ACCOUNTING

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 Dictionary entry overview: What does accounting mean? 

• ACCOUNTING (noun)
  The noun ACCOUNTING has 5 senses:

1. a convincing explanation that reveals basic causes

2. a system that provides quantitative information about finances

3. the occupation of maintaining and auditing records and preparing financial reports for a business

4. a bookkeeper's chronological list of related debits and credits of a business; forms part of a ledger of accounts

5. a statement of recent transactions and the resulting balance

  Familiarity information: ACCOUNTING used as a noun is common.

 Dictionary entry details 

• ACCOUNTING (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A convincing explanation that reveals basic causes

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Context example:

he was unable to give a clear accounting for his actions

Hypernyms ("accounting" is a kind of...):

account; explanation (a statement that makes something comprehensible by describing the relevant structure or operation or circumstances etc.)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A system that provides quantitative information about finances

Classified under:

Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents

Hypernyms ("accounting" is a kind of...):

system; system of rules (a complex of methods or rules governing behavior)

Domain member category:

internal control (an accounting procedure or system designed to promote efficiency or assure the implementation of a policy or safeguard assets or avoid fraud and error etc.)

unearned income; unearned revenue ((accounting) income received but not yet earned (usually considered a current liability on a company's balance sheet))

straight-line method; straight-line method of depreciation ((accounting) a method of calculating depreciation by taking an equal amount of the asset's cost as an expense for each year of the asset's useful life)

write-down; write-off ((accounting) reduction in the book value of an asset)

good will; goodwill ((accounting) an intangible asset valued according to the advantage or reputation a business has acquired (over and above its tangible assets))

limited review; review ((accounting) a service (less exhaustive than an audit) that provides some assurance to interested parties as to the reliability of financial data)

inventory ((accounting) the value of a firm's current assets including raw materials and work in progress and finished goods)

debit (enter as debit)

unbalanced (debits and credits are not equal)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "accounting"):

balance of international payments; balance of payments (a system of recording all of a country's economic transactions with the rest of the world over a period of one year)

current account (that part of the balance of payments recording a nation's exports and imports of goods and services and transfer payments)

Derivation:

account (keep an account of)

Sense 3

Meaning:

The occupation of maintaining and auditing records and preparing financial reports for a business

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

accountancy; accounting

Hypernyms ("accounting" is a kind of...):

business; job; line; line of work; occupation (the principal activity in your life that you do to earn money)

Domain member category:

carry forward; carry over (transfer from one time period to the next)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "accounting"):

bookkeeping; clerking (the activity of recording business transactions)

inventory accounting (accounting that controls and evaluates inventory)

cost accounting (keeping account of the costs of items in production)

Derivation:

account (keep an account of)

Sense 4

Meaning:

A bookkeeper's chronological list of related debits and credits of a business; forms part of a ledger of accounts

Classified under:

Nouns denoting possession and transfer of possession

Synonyms:

accounting; accounting system; method of accounting

Hypernyms ("accounting" is a kind of...):

register (a book in which names and transactions are listed)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "accounting"):

limited review; review ((accounting) a service (less exhaustive than an audit) that provides some assurance to interested parties as to the reliability of financial data)

audit; audited account (an inspection of the accounting procedures and records by a trained accountant or CPA)

pooling of interest (an accounting method used in the merging of companies; the balance sheets are added together item by item; this method is tax-free)

cash basis (a method of accounting in which each item is entered as payments are received or made)

accrual basis (a method of accounting in which each item is entered as it is earned or incurred regardless of when actual payments are received or made)

debit side (account of payments owed; usually the left side of a financial statement)

credit side (account of payments received; usually the right side of a financial statement)

accounting entry; entry; ledger entry (a written record of a commercial transaction)

control account (an account that shows totals of amounts entered in a subsidiary ledger)

Holonyms ("accounting" is a member of...):

account book; book; book of account; ledger; leger (a record in which commercial accounts are recorded)

Derivation:

account (keep an account of)

Sense 5

Meaning:

A statement of recent transactions and the resulting balance

Classified under:

Nouns denoting possession and transfer of possession

Synonyms:

account; account statement; accounting

Context example:

they send me an accounting every month

Hypernyms ("accounting" is a kind of...):

financial statement; statement (a document showing credits and debits)

Meronyms (parts of "accounting"):

balance (equality between the totals of the credit and debit sides of an account)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "accounting"):

capital account ((finance) an account of the net value of a business at a specified date)

capital account ((economics) that part of the balance of payments recording a nation's outflow and inflow of financial securities)

profit and loss; profit and loss account (an account compiled at the end of an accounting period to show gross and net profit or loss)

suspense account (an account used temporarily to carry doubtful receipts and disbursements or discrepancies pending their analysis and permanent classification)

expense account; travel and entertainment account (an account to which salespersons or executives can charge travel and entertainment expenses)

Derivation:

account (keep an account of)

 Context examples 

Without accounting for the timing of food intake, research that examines the effects of calorie reduction on lifespan may be skewed by hidden factors such as lack of sleep and desynchronized circadian rhythms.

(Eating at 'Wrong Time' Affects Body Weight, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

Wastewater treatment is energy-intensive, accounting for about 3% of the total U.S. electrical load.

(Researchers develop technology to harness energy from mixing of freshwater and seawater, National Science Foundation)

Heavy-duty vehicles, such as commercial trucks and buses, were by far the largest contributor worldwide, accounting for 76 percent of the total excess NOx emissions.

(Diesel Pollutes More Than Lab Tests Detect, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

The results were similar when accounting for consumption of tree nuts, peanuts and walnuts individually.

(Eating Regular Variety of Nuts Associated with Lower Risk of Heart Disease, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

Soy bean and wheat were less at risk, with climate variability accounting for seven per cent and six per cent of year-to-year changes in yields respectively.

(El Niño linked to widespread crop failures, SciDev.Net)

Chytridiomycosis, caused by two strains of the fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis, or Bd, is responsible for the decline of at least 501 amphibian species, accounting for 6.5 per cent of all known amphibian species.

(Deadly fungal disease ‘caused greatest biodiversity loss ever recorded’, SciDev.Net)

Colon cancer is the third most common type of cancer worldwide, accounting for about 10 per cent of all cases.

(Pesticides blamed for rise in colon cancer deaths, SciDev.Net)

These drugs activate PPAR-gamma and repress expression of 11betaHSD-1 in visceral tissue, perhaps accounting in part for the antidiabetic insulin sensitizing properties of these drugs.

(Metabolic Syndrome Pathway, NCI Thesaurus/BIOCARTA)

It is an uncommon carcinoma, accounting for fewer than 1% of all infiltrating breast carcinomas.

(Medullary breast carcinoma, NCI Thesaurus)

The most common type of invasive breast carcinoma, accounting for approximately 70% of breast carcinomas.

(Invasive Ductal Carcinoma, Not Otherwise Specified, NCI Thesaurus)