Q. Explain about Accounting period?

As those interested in the activities of business need timely information companies must prepare financial statements periodically. To organize such statements the accountant divides an entity's life into time periods. These time periods are habitually equal in length and are called accounting periods. An accounting period may be one month or one quarter and one year. An accounting year or a fiscal year is an accounting period of one year. A fiscal year is a few 12 consecutive months. The fiscal year may perhaps or may perhaps not coincide with the calendar year which ends on December 31. As we illustrate in Exhibit 15, 63 percent of the companies examined in 2004 had fiscal years that coincide with the calendar year. In 2008 the similar figure for publicly-traded companies in the US was 65 percent. Companies in certain industries habitually have a fiscal year that differs from the calendar year. For instance many retail stores end their fiscal year on January 31 to avoid closing their books during their peak sales period. Other companies choose a fiscal year ending at a time when inventories and business activity are lowest.