• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Hide Search

206-529-4955 | sales@clearacctg.com

  • Home
  • Services
    • Bookkeeping
    • Taxes
    • Catch Up Bookkeeping
    • Profit First
  • Pricing
  • BLOG
  • More
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
  • Secure Client Portal Login

Your profit first online accounting team

Make, save, and keep more money. Clear Accounting provides you a dedicated bookkeeper supported by a team of small business experts.

Get Started Today

Beyond the Books: The World of Accounting

In small business, accounting refers to a set of tasks that revolve around maintaining a general ledger – your books — and preparing financial statements. Beyond small business accounting, there are many more aspects to accounting. In this article, we’ve prepared a glossary of accounting terms so you can discover the larger world of accounting.

Cost accounting. This type of accounting looks at the cost of items for sale. It’s especially useful in manufacturing, construction, or even restaurants where dozens or even hundreds of components are purchased and assembled to make the items that are for sale. Cost accountants account for and evaluate these costs to determine when they are too high or low and need to be repriced or purchased in a different way. 

Cost accounting can be applied to small businesses to help them with pricing, determining breakeven points, controlling costs, and budgeting.

Government accounting. Government accounting is simply accounting that’s done for government entities. Government accountants are concerned with maintaining government regulations as well as learning a different way of keeping books.

Nonprofit accounting. Nonprofit accounting is unique to nonprofit organizations in that they often need to track and mark specific donations, manage grants and meet reporting requirements, fulfill public disclosures and reporting, and maintain a fund accounting process.

Financial accounting. Financial accounting is the preparation of financial reports for external use and includes providing financial statements. 

Attest. Attest accounting is where a CPA goes through a process of verifying financial reports of a business to interested third-parties, such as banks and the public. The three main services in this area include compilations, reviews, and audits. Only a CPA can perform these services.

Fraud or forensic accounting. A specialty role in accounting, forensic accountants can help a company that has been the victim of fraud. There are also services available to help reduce the possibility of fraud. 

Tax accounting. Tax accounting can be many things: the preparation of federal and state income tax returns for businesses, individuals, and other entities like estates and trusts; state and local tax assistance with collection, filing, remittance, and compliance; franchise tax support; and payroll tax collection, filing, and payment. There are more, but these are the big ones.

Budgeting. Making a revenue and spending plan is an important accounting function.

Internal auditing. Large companies have internal audit departments that maintain checks and balances for the company. In small companies, having someone in charge of monitoring internal controls would be the equivalent function.

Accounting systems. Some accountants are technology-savvy, and this type of accountant can help solve technology issues, integrate accounting system modules, and streamline workflow.

Fiduciary accounting. A fiduciary is someone legally responsible for financial responsibilities in an organization. Fiduciary accounting typically refers to accounting for trusts, but can have a much broader meaning.

Public accounting. Public accounting is practiced by employees in a public accounting firm, which is one that serves many businesses with varying accounting needs.  This is opposed to private or industry accounting where an accountant goes to work for one company in their accounting department. Public vs. industry accounting is really referring to an accountant’s career experience. 

Managerial accounting. This type of accounting focuses on internal numbers and how the organization can reach its goals. It’s broader than cost accounting, but there is an overlap. Accountants who serve in an advisory capacity to businesses will focus on this area. 

Did we get all of the terms you might be wondering about? If not, ask us, and we’ll add it here.

Previous Post
Next Post

Written by:
Simone Bachaud
Published on:
March 28, 2019

Categories: Accounting

Primary Sidebar

MONTHLY ARCHIVES

Categories

  • Accounting (30)
  • Accounting Software (3)
  • Blog (15)
  • bookkeeping (2)
  • Bookkeeping Tips (7)
  • Business (12)
  • Business Development (17)
  • Business Growth (14)
  • Business Tips (100)
  • Cool Tech Tools (16)
  • Cost-Saving Tips (1)
  • Cost-Savings Tips (1)
  • Customer Service (1)
  • Customer Service Tips (7)
  • cybersecurity (1)
  • Decision-Making Tips (4)
  • Expense Reduction Tips (4)
  • Finance Management (1)
  • Management Tips (10)
  • Marketing Tips (1)
  • Money Management (1)
  • News (10)
  • Payroll Tips (3)
  • Personal Development (6)
  • Profitability Tips (12)
  • Profits (1)
  • Self-Employment (4)
  • Tax (16)
  • Tax Resolution (1)
  • Technology (2)
  • Time Management Tips (4)
  • Uncategorized (16)

Explore more

Call us: 206-529-4955 Email us: sales@clearacctg.com Contact Us

Clear Accounting

8618 NE 143rd St, Suite 100
Kirkland, WA 98034

  • 206-529-4955
  • sales@clearacctg.com
Client Login

Intuit, QuickBooks, and QuickBooks ProAdvisor are registered trademarks of Intuit Inc. Used with permission under the QuickBooks ProAdvisor Agreement.

Facebook Twitter Youtube Linkedin
SIGN UP FOR OUR NEWSLETTER!
Subscribe to our newsletter for the latest news and updates from Clear Accounting, plus interesting articles and useful advice.

© 2022 Copyright Clear Accounting | Disclaimer & Privacy Policy | Client Login | Areas | Sitemap