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Last reviewed: 2026-06-16

Glossary

  • Account: A record used to classify accounting activity.
  • Financial period: A time span for reporting and posting transactions.
  • Source document: Evidence supporting accounting activity.
  • Journal entry: A balanced record of debits and credits.
  • Posting: Making an entry durable in the accounting ledger.
  • Reversal: A corrective entry that undoes a prior posted entry.
  • Adjustment: A correcting entry that changes the accounting position without deleting history.
  • Soft close: A review state that limits regular posting while allowing exceptions and audit.
  • Hard close: A stronger control state that prevents ordinary posting except through authorized correction procedures.
  • Reopen: Restoring a closed period with authority, reason, and audit trail.
  • Audit trail: A record of what changed, why, and who authorized it.
  • Exception: A transaction or condition that requires review before normal processing continues.