Definition
A year is the orbital period of the Earth moving in its orbit around the Sun. Due to the Earth’s axial tilt, the course of a year sees the passing of the seasons, marked by change in weather, the hours of daylight, and, consequently, vegetation and soil fertility. The current year is.
Year
What is ‘Year’
A period of time that is comprised of 12 consecutive months. A year is a 12-month period whose start date can vary. For individual taxation purposes (for annual federal income tax returns, for example), “year” typically refers to the calendar year that begins on January 1 and ends on December 31. A fiscal year is a period that is used for corporate or government accounting purposes and the preparing of financial statements. A fiscal year might coincide with the calendar year, or the time period that it represents could begin and end on different dates (as long as it involves 12 consecutive months).
Explaining ‘Year’
Corporations can elect to use the calendar year as their fiscal year (i.e., January 1 – December 31); however, they may choose any period to use for reporting and accounting purposes. By default, the IRS considers taxpayers to be calendar-year taxpayers; fiscal-year taxpayers (with other than January 1 – December 31 years) may have different deadlines for payments and for the filing of certain forms. The U.S. government’s fiscal year, for example, begins on October 1 and ends on September 30. If a fiscal year ends during the next calendar year, it is referred to as the year in which it ends. For example, if the fiscal year runs from June 1, 2012, to May 31, 2013, it would be designated “fiscal year 2013” or “FY2013.”
Further Reading
- An empirical comparison of published replication research in accounting, economics, finance, management, and marketing – www.sciencedirect.com [PDF]
- Use of online information resources by RMIT University economics, finance, and marketing students participating in a cooperative education program – www.tandfonline.com [PDF]
- Trends in park tourism: Economics, finance and management – www.tandfonline.com [PDF]
- On economics and finance – www.jstor.org [PDF]
- Blended learning in finance: Comparing student perceptions of lectures, tutorials and online learning environments across different year levels – onlinelibrary.wiley.com [PDF]
- Positive accounting theory: a ten year perspective – www.jstor.org [PDF]
- Financing decisions: who issues stock? – www.sciencedirect.com [PDF]
