What does a career woman with a checkbook, an examiner for an auditing firm, or the bookkeeper of a fledgling souvenir shop have in common? Accounting. Accounting is an integral part of business. Fortunes are made, lost, risked, or gambled away on the advice of accountants. Profits are effectively used or woefully mismanaged upon the counsel of financial managers. There is no denying the importance of accounting, particularly when it comes to recording how much or how quickly a business has grown. At the individual level, you use accounting to make personal financial decisions - calculating varying rates of car payments, for example, or assessing how long it would take to pay off a house mortgage. At a macrocosmic level, financial professionals use accounting to gather information, track transactions, plan purchases, or control finances. This section can help you navigate your way around the complex world of accounting. Whether you are running a business or are simply ringing up purchases from a grocery counter, you can use the articles below to better your understanding of accounting and accounting practices.