Financial accounting

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Accounting
Historical cost Constant purchasing power Management Tax
Major types Audit Budget Cost Forensic Financial Fund Governmental Management Social Tax
Key concepts Accounting period Accrual Constant purchasing power Economic entity Fair value Going concern Historical cost Matching principle Materiality Revenue recognition Unit of account
Selected accounts Assets Cash Cost of goods sold Depreciation / Amortization (business) Equity Expenses Goodwill Liabilities Profit Revenue
Accounting standards Generally-accepted principles Generally-accepted auditing standards Convergence International Financial Reporting Standards International Standards on Auditing Management Accounting Principles
Financial statements Annual report Balance sheet Cash-flow Equity Income Management discussion Notes to the financial statements
Bookkeeping Bank reconciliation Debits and credits Double-entry system FIFO and LIFO Journal Ledger / General ledger Trial balance
Auditing Financial Internal Firms Report Sarbanes–Oxley Act
People and organizations Accountants Accounting organizations Luca Pacioli
Development History Research Positive accounting Sarbanes–Oxley Act
Misconduct Creative Earnings management Error account Hollywood Off-balance-sheet Two sets of books
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Financial accounting is a branch of accounting concerned with the summary, analysis and reporting of financial transactions related to a business.^[1] This involves the preparation of financial statements available for public use. Stockholders, suppliers, banks, employees, government agencies, business owners, and other stakeholders are examples of people interested in receiving such information for decision making purposes.

Financial accountancy is governed by both local and international accounting standards. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) is the standard framework of guidelines for financial accounting used in any given jurisdiction. It includes the standards, conventions and rules that accountants follow in recording and summarizing and in the preparation of financial statements.

On the other hand, International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) is a set of accounting standards stating how particular types of transactions and other events should be reported in financial statements. IFRS are issued by the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB).^[2] With IFRS becoming more widespread on the international scene, consistency in financial reporting has become more prevalent between global organizations.

While financial accounting is used to prepare accounting information for people outside the organization or not involved in the day-to-day running of the company, managerial accounting provides accounting information to help managers make decisions to manage the business.