What is an Accounting Period ?
Accounting Period (Definition)
An accounting period is the time that a set of financial statements cover – the period business transactions are added to a system to create financial statements and reports. Business owners and investors use the tool so they can compare the results of different time periods. The accounting period is usually a month for internal financial reporting, or some businesses break it down to every four weeks. For taxes, etc, the period can be quarterly or even a full year.
An accounting period could be:
- Calendar year – January 1 to December 31
- Fiscal year, for example July 1 to June 30
- 52 weeks of a fiscal year
- Calendar year quarters
- Fiscal quarters
- Calendar months
- Fiscal months
- 4 week period
