Accounting Chapter789 Tools A B fiscal period The legnth of time for which a business summarizes and reports financial information . worksheet A columnar accounting form used to summarize the general ledger information needed to prepare financial statements trial balance A proof of the equality of debits and credits in a general ledger. adjustments Changes recorded on a worksheet to update general ledger accounts at the end of a fiscal period income statement A financial statement showing the revenue and expenses for a fiscal period i. net income The difference between total revenue and total expenses when total revenue is greater. net loss the difference between total revenue and total expenses when total expenses is greater. component percentage the percentage relationship between one financial statement item and the total thet includes that item. adjusting entries Journal entries recorded to update general ledger accounts at the end of a fiscal period. permanent accounts Accounts used to accumulate information from one fiscal period to the next. temporary accounts Accounts used to accumulate information until iit is transferred to the owner's capital account. closing entries Journal entries used to prepare temporary accounts for a new fiscal period post-closing trial balance A trial balance prepared after the closing entries are posted. accounting cycle The series of accounting activities included in recording financial information for a fiscal period.