains after subtracting current liabilities from current assets. Equity capital specifies the money paid into a business by investors in exchange for stock in the company. Debt capital covers money obtained through credit instruments such as loans.

On the downside, this concept ignores the effect of inflation in the market, which can sometimes be very steep. Still, the cost concept is widely and universally accepted on the basis of which we do the accounting of a business unit. It may be handled by a bookkeeper or an accountant at a small firm, or by sizable finance departments with dozens of employees at larger companies.

The fact that financial statements are prepared according to accounting periods necessitates certain adjustments. For example, when a car is purchased, its cost must be apportioned over the various accounting periods in which it will be used. Accounting periods offer consistency as it lets business check their growth across different accounting periods. The accrual method of accounting also works upon the accounting period, plus the matching principle is also based upon them. The accounting cycle is a collective process of identifying, analyzing, and recording the accounting events of a company.

Here, the define accounting period concept period is one year, i.e., 1st January to 31st December. The matching principle states that an expense should be reported in the same accounting period as the revenue generated by the expense. Accounting concepts are a set of general conventions that can be used as guidelines when dealing with accounting situations. These concepts have also been integrated into the various accounting standards, so that a user will not implement a standard and then find that it is in conflict with one of the accounting concepts. In accounting, liquidity describes the relative ease with which an asset can be sold for cash.

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She has worked in private industry as an accountant for law firms and for ITOCHU Corporation, an international conglomerate that manages over 20 subsidiaries and affiliates. Matos stays up to date on changes in the accounting industry through educational courses. A trial balance is a report of the balances of all general ledger accounts at a point in time. Accountants prepare or generate trial balances at the conclusion of a reporting period to ensure all accounts and balances add up properly. In professional practice, trial balances function like test-runs for an official balance sheet. It is essentially a way of adjusting future revenues, expenses, and debts for inflation.

• You also want to think of when you need to claim tax relief on business expenses.
• That equity may then be reinvested back into the business to fuel its future growth.
• This concept helps the company set a formal period over which books must be closed.
• Because the accounting cycle captures all transactions across time and reports them in the form of financials, one accounting cycle equals one accounting period.
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Accounting periods are used primarily for two purposes – reporting progress to shareholders and for future analysis. Firms need to prepare financial statements to display stability and develop an outlook towards long-term profitability. The accounting period is when financial transactions are performed, calculated, and analyzed before being assimilated into the financial statement for that period. An accounting period may be either a calendar year, a fiscal year, or a shorter duration, like a month or even a week. For internal reports, generally, an accounting period would be one month. Additionally, some firms compile their financial statements in four-week increments, so they have 13 accounting periods every year.

Accounting Period: Explanation

Hence, once revenue is realized, the next step is to assign the relevant accounting period. For example, if you pay a commission to a salesperson for the sale that you record in March. In the accounting system, the accrual concept tells that the business revenue is realized at the time goods and services are sold irrespective of the fact when cash is received for the same. It must be included in the revenue for the year ending March 31, 2021. Transactions Of The BusinessA business transaction is the exchange of goods or services for cash with third parties (such as customers, vendors, etc.). The goods involved have monetary and tangible economic value, which may be recorded and presented in the company’s financial statements.

Its quarterly accounting periods would be July 1 through September 30, etc. A lot of times, suppliers are not paid exactly when they deliver the goods. The accrual period allows the supplier to note the income from delivering goods at the time those goods were delivered and not the time when those goods were paid for. The accrual concept allows for precise measurement of income and expenses.