Accounting Terminology Guide
The NYSSCPA has prepared this glossary as an educational tool for journalists who report on and interpret financial information. We encourage your comments and suggestions as we continue to develop materials to assist financial journalists.
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- 401(k) Plan
- A Misstatement is Inconsequential
- Abatement
- Accelerated Depreciation
- Account
- Account Payable
- Account Receivable
- Accountable Plan
- Accountant
- Accountants' Report
- Accounting
- Accounting Change
- Accounting Principles Board (APB)
- Accrual Basis
- Accumulated Depreciation
- Additional Paid in Capital
- Adjusted Basis
- Adjusted Gross Income
- Adjusting Journal Entry
- ADR
- Adverse Opinion
- Affiliated Company
- Agency Fund
- Agreed-Upon Procedures Report
- AICPA
- Alternative Dispute Resolution
- Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT)
- American Depository Receipt (ADR)
- American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA)
- Amortization
- AMT
- Analytical Procedures
- Annual Report
- Annuity
- Anti-Dilution
- APB
- Assembly of Financial Statements
- Assertion
- Asset
- Audit Documentation
- Audit Engagement
- Audit Risk
- Audit Sampling
- Auditing Standards
- Auditor
- Auditors' Report
- Backup Withholding
- Bad Debt
- Balance
- Bankruptcy
- Bequest
- Blue Sky Laws
- Board of Directors
- Bond
- Book Value
- Boot
- Budget
- Business Combinations
- Business Segment
- Bylaws
- Cafeteria Plan
- Call Loan
- Callable Instrument
- Capital Gain
- Capital Projects Funds
- Capital Stock
- Capitalized Cost
- Capitalized Interest
- Capitalized Lease
- Carrying Value
- Carryovers
- Cash Basis
- Cash Equivalents
- Cash Flows
- Casualty Loss
- CD
- Certificate of Deposit (CD)
- Certified Financial Planner (CFP)
- Certified Internal Auditor (CIA)
- Certified Management Accountant (CMA)
- Certified Public Accountant (CPA)
- CFP
- CIA
- Claim for Refund
- Clean Opinion
- Closed-End Mutual Fund
- CMA
- CMO
- Collateral
- Collateralized Mortgage Obligation (CMO)
- Combined Financial Statement
- Comfort Letter
- Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO)
- Common Stock
- Company Level Controls
- Comparative Financial Statement
- Compensatory Balance
- Compilation
- Compilation Engagement
- Compilation Report
- Complex Trust
- Compliance Audit
- Compound Interest Principles
- Comprehensive Income
- Confirmation
- Conservatism
- Consistency
- Consolidated Financial Statements
- Consolidation
- Constructive Receipt
- Contingent Liability
- Continuing Operations
- Continuing Professional Education (CPE)
- Contra Account
- Control Deficiency
- Control Risk
- Controls Tests
- Convertible Stock
- Corporation
- COSO
- Cost Accounting
- Cost Recovery Method
- Coverdell Education Savings Account (Education IRA)
- CPA
- CPE
- Credit
- Credit Agreement
- Credit Balance
- Creditor
- Current Asset
- Current Liability
- Current Value
- Date of Auditors'/Accountants' Report
- Death Benefit
- Debit
- Debit Balance
- Debt
- Debt Security
- Debt Service Fund
- Debtor
- Decedent
- Defalcation
- Default
- Defeasance
- Deferred Charge
- Deferred Income Taxes
- Deficiency in Design
- Deficiency in Operation
- Deficit
- Defined Benefit Plan
- Defined Contribution Plan
- Demand Loan
- Dependent Care Expenses
- Depletion
- Deposit Method
- Depreciation
- Derivatives
- Detection Risk
- Detective Controls
- Disbursement
- Disclaimer of Opinion
- Disclosure
- Discontinued Operations
- Discount
- Discount Rate
- Discounted Cash Flow
- Discretionary Trust
- Dissolution
- Distribution Expense
- Distributions
- Dividends
- Documentation Completion Date
- Double-Entry Bookkeeping
- Dual Dating
- Due Date
- Due Diligence
- Earned Income
- Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC)
- Earnings Per Share (EPS)
- Effective Tax Rate
- EITC
- EITF
- Emerging Issues Task Force (EITF)
- Employee Benefit Plan
- Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP)
- Encumbrance
- Engagement Completion Document
- EPS
- Equity
- Equity Account
- Equity Method of Accounting
- Equity Securities
- Error
- Escrow
- ESOP
- Estate Tax
- Estimated Tax
- Estimation Transactions
- Evidential Matter
- Exchanges
- Excise Tax
- Excluded Income
- Exclusions
- Executor
- Exempt Organization
- Exemption
- Expatriation Tax
- Expectation Gap
- Expenditure
- Experienced Auditor
- Exploration Expenditures
- Exposure Draft
- Extension
- Extent of Tests of Control
- External Reporting
- Extinguishment of Debt
- Extraordinary Items
- Face Value
- Factoring
- Fair Market Value
- FASB
- Favorable Variance
- Fiduciary
- FIFO
- Filing of Returns
- Financial Accounting Standards
- Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB)
- Financial Institution
- Financial Statements
- First In, First Out (FIFO)
- Fiscal Year
- Floor
- Forecast
- Foreclosure
- Foreign Corporation
- Foreign Currency Translation
- Foreign Tax Credit
- Form 10-K
- Form 10-Q
- Form 8-K
- Franchise
- Fraud
- Fund Accounting
- Future Contract
- GAAP
- GAAS
- Gain
- GAO
- GASB
- General Ledger
- General Partnership
- Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP)
- Generally Accepted Auditing Standards (GAAS)
- Gift
- Going Concern
- Going Public
- Goodwill
- Governing Documents
- Government Accountability Office (GAO)
- Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB)
- Grantee
- Grantor
- Greenmail
- Gross Income
- Guaranty
- Head of Household
- Hedge
- Historical Cost
- Holding Period
- Hope Scholarship Credit
- IASC
- Improvement
- Imputed Interest
- Income
- Income Statement
- Income Tax Basis
- Independence Standard Board (ISB)
- Individual Retirement Account (IRA)
- Inheritance
- Initial Public Offering (IPO)
- Inquiry
- Insolvent
- Installment Method
- Intangible Asset
- Interest
- Interim Financial Statements
- Internal Audit
- Internal Control
- Internal Control Over Financial Reporting
- Internal Rate of Return
- Internal Revenue Code
- Internal Revenue Service (IRS)
- International Accounting Standards Committee (IASC)
- Inventory
- Investment
- Investment Tax Credit
- Involuntary Conversions
- IPO
- IRA
- IRS
- ISB
- Issuer
- Jeopardy
- Joint Return
- Joint Venture
- Journal
- Junk Bonds
- Keogh Plan
- Key Employee
- Key Person Insurance
- Kiting
- Last In, First Out (LIFO)
- Lease
- Leasehold
- Ledger
- Lessee
- Lessor
- Letter of Credit
- Leveraged Buy Out
- Leveraged Lease
- Liability
- Lifetime Learning Credit
- LIFO
- Limited Liability Company (LLC)
- Limited Liability Partnership (LLP)
- Limited Partnership
- Liquid Assets
- Liquidation
- Listed Property
- Litigation Support/Dispute Resolution
- LLC
- LLP
- Long-Term Debt
- Loss
- Lower of Cost or Market
- Management Accounting
- Management Discussion and Analysis (MD&A)
- Management's Report
- Managerial Accounting
- Margin
- Mark-to-Market
- Marketable Securities
- Married Taxpayers
- Matching Principle
- Matching Principle
- Material Weakness
- Materiality
- MD&A
- Merger
- Monetary Items
- Mortgage
- Municipal Bond
- Mutual Fund
- NASBA
- National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA)
- Negative Assurance
- Negligence
- Net Assets
- Net Income
- Net Lease
- Net Sales
- Net Worth
- No-Par Stock
- No-Par Value
- Non Routine Transactions
- Non-for-Profit Organization/Tax-Exempt Organization
- Nonresident Alien
- Notional
- Objectivity
- Obligations
- OCBOA
- OPEB
- Open-End Mutual Fund
- Operating Agreement
- Operating Cycle
- Option
- Ordinary Income
- Organization Expenditures
- Other Comprehensive Basis of Accounting (OCBOA)
- Other Post-Retirement Employee Benefit (OPEB)
- Paid in Capital
- Par Value
- Parent Company
- Partnership
- Passive Activity Loss
- Passive Income
- Patronage Dividends
- PCAOB
- Peer Review
- Penalty
- Pension
- Perpetual Inventory
- Personal Financial Planning
- Personal Financial Specialist (PFS)
- Personal Financial Statements
- Personal Property
- PFS
- Phantom Income
- Pledged Asset
- POB
- Pooling of Interest
- Post-Retirement Benefits
- Preferred Stock
- Premium
- Prepaid Expense
- Present Value
- Preventive Controls
- Prime Rate
- Principal
- Private Placement
- Privilege
- Privity
- Pro Forma
- Pro Rata
- Profit Sharing Plan
- Projection
- Promissory Note
- Proprietorship
- Prospective Financial Information (Forecast and Projection)
- Prospectus
- Proxy
- Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB)
- Public Offering
- Public Oversight Board (POB)
- Purchase Method of Accounting
- Push-Down Accounting
- Puts
- Qualified Opinion
- Quasi-Reorganization
- R&D
- Ratio Analysis
- Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT)
- Real Estate Mortgage Investment Conduit (REMIC)
- Real Property
- Reasonable Assurance
- Recapitalization
- Receivables
- Reconciliation
- Red Herring
- Redemption Value
- Refinancing Agreement
- Regulated Investment Company (RIC)
- Reinsurance
- REIT
- Related Party Transaction
- Relevant Assertions
- REMIC
- Reorganization
- Repairs
- Replacements
- Report Release Date
- Repos
- Repurchase Agreement (Repos)
- Research and Development (R&D)
- Reserve
- Resident Alien
- Restricted Assets
- Restricted Fund
- Restructuring
- Retained Earnings
- Return on Investment (ROI)
- Revenue Recognition
- Revenues
- Review
- Review Engagement
- Review Report
- RIC
- Right to Setoff
- Risk Management
- ROI
- Routine Transactions
- S Corporation
- Safe Harbor Rule
- Sale-Leaseback Transaction
- Salvage Value
- SAS
- SEC
- SEC Filings
- SEC Registration Statement
- Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
- Securitization
- Security
- Security Interest
- Self Employment Tax
- Settlement Method
- SFAS
- Short Sale
- Short-Term
- Significant Accounts
- Significant Deficiency
- Significant Findings or Issues
- Simple Plans
- Simple Trust
- Single Audit Act
- Small Business Stock
- Sole Proprietorship
- Special Assessment
- Special Report
- Spinoff
- Spot Market
- Spread
- SSARS
- Standard Deduction
- Start-Up Costs
- Stated Value
- Statement of Cash Flows
- Statement of Financial Accounting Standards (SFAS)
- Statement of Financial Condition
- Statements on Auditing Standards (SAS)
- Statements on Standards for Accounting and Review Services (SSARS)
- Statute of Limitations
- Stepped Up Basis
- Stock Compensation Plan
- Stock Option
- Stock Rights
- Stock Split
- Straight-Line Depreciation
- Strike Price
- Subsequent Event
- Surviving Spouse
- Swap
- Tangible Asset
- Tax
- Tax Court
- Tax Credit for the Elderly and Disabled
- Tax Lien
- Tax Shelter
- Tax Year
- Taxable Income
- Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN)
- Tenancy-in-Common
- Term Loan
- Timing of Tests of Control
- TIN
- Total Gain
- Trade Date
- Transferee Liability
- Transferred Basis
- Treasury Bill
- Treasury Bond
- Treasury Instruments
- Treasury Note
- Treasury Stock
- Troubled Debt Restructuring
- Trust
- Trustee
- UAA
- Unaudited Financial Statements
- Unearned Income
- Uniform Accountancy Act (UAA)
- Uniform Capitalization Rules
- Unqualified Opinion
- Unrestricted Funds
- Use of Professional Skepticism when Evaluating the Results of Testing
- Valuation Allowance
- Variable Rate Loan
- Variance
- Venture Capital
- Vesting
- Walkthroughs
- Warrant
- Wash Sale
- Withholding
- Withholding Allowance
- Work in Progress
- Working Capital
- Working Papers
- Wrap-Around Mortgage
- Yellow Book
- Yield
- Yield to Maturity
- Zero-Coupon Bond