Accounting involves identifying, measuring, and communicating the economic information of a business entity to its users. It records transactions and events to determine the entity's financial position. Accounting identifies assets, liabilities, and equity through a system of debits and credits according to the dual aspect concept. The accounting process provides information to owners, managers, creditors, government, and others for decision making.

1. Accounting, as an information system is the
process of identifying, measuring and communicating
the economic information of an organization to its users
who need the information for decision making. It
identifies transactions and events of a specific entity. A
transaction is an exchange in which each participant
receives or sacrifices value (e.g. purchase of raw
material). An event (whether internal or external) is a
happening of consequence to an entity (e.g. use of raw
material for production). An entity means an economic
unit that performs economic activities.

2. Definition of Accounting
• American Institute of Certified Public Accountants
(AICPA) which defines accounting as “the art of
recording, classifying and summarizing in a
significant manner and in terms of money,
transactions and events, which are, in part at least, of
a financial character and interpreting the results
thereof”

3. Objective of Accounting
i) To keeping systematic record
ii) To ascertain the results of the operation
iii) To ascertain the financial position of the business
iv) To portray the liquidity position
v) To protect business properties
vi) To facilitate rational decision – making:
vii) To satisfy the requirements of law

4. Importance of Accounting
i)Owners: The owners provide funds or capital for the
organization
ii)Management: The management of the business is greatly
interested in knowing the financial position of the firm
iii)Creditors: Creditors are the persons who supply goods on
credit, or bankers or lenders of money. It is usual that
these groups are interested to know the financial
soundness before granting credit
iv)Employees: Payment of bonus depends upon the size of
profit earned by the firm. The more important point is
that the workers expect regular income for the bread

5. v) Investors: The prospective investors, who want to invest their
money in a firm, of course wish to see the progress and prosperity
of the firm, before investing their amount, by going through the
financial statements of the firm
vi) Government: Government keeps a close watch on the firms
which yield good amount of profits. The state and central
Governments are interested in the financial statements to know
the earnings for the purpose of taxation
vii) Consumers: These groups are interested in getting the goods at
reduced price.
viii) Research Scholars: Accounting information, being a mirror of
the financial performance of a business organization, is of
immense value to the research scholar who wants to make a
study into the financial operations of a particular firm.

6. Functions of Accounting
Record Keeping Function
Managerial Function
Legal Requirement function
Language of Business

7. Terminology used in the Accounting
Assets: An asset may be defined as anything of use in the future
operations of the enterprise & belonging to the enterprise. E.g.,
land, building, machinery, cash etc
Equity: In broader sense, the term equity refers to total claims
against the enterprise. It is further divided into two categories.
i. Owner Claim – Capital
ii. Outsider’s Claim – Liability
Capital: The excess of assets over liabilities of the enterprise. It
is the difference between the total assets & the total liabilities of
the enterprise.
Liability: Amount owed by the enterprise to the outsiders
Revenue: It is a monetary value of the products or services sold
to the customers during the period.

8. • Expense/Cost: Expenditure incurred by the enterprise to earn revenue is
termed as expense or cost
• Drawings: Money or value of goods belonging to business used by the
proprietor for his personal use.
• Owner: The person who invests his money or money’s worth & bears the risk
of the business.
• Sundry Debtors: A person from whom amounts are due for goods sold or
services rendered or in respect of a contractual obligation. It is also known as
debtor, trade debtor, accounts receivable.
• Sundry Creditors: It is an amount owed by the enterprise on account of
goods purchased or services rendered or in respect of contractual obligations.
e.g., trade creditor, accounts payable.
• Transaction: An event the recognition of which gives rise to an entry in
accounting records. It is an event which results in change in the balance sheet
equation. That is, which changes the value of assets and equity
• Expenditure: Expenditure takes place when an asset or service is acquired.
The purchase of goods is expenditure, where as cost of goods sold is an
expense.

9. • Purchases: Buying of goods by the trader for selling them to his
customers is known as purchases. As the trade is buying and
selling of commodities purchase is the main function of a trade
• Sales: When the goods purchased are sold out, it is known as
sales. Here, the possession and the ownership right over the
goods are transferred to the buyer.
• Stock: The goods purchased are for selling, if the goods are not
sold out fully, a part of the total goods purchased is kept with
the trader unlit it is sold out, it is said to be a stock.
• Losses: Loss really means something against which the firm
receives no benefit. It represents money given up without any
return.
• Account: It is a statement of the various dealings which occur
between a customer and the firm. It can also be expressed as a
clear and concise record of the transaction relating to a person
or a firm or a property (or assets) or a liability or an expense or
an income.

10. • Invoice: While making a sale, the seller prepares a statement giving
the particulars such as the quantity, price per unit, the total amount
payable, any deductions made and shows the net amount payable by
the buyer. Such a statement is called an invoice.
• Voucher: A voucher is a written document in support of a
transaction. It is a proof that a particular transaction has taken place
for the value stated in the voucher. Voucher is necessary to audit the
accounts.
• Proprietor: The person who makes the investment and bears all the
risks connected with the business is known as proprietor.
• Discount: When customers are allowed any type of deduction in the
prices of goods by the businessman that is called discount.
• Solvent: A person who has assets with realizable values which
exceeds his liabilities is insolvent.
• Insolvent: A person whose liabilities are more than the realizable
values of his assets is called an insolvent.

11. In order to keep a complete record of the entire transactions of
any business it is necessary to keep the following accounts:a) Assets Accounts: These accounts relate to tangible and intangible
assets. e.g., Land a/c, building a/c, cash a/c, goodwill, patents etc.
b) Liabilities Accounts: These accounts relate to the financial
obligations of an enterprise towards outsiders. e.g., trade creditors,
outstanding expenses, bank overdraft, long-term loans.
c) Capital Accounts: These accounts relate to the owners of an
enterprise. e.g., Capital a/c, drawing a/c.
d) Revenue Accounts: These accounts relate to the amount charged for
goods sold or services rendered or permitting others to use
enterprise’s resources yielding interest, royalty or dividend. e.g., Sales
a/c, discount received a/c, dividend received a/c, interest received a/c.
e) Expenses Account: These accounts relate to the amount spent or lost
in the process of earning revenue. e.g., Purchases a/c, discount
allowed a/c, royalty paid a/c, interest payable a/c, loss by fire a/c.

12. Methods of Accounting
• Single Entry: It is incomplete system of recording
business transactions. The business organization
maintains only cash book and personal accounts of
debtors and creditors.
• Double Entry: It this system every business
transaction is having a two fold effect of benefits giving
and benefit receiving aspects. The recording is made on
the basis of both these aspects. Double Entry is an
accounting system that records the effects of
transactions and other events in at least two accounts
with equal debits and credits.

13. Types of Accounts

14. BRANCHES OF ACCOUNTING
• Financial Accounting:- The accounting system concerned
only with the financial state of affairs and financial results
of operations is known as Financial Accounting.
• Cost Accounting:- It is that branch of accounting which is
concerned with the accumulation and assignment of
historical costs to units of product and department,
primarily for the purpose of valuation of stock and
measurement of profits.
• Management accounting:- It is the presentation of
accounting information is such a way as to assist
management in the creation of policy and the day-to-day
operation of an undertaking.

15. Accounting conceptsThe term ‘concept’ is used to denote
accounting postulates, i.e., basic assumptions or conditions
upon the edifice of which the accounting super-structure is
based. The following are the common accounting concepts
adopted by many business concerns.
– Business Entity Concept
– Money Measurement Concept
– Going Concern Concept
– Dual Aspect Concept
– Periodicity Concept
– Historical Cost Concept
– Matching Concept
– Realisation Concept
– Accrual Concept
– Objective Evidence Concept

16. • Business Entity Concept: A business unit is an organization of
persons established to accomplish an economic goal. Business
entity concept implies that the business unit is separate and
distinct from the persons who provide the required capital to it.
This concept can be expressed through an accounting equation,
viz., Assets = Liabilities + Capital.
• Money Measurement Concept: In accounting all events and
transactions are recode in terms of money. Money is considered
as a common denominator, by means of which various facts,
events and transactions about a business can be expressed in
terms of numbers.
• Going Concern Concept: Under this concept, the transactions
are recorded assuming that the business will exist for a longer
period of time, i.e., a business unit is considered to be a going
concern and not a liquidated one.
• Historical Cost Concept: According to this concept, the
transactions are recorded in the books of account with the
respective amounts involved.

17. Dual Aspect Concept: According to this basic concept of
accounting, every transaction has a two-fold aspect, Viz.,
1.giving certain benefits and 2. Receiving certain benefits. The
basic principle of double entry system is that every debit has a
corresponding and equal amount of credit. This is the
underlying assumption of this concept.
Assets = Capital + Liabilities , Capital = Assets – Liabilities
Periodicity Concept: Under this concept, the life of the
business is segmented into different periods and accordingly
the result of each period is ascertained. At the end of an
accounting period, an Income Statement is prepared to
ascertain the profit or loss made during that accounting period
and Balance Sheet is prepared which depicts the financial
position of the business as on the last day of that period.
Matching Concept: The essence of the matching concept lies
in the view that all costs which are associated to a particular
period should be compared with the revenues associated to the
same period to obtain the net income of the business.

18. Realisation Concept: This concept assumes or recognizes
revenue when a sale is made. Sale is considered to be complete
when the ownership and property are transferred from the
seller to the buyer and the consideration is paid in full.
Accrual Concept: According to this concept the revenue is
recognized on its realization and not on its actual receipt.
Similarly the costs are recognized when they are incurred and
not when payment is made.
Objective Evidence Concept: This concept ensures that all
accounting must be based on objective evidence, i.e., every
transaction recorded in the books of account must have a
verifiable document in support of its, existence.

19. BASES OF ACCOUNTING
There are three bases of accounting in common
usage. Any one of the following bases may be used to
finalise accounts.
1. Cash basis
2. Accrual or Mercantile basis
3. Mixed or Hybrid basis.

20. Accounting on ‘Cash basis :-Under cash basis accounting,
entries are recorded only when cash is received or paid. No
entry is passed when a payment or receipt becomes due.
Income under cash basis of accounting, therefore, represents
excess of receipts over payments during an accounting period.
Government system of accounting is mostly on cash basis.
Accrual Basis of Accounting or Mercantile System:- Under
accrual basis of accounting, accounting entries are made on the
basis of amounts having become due for payment or receipt.
Incomes are credited to the period in which they are earned
whether cash is received or not. Similarly, expenses and losses
ere detailed to the period in which, they arc incurred, whether
cash is paid or not.
Mixed or Hybrid Basis of Accounting:- When certain items of
revenue or expenditure are recorded in the books of account on
cash basis and certain items on mercantile basis, the basis of
accounting so employed is called ‘hybrid basis of accounting’

21. ACCOUNTING EQUATION
Assets = Liabilities + Capital
(Or)
Capital = Assets – Liabilities
(Or)
Liabilities = Assets – Capital
&
Assets = Equities

22. JOURNAL
• Journal is a book which lists accounting transactions of a
business other than cash, before posting them to ledgers.
The journal is currently only used to a limited extent to
cover item outside the scope of other accounting books.
• The journal has five columns, viz.
(1) Date;
(2) Particulars;
(3) Ledger Folio;
(4) Amount (Debit);
(5) Amount (Credit)
• A brief explanation of the transaction by way of narration
is given after passing the journal entry.

23. LEDGER
• Ledger is a main book of account in which various
accounts of personal, real and nominal nature, are opened
and maintained. A ledger account may be defined as a
summary statement of all the transactions relating to a
person, asset, expense, or income or gain or loss which
have taken place during a specified period and shows their
net effect ultimately.
• Three types of ledgers are maintained in such big business
concerns.
(i) Debtors’ Ledger
(ii) Creditors’ Ledger
(iii) General Ledger

24. SUBSIDIARY BOOKS
• There are different types of subsidiary books which
are commonly used in any big business concern. They
are:
1. Purchases Book
2. Sales Book
3. Purchases Returns Books
4. Sales Returns Books
5. Bills Receivable Books
6. Bills Payable Books
7. Journal Proper
8. Cash Book