Accounting may be defined as an information system that provides reports to various individuals or groups about economic activities of an organization or other entities.It is an information system of interpreting，recording，measuring，classifying，summarizing，reporting and describing business economic activities with monetary unit as its main criterion.Accounting is also called“language of business”，because it is the means by which most business information is communicated.The accounting information is primarily supplied to owners，managers and investors of every business，and other users to assist in decision-making process.

The process of using accounting to provide information to users is illustrated in the following figure.Accountants must identify user groups and their information needs.These needs determine which economic data and activities are recorded by the accounting system.Then，accountants prepare reports that summarize this information for users.