Term
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Definition
| The process of identifying, measuring, and communicating economic information about an organization for the purpose of making decisions and informed judgments. |
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Definition
| Accounting that recognizes revenues and expenses as they occur, even though the cash receipt from the revenue or the cash disbursement related to the expense may occur before or after the event that causes revenue or expense recognition. |
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Term
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Definition
| A document distributed to shareholders and other interested parties that contains the financial statements, explanatory notes, and management's discussion and analysis of financial and operating factors that affected the firm together with the report of the external auditor's examination of the financial statements. |
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Term
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Definition
| The process of examining the financial statements of an entity by an independent third party with the objective of expressing an opinion about the fairness of the presentation of the entity's financial position, results of operations, changes in financial position, and cash flows. The practice of auditing is less precisely referred to as public accounting. |
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Term
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Definition
| Procedures that are used to keep track of financial transactions and accumulate the results of an entity's financial activities. |
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Term
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Definition
| Cash receipts or disbursements of an entity. |
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Term
| Certified Management Accountant (CMA) |
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Definition
| Professional designation earned by passing a broad, four-part examination and meeting certain experience requirements. Examination topics include economics, corporate finance, information management, financial accounting and reporting, management reporting, decision analysis, and behavioral issues. |
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Term
| Certified Public Accountant (CPA) |
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Definition
| A professional designation earned by fulfilling certain education and experience requirements, in addition to passing a comprehensive, four-part examination. Examination topics include financial accounting theory and practice, income tax accounting, managerial accounting, governmental and not-for-profit accounting, auditing, business law, and other aspects of the business environment. |
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Term
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Definition
| The job title of the person who is the chief accounting officer of an organization. The controller is usually responsible for both the financial and managerial accounting functions. Sometimes referred to as comptroller. |
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Term
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Definition
| A subset of managerial accounting that relates to the determination and accumulation of product, process, or service costs. |
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Term
| Cost Accounting Standards Board (CASB) |
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Definition
| A group authorized by the U.S. Congress to Establish cost accounting standards for government contractors. |
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Term
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Definition
| An organization or individual who lends to the entity. Examples include suppliers who ship merchandise to the entity prior to receiving payment for their goods and banks that lend cash to the entity. |
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Term
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Definition
| An organization, individual, or a group of organizations or individuals for which accounting services are performed. |
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Term
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Definition
| Accounting that focuses on reporting an entity's financial position at a point in time and/or it's results of operations and cash flows for a period of time. |
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Term
| Financial Accounting Foundation (FAF) |
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Definition
| An organization composed of people from the public accounting profession, businesses, and the public that is responsible for the funding of and appointing members to the Financial Accounting Standards Board and the Governmental Accounting Standards Board. |
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Term
| Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) |
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Definition
| The body responsible for establishing generally accepted accounting principles. |
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Term
| generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) |
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Definition
| Pronouncements of the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) and its predecessors that constitute appropriate accounting for various transactions used for reporting financial position and results of operations to investors and creditors. |
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Term
| generally accepted auditing standards (GAAS) |
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Definition
| Standards for auditing that are established by the Auditing Standards Board of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants unless superseded or amended by the PCAOB. |
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Term
| Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) |
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Definition
| Established by the Financial Accounting Foundation to develop guidelines for financial accounting and reporting by state and local government units. |
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Term
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Definition
| The personal characteristic of an accountant, especially an auditor, that refers to both appearing and in fact being objective and impartial. |
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Term
| independent auditor's report |
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Definition
| The report accompanying audited financial statements that explains briefly the auditor's responsibility and the extent of work performed. The report includes an opinion about whether the information contained in the financial statements is presented fairly in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. |
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Term
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Definition
| The personal characteristic of honesty, including being forthright in dealings and communications with others. |
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Term
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Definition
| The practice of auditing within a company by employees of a company. |
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Term
| International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) |
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Definition
| Standard-setting body responsible for the development of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), permitted or required by more than 100 countries. |
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Term
| International financial reporting standards (IFRS) |
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Definition
| Pronouncements of the International Accounting Standards Board that are considered to be a "principles-based" set of standards in that they establish broad rules as well as dictating specific treatments. Many of the standards forming part of IFRS are known by the older name of International Accounting Standards. |
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Term
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Definition
| An organization or individual that has an ownership interest in the firm. For corporations, referred to as stockholder or shareholder. |
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Term
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Definition
| Accounting that is concerned with the internal use of economic and financial information to plan and control many of the activities of an entity and to support the management decision-making process. |
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Term
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Definition
| Personal characteristic of impartiality, including freedom from conflict of interest. |
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Term
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Definition
| The segment of the accounting profession that provides income tax accounting, and management consulting services to clients. |
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Term
| Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) |
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Definition
| Established in 2002 with authority to set and enforce auditing and ethics standards for public companies and their auditing firms, affiliated with the SEC. |
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Term
| Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) |
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Definition
| A unit of the federal government that is responsible for establishing regulations and assuring full disclosure to investors about companies and their securities that are traded in interstate commerce. |
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Term
| Statements of Financial Accounting Standards (SFAS) |
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Definition
| Pronouncements of the Financial Accounting Standards Board that constitute generally accepted accounting principles. |
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Term
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Definition
| The personal characteristic of honesty, including being forthright in dealings and communications with others. |
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