Full cycle accounting definition — AccountingTools (2024)

What is Full Cycle Accounting?

Full cycle accounting refers to the complete set of activities undertaken by an accounting department to produce financial statements for a reporting period. This is known as the accounting cycle, and involves such activities as recording business transactions throughout the reporting period, adding any required adjusting entries, producing financial statements, and closing the books for that period.

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Examples of Full Cycle Accounting

Full cycle accounting can also refer to the complete set of transactions associated with a specific business activity. Here are several examples of full cycle accounting:

  • Sales. A company buys goods, stores them, processes customer orders, picks items from stock, sells them on credit, and collects payment from customers. These activities represent the full cycle of activities for selling to customers.

  • Purchasing. Someone submits a requisition for goods, the purchasing department issues a purchase order, the receiving department receives the goods, and the accounts payable staff processes payment to the supplier. These activities represent the full cycle of activities for acquiring goods.

  • Payroll. Employees submit their time cards or time sheets to the payroll staff, which reviews them for errors, obtains supervisor approvals, aggregates the information into gross pay, incorporates all required tax and other deductions to arrive at net pay, and issues payments to employees. These activities represent the full cycle of activities for paying employees.

Full cycle accounting can also refer to the standard business cycle of a company. For example, if a business normally takes three months to produce its own goods, hold them in stock, sell them to customers, and receive payment from them, the full cycle of its operations spans three months.

Full Cycle Accounting by Position

The "full cycle" concept can also be applied to accounting jobs, where it means that someone is responsible for all aspects of a certain position. For example, a full cycle accounts payable position implies that a person in that position will be responsible for all accounts payable tasks, such as three-way matching, expense report examination, taking early payment discounts, paying suppliers, and so forth. The term may also be applied to the bookkeeper, billing clerk, and payroll clerk positions.

Full cycle accounting definition —  AccountingTools (2024)

FAQs

Full cycle accounting definition — AccountingTools? ›

Full cycle accounting refers to the complete set of activities undertaken by an accounting department to produce financial statements for a reporting period.

What is the definition of full cycle accounting? ›

Full cycle accounting may also be used to refer to a company's standard business cycle. For instance, if a business usually takes three months to produce goods, hold them in stock, sell them to their customers, and receive payment for them, then the full operations cycle is three months.

What is full life cycle accounting? ›

A complete cycle accounting is a collection of accounting activities that are carried out by every company during the course of an entire year, in a manner that is both consistent and repeatable, or until the company ceases to exist, whichever comes first.

What is the definition of cycle in accounting? ›

The accounting cycle is a collective process of identifying, analyzing, and recording the accounting events of a company. It is a standard 8-step process that begins when a transaction occurs and ends with its inclusion in the financial statements and the closing of the books.

What is full set accounting? ›

A full set of accounts refers to comprehensive financial statements that provide a detailed overview of a company's financial position, performance, and cash flows. These accounts typically include a balance sheet, income statement, cash flow statement, and accompanying notes.

What is the full cycle accounting for accounts payable? ›

The full cycle of the accounts payable process includes receiving the purchase order (PO) from the procurement team, receipt of the vendor's invoice, cross-referencing the PO with the invoice, and ultimately authorizing the final payment to the supplier.

What is the full cycle billing process? ›

Full cycle accounts payable, as the name implies, is the complete cycle that an accounts payable department goes through to complete and archive a purchase. From receiving and approving invoices to paying vendors and suppliers for their goods and services, the AP process is critical to any business.

What is the full cycle of accounts receivable? ›

What is the Full Cycle of Accounts Receivable? The full cycle of accounts receivable starts at the sale and delivery of a product and/or service to a customer. It ends when that customer is invoiced and pays the amount owed.

What are the 4 cycles of accounting? ›

The first four steps in the accounting cycle are (1) identify and analyze transactions, (2) record transactions to a journal, (3) post journal information to a ledger, and (4) prepare an unadjusted trial balance. We begin by introducing the steps and their related documentation.

What are the 5 basic accounting cycles? ›

Defining the accounting cycle with steps: (1) Financial transactions, (2) Journal entries, (3) Posting to the Ledger, (4) Trial Balance Period, and (5) Reporting Period with Financial Reporting and Auditing.

What is an example of accounting cycle? ›

An example of the accounting cycle is a business owner collecting their financial information, journalizing it, posting it to the ledger by account, performing an unadjusted trial balance, making adjustments, performing an adjusted trial balance, preparing financial statements, closing accounts, and finally preparing a ...

Which is the best definition of cycle? ›

noun. any complete round or series of occurrences that repeats or is repeated. a round of years or a recurring period of time, especially one in which certain events or phenomena repeat themselves in the same order and at the same intervals.

Why is the accounting cycle called a cycle? ›

It's called a cycle because the workflow is circular – moving from one accounting period to the next. The full cycle is made up of nine steps which in the past were worked out manually and recorded in journals. Today, most accountants use cloud-based accounting tools to process a lot of these steps simultaneously.

What is the full accounting formula? ›

The accounting equation is a formula that shows the sum of a company's liabilities and shareholders' equity are equal to its total assets (Assets = Liabilities + Equity). The clear-cut relationship between a company's liabilities, assets and equity are the backbone to double-entry bookkeeping.

What are the 3 golden rules of accounting? ›

The three golden rules of accounting are (1) debit all expenses and losses, credit all incomes and gains, (2) debit the receiver, credit the giver, and (3) debit what comes in, credit what goes out. These rules are the basis of double-entry accounting, first attributed to Luca Pacioli.

What is full accounting unit? ›

The FAU is the mechanism used to classify the type, purpose and funding entered into KFS. It is used by departments to meet their reporting needs and is used by Accounting & Financial Services to run annual reports and financial statements for UC Davis.

What are the 5 accounting cycles? ›

Defining the accounting cycle with steps: (1) Financial transactions, (2) Journal entries, (3) Posting to the Ledger, (4) Trial Balance Period, and (5) Reporting Period with Financial Reporting and Auditing.

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