Accounting Reference
The Accounting a Growing Company Meets
Short reference notes on the questions people bring to an accountant — the close, revenue, leases, lenders, a sale, an audit — each one citing the standard it summarises, so you can read the source for yourself.
By Topic
Fundamentals
Debits and credits, cash versus accrual, and how the three statements tie together.
7 notes →The Month-End Close
Reconciliations, accruals, prepaids, cut-off and locking the period.
11 notes →Revenue Recognition
ASC 606, performance obligations, deferred revenue, principal versus agent.
7 notes →Leases and Fixed Assets
ASC 842, right-of-use assets, capitalization policy, depreciation and impairment.
2 notes →Cash and Forecasting
Budgets, reforecasts, the 13-week cash forecast, runway and working capital.
4 notes →Lenders and Covenants
Covenant certificates, borrowing bases, EBITDA definitions and headroom.
4 notes →Selling Your Company
Quality of earnings, net debt, the working capital peg and the data room.
4 notes →Audit Readiness
What auditors ask for, balance sheet substantiation, materiality and the request list.
5 notes →Controls and Fraud
Segregation of duties, approvals, vendor changes and the red flags of fraud.
3 notes →Multi-Entity and Consolidation
Separate books per entity, intercompany accounts, eliminations and management fees.
3 notes →Reporting to Stakeholders
Management packages, board packages, investor updates and KPIs that reconcile.
2 notes →Entity and Tax Basics
Entity types, pass-through taxation, sales tax and setting cash aside — as general information.
3 notes →Equity and Startup Financing
Owner equity, distributions and contributions, equity awards, SAFEs and convertible notes.
3 notes →Other Standards and Estimates
Inventory, goodwill, contingencies, income taxes, credit losses, fair value and guarantees.
9 notes →Industries and Special Situations
Nonprofits, government grants, foreign currency, research and development, and project businesses.
6 notes →
Read this once
How to Read These Notes
General information, not advice.
A note is about accounting in general. It is not advice about your situation, it is not an engagement, and the terms of this website apply to it as to every page here. When a number matters — a filing, a covenant, a sale — put it to a person.
Each note names its source.
The standard or the practice it summarises is printed under it; read the source before you act on a note. “Last revised” is the month the note was last written or corrected against that source.
A note answers a general question. Your books answer the specific one — the first conversation is a look at them and an honest answer about whether we are the right firm.