# accounting

Pronunciation: US say "uh-KOWN-ting" /əˈkaʊn.tɪŋ/; UK

## Noun

1. The practice of setting up and using a system to record and analyze the financial transactions and financial position of a person or business.
   - Simple: The work of keeping records of money coming in and going out for a person or business.
   - _The firm overhauled its accounting after auditors flagged several errors._
   - _Modern accounting relies on software to track thousands of transactions._
2. A telling of events, or a justification of one's actions.
   - Simple: The act of explaining what happened or why you did something.
   - _The committee demanded a full accounting of the decisions made behind closed doors._
   - _Her accounting of the night's events matched the witness testimony._
4. An equitable remedy that requires profits gained wrongfully to be handed over to those rightfully entitled to them.
   - Simple: A court order that makes someone hand over money they got in the wrong way.
   - _The plaintiff sought an accounting to reclaim profits the defendant earned through fraud._
   - _The court granted an accounting, forcing the trustee to surrender every improper gain._

## Verb

3. Present participle of account. — present participle and gerund of account
   - Simple: Present participle of account. Use this form when the action is happening now.
   - _Analysts are accounting for currency fluctuations in the latest forecast._
   - _By accounting for all the variables, the team improved its model._

## Origin

First attested in the late 14th century, formed from "account" plus the suffix "-ing."

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/accounting (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).