Chart of accounts
Chart of accounts is the master directory of every account a business uses, assigning each a unique numerical code and descriptive name.
Also known asaccount list
FrameworkDouble-entry bookkeeping
See it move
A tree diagram branches from a single root labelled 'Chart of accounts' into five numbered categories: Assets (codes 1000–1999), Liabilities (2000–2999), Equity (3000–3999), Revenue (4000–4999), and Expenses (5000–5999). Every account in a business's ledger belongs to exactly one of these five groups, and the numeric code ranges allow any account to be identified by category at a glance.
Check yourself
A newly appointed bookkeeper is told to 'follow the chart of accounts when posting every journal entry.' What will she find when she opens the chart of accounts?
If you trained under a national GAAP
FR · PCGWhere national-GAAP intuition diverges from the international standard
PCG (French)
The Plan Comptable Général mandates that all French entities structure their bookkeeping around a standardised, numbered chart of accounts with eight defined classes and prescribed two-digit codes at the second level. Firms may extend the structure with additional sub-accounts to suit their operations, but the top-level classification is set by regulation and cannot be departed from.
IFRS
IFRS prescribes no chart of accounts. Preparers design their own internal account structures, subject only to the requirement that their financial statements present at least the minimum line items specified by IAS 1 and other applicable standards. Two IFRS entities operating in different countries may use entirely different internal coding systems while both remaining fully compliant.