Accounting Concepts and Conventions

Accounting principles and practices are essential for maintaining consistency and clarity in financial records. These principles, known as accounting concepts and conventions, serve as the foundation for recording business transactions and preparing financial statements.

They provide a framework that ensures uniformity in accounting practices and facilitates better understanding of a company's financial position

Meaning of Accounting Concepts

Accounting concepts are the fundamental assumptions, rules, and principles guiding the recording of business transactions and the preparation of financial statements.

They aim to ensure consistency and uniformity in accounting records. These concepts have evolved over time and are universally accepted within the accounting profession.

Some key accounting concepts include:

• Business entity concept

• Money measurement concept

• Going concern concept

• Accounting period concept

• Accounting cost concept

• Dual aspect concept

• Realization concept

• Accrual concept

• Matching concept

Meaning of Accounting Conventions

Accounting conventions are commonly followed practices in recording and presenting accounting information. They are akin to customs or traditions in society and have developed over time to ensure consistency in accounting practices.

Accounting conventions facilitate the comparison of financial data across different business entities and periods.

Key accounting conventions include:

• Convention of consistency

• Convention of full disclosure

• Convention of materiality

• Convention of conservatism

Differences Between Accounting Concepts and Conventions:

Aspect	Accounting Concepts	Accounting Conventions
Nature	Fundamental ideas or theoretical principles	Established practices and guidelines
Purpose	Provide a framework for understanding and applying accounting principles	Ensure consistency and comparability in financial reporting
Binding Nature	Generally accepted and adhered to in the formulation of accounting standards and regulations	More flexible, can evolve over time with changes in business practices and regulatory requirements
Scope	Broad principles that underpin the preparation and presentation of financial statements	Guidelines for practical application of accounting concepts to ensure uniformity

Stay tuned for our next article, where we'll delve into the aforementioned accounting concepts and conventions in detail to learn accounting in great manner.

Read the next article to learn more about the Business entity concept.