Accounting or accountancy is the measurement, processing, and communication of financial and non financial information about economic entities such as businesses and corporations. Accounting, which has been called the "language of business", measures the results of an organization's economic activities and conveys this information to a variety of users, including investors, creditors, management, and regulators. Practitioners of accounting are known as accountants. The terms "accounting" and "financial reporting" are often used as synonyms.
An accountant is a practitioner of accounting or accountancy. Accountants who have demonstrated competency through their professional associations' certification exams are certified to use titles such as Chartered Accountant, Chartered Certified Accountant or Certified Public Accountant, or Registered Public Accountant. Such professionals are granted certain responsibilities by statute, such as the ability to certify an organization's financial statements, and may be held liable for professional misconduct. Non-qualified accountants may be employed by a qualified accountant, or may work independently without statutory privileges and obligations.
Intuit Inc. is an American business that specializes in financial software. The company is headquartered in Mountain View, California, and the CEO is Sasan Goodarzi. As of 2019, more than 95% of its revenues and earnings come from its activities within the United States. Intuit's products include the tax preparation application TurboTax, personal finance app Mint and the small business accounting program QuickBooks. Intuit has lobbied extensively against the IRS providing taxpayers with free pre-filled forms, as is the norm in other developed countries.
The Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) is a professional membership organisation that promotes, develops and supports chartered accountants and students across the world. In 2019, it has over 181,000 members and students in 148 countries. In 2018, 8,821 students joined the ICAEW - the highest ever figure. The ICAEW was established by royal charter in 1880.
Founded in 1904, the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants(ACCA) is the global professional accounting body offering the Chartered Certified Accountant qualification (ACCA). ACCA's headquarters are in London with principal administrative office in Glasgow. ACCA works through a network of over 104 offices and centres in 52 countries - with 323 Approved Learning Partners (ALP) and more than 7,300 Approved Employers worldwide, who provide employee development.
QuickBooks is an accounting software package developed and marketed by Intuit. QuickBooks products are geared mainly toward small and medium-sized businesses and offer on-premises accounting applications as well as cloud-based versions that accept business payments, manage and pay bills, and payroll functions.
The Association of Accounting Technicians (AAT) is the world’s leading professional body for Accounting Technicians, with over 150,000 members worldwide.
The Institute of Certified Bookkeepers ("ICB") is a British not for profit organisation with the objective of promoting the bookkeeping profession worldwide and offering trusted bookkeeping qualifications to its students and members. ICB was founded in the United Kingdom in November 1996, and has since grown to be the largest bookkeeping body in the world, with 150,000 students and members in over 100 countries.
British qualified accountants are full voting members of United Kingdom professional bodies that evaluate individual experience and test competencies for accountants.
On-premises software is installed and runs on computers on the premises of the person or organization using the software, rather than at a remote facility such as a server farm or cloud. On-premises software is sometimes referred to as "shrinkwrap" software, and off-premises software is commonly called "software as a service" ("SaaS") or "cloud computing".
Fishbowl is an Orem, Utah-based software company that develops and publishes inventory management software and related software.
FreshBooks is accounting software operated by 2ndSite Inc. primarily for small and medium-sized businesses. It is a web-based software as a service (SaaS) model, that can be accessed through a desktop or mobile device.
Acumatica, founded in 2008, is a technology provider that develops cloud- and browser-based enterprise resource planning (ERP) software for small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs). The company is headquartered in Bellevue, WA.
Liberty Accounts is an integrated online accounting and payroll system designed specifically for small and medium enterprises, not-for-profit organisation and charities in the UK. Also described as a software as a service or SaaS cloud computing application, Liberty is available to business owners, treasurers and accountants.
Cheqbook is a cloud accounting software-as-a-service for small-to-medium business. Cheqbook automates downloading and categorizing transactions as well as offering invoicing, bill pay, and reporting. The software is available via monthly subscription on Mac, PC, and tablet computers running a modern web browser. Subscriptions are tiered based on the number of companies or books being managed. Accountants and business owners can share their books.
Gem Accounts is a range of cloud based business and accounting software, first released in May 2013 by Gem Software Solutions Pty Ltd from Brisbane, Australia. The software is available in a free version and is also sold on a SaaS model which includes a try-before-you-buy period.
Aplos Software is a privately held company that specializes in software as a service for nonprofit organizations. Their primary focus is simple software to manage the essential nonprofit tasks of fund accounting, nonprofit tax preparation and donor management for small, mid-sized, and large non-profit organizations.
Reckon is an Australian software company that provides desktop and cloud-based accounting software for accountants, bookkeepers, small to medium businesses, and personal users. The company has offices in Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Reckon is listed on the Australian Securities Exchange. Reckon has over 600,000 businesses using its software across Australia and New Zealand.
Sage Intacct, Inc is an American provider of cloud-based Financial management and services available in five regions around the globe -- including the United States, Canada, the UK, Australia, and South Africa. Its products offer cloud-based accounting applications that enable business payments, manage and pay bills, and facilitate payroll functions.
Sage Business Cloud Accounting and Sage Business Cloud Payroll are a suite of cloud-based accountancy and payroll products developed by Sage Group aimed at small and medium-sized enterprises as well as the self-employed. The products were initially known as Sage One and are available in many of the territories that Sage operate.
