What Is Accounting?

Accounting is more than adding up columns of numbers. According to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, accounting related careers can expect a, "faster-than-average" rate of growth. This makes learning accounting a valuable way to spend your time.

Definition

Accounting is the process of identifying relevant business transactions, recording those transactions and communicating the information to others.

Identify

Transactions must first be identified. A transaction could be a purchase, sell or any other event that affects the business.

Record

Once relevant transactions have been identified, they must be recorded properly. This is done by entering the transactions into a journal, and later a ledger under specific accounts.

Communicate

Accounting communicates information to other members of the business, as well as outside stakeholders. Financial statements serve this purpose.

Fields

There are various fields of accounting. Financial accounting, managerial accounting, taxation accounting and forensic accounting are the main accounting fields.

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