Accounting Words - A Terms

Accounts Payable:  Accounts of money you owe.  A liability that is usually created when you've made a purchase on credit.

Accounts Receivable: Accounts of money owed to you for the sale of goods or services.

Accrual basis:  A method of accounting where transactions are recorded as they occur regardless of when payment for that transaction is made or received

Accrued Assets:  Assets from revenues earned but not yet received.

Accrued Expenses:  A liability incurred during the accounting period for which payment has not been made.

Accumulated Depreciation: The running balance of the depreciation taken on an asset.

Aging: The grouping of like transactions by date. Example - sorting invoices by due date.

Adjusting Entries: Special accounting entries that are made when you close the books at the end of an accounting period to bring the ledger up to date.

Asset: Items that a business or individual owns or are owed.

Audit: The scrutinizing of accounting records and supporting documents for accuracy and completeness.

Audit trail: The information within the accounting system that reveals the effects of a transaction.