A chart of accounts is a listing of a company’s expense buckets (eg. travel, insurance, rent, payroll, etc.). Diving deeper, it’s a table that breaks down all of a company’s financial transactions within a period. By separating each of the financial accounts (assets, liabilities, revenues, expenses, etc.) the company provides a clear, understandable picture of its financial standing and where its money comes from and is going. This offers investors and stockholders an understanding of the financial stability of the company and helps show that the company is in compliance with standard financial reporting protocol.
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