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| Accountant | A person who handles a broad range of responsibilities, makes business decisions, and prepares and interprets financial reports |
| Accounting Clerk | An entry-level job that can vary from specializing in one part of the system (i.e. Purchasing or Accounts Payable) to doing a wide range of tasks |
| Accounting Cycle | Activities performed in an accounting period that help the business keep its records in an orderly fashion |
| Accounting Period | The period of time covered by an accounting report |
| Accounting System | A system designed to collect, document, and report on business transactions |
| Audit | The review of a company’s accounting systems and financial statements to confirm that it follows generally accepted accounting principles |
| Calendar year | Accounting period that begins on January 1 and ends on December 31 |
| Certified Public Accountant (CPA) | A licensed professional who has met certain education and experience requirements and passed a national test |
| Computerized accounting system | A type of accounting system in which information is recorded by entering it into a computer (also known as Automated Accounting System) |
| Financial Accounting | Focuses on reporting information to external users—those not directly involved in the day-to-day operations of the business. (i.e. banks, investors, governmental taxing agencies, competitors) |
| Financial Reports | Documents that present summarized information about the financial status of a business. (i.e. Balance Sheets, Income Statements, Cash Flow Statements) |
| Fiscal Year | An accounting period of 12 consecutive months which CAN match the calendar year or not. Ex/ The State of North Carolina’s fiscal year begins on July 1 and ends the following June 30 |
| GAAP (Generally Accepted Accounting Principles) | All accountants follow the same accounting framework or set of rules to prepare financial reports. |
| Management Accounting | Focuses on reporting information to management and internal users of information who are involved in making day-to-day operating decisions like purchasing, hiring, production, sales and budgets. |
| Manual Accounting System | A type of accounting system in which information is processed largely by hand recording of transactions. |
