accounting legal definition

noun

1. The act or a system of establishing how the assets of a business, estate, trust, or other similar entity were managed and disposed of.
2. In equity, a legal action to require one, usually a fiduciary or a constructive trustee, to account for and pay over funds held by them but owed to another. See also account.
3. In equity, a legal action for the recovery of funds owed for services performed, property sold, money loaned, or for damage for the incomplete performance of minor contracts. See also account.
4. A legal action to complete or settle all of a partnershipÂ’s affairs. Usually done in connection with the dissolution of the partnership or with allegations of a partnerÂ’s misconduct. See also winding up.