The purpose of accounting¹ is to provide information that can be useful for economic decision-making. For this purpose， we should have certain accounting principles that provide guidelines and a common ground to practice accounting and to communicate accounting information effectively. The most important principles are as follows： -Accrual² -Historical cost -Realization³ -Matching -Conservation -Objectivity -Full-Disclosure -Consistency -Materiality The Accrual Principle The accrual principle holds that profit （or loss） is the difference between revenues and expensed for a period. It is not the difference between the cash receipts and cash payment for the same period. This principle complements⁴ the realization and the matching principles. According to it， the process of determining profit （or loss） is based on the accrual basis that is quite different from the cash basis.The accrual basis recognizes the impact of transactions on the financial statements in time periods when revenues and expenses occur. That is， revenues are recorded as they are earned and expenses are recorded as they are incurred⁵. In contrast， the cash basis recognizes the impact of transactions on the financial statements only when cash is received of disbursed⁶.

　　会计的目标是提供有益经济决策的信息。鉴于这个准则，会计准则提供导向和一个基本平台。下面是一些最重要的会计原则：准确性原则历史成本实现性原则（收付实现制，有收入才算收入）收支配比原则谨慎性原则目的性原则全面披露原则一贯性原则重要性原则会计原则获利原则（认为利润或损失是一定会计期间收入和费用的差额。他不是相同期间内现金收付原则和收益配比原则的不足。根据这个，确定的利润（或损失）是基于准确性原则基础，这不同于现金基本费用发生应及时处理财务报表。这就是说，收入在收入时获得，支出在支出时获得。相比较，现金收付是才应进行报表处理。

　　The historical cost principle Since one important function of the accountant is measurement， there must be a common basis that is meaningful to all interested parties. The most commonly used basis is historical cost， which means that most assets are recorded at their acquisition cost measured in terms of money paid. The exchange price between independent parties establishes the historical cost that is the basis for accounting. For example， assume that a building was purchased in 1983 for ten million dollars. This amount， the market value at the time of the purchase， is the basis fro recording⁷ the event in the accounting records. Subsequent to that purchase， the market price of the building may change as economic conditions change， but the objective fact of the purchase at the million dollars remains⁸ the same. Hence the use of historical cost is seen as ensuring greater objectivity in financial reporting than the use of figures based on estimates of current value， because it is factual and verifiable. The realization principle The realization principle indicates when revenues should be recognized. According to this principle revenues are normally recognized when the earning process is virtually completed-the goods pass （or service is rendered） to， and are （or is） accepted by， the customer. There are many revenue transactions such as installment⁹ sales and long-term construction contracts that pose revenue recognition problems.The principle requires that the accrual basis rather than the cash basis to be used for revenues. For example， completed transactions for the sale of goods on credit are usually recognized as revenue in the period in which the sale occurs， rather than in the period in which the cash is eventually collected.

　　历史成本原则因为会计的一个重要的智能是会计计量，必须有一个对于个相关团体有意义一般性原则。最广泛使用的原则是历史记价，这意味着大多数资产成本以他们支付的价格记录。不同独立经济交换价格决定历史成本，这个会计记录的基础。例如：购买于1983年的一栋建筑合计1000万美元。这个合计（当时饿市场购买价）是会计记录上记录这一事件的基础。在购买之后，这栋建筑的市场价格可能由于经济条件的变化而发生变化，但是以1000万购买这一事实仍然不变。因此历史成本的用处在于肯定在会计报表上历史成本不现在的价值估计更为重要，因为他是实际的的，而且可证实的。收付实现制原则收付实现制指当收入发生时必须被确认。根据这个原则，当支付过程完成时——货物验收时（或是服务提供时）。而且被客户所接受。仍然存在许多类型的收入，就像安装合同和看起来收入存在问题的长期建筑合同。原则指定是确认而不是收到现金的时候。例如：销售期间的货物信用销售的完成被确认为收入，而不是在最后收到现金时确认。

　　The Matching Principle The matching principle defines when an expense should be recognized. It requires that in any period when！ revenue is recognized， the expense incurred in generating that revenue should be recognized. In other words， the expenses should be matched to and charged against the revenues in the same accounting period as the revenues are recognized. Some expenses reflect a direct cause-and-effect relationship where revenue and expense occur simultaneously¹⁰. These expenses are usually called direct expenses which can be related directly and specifically to a particular revenue. Examples are cost of goods sold， sales commission expense， and delivery expense， etc.， but， in practice， quite a lot of expenses cannot be matched to particular revenue in that direct way. Examples are depreciation¹¹， shop rent， etc.， which is usually referred to as indirect expenses. In such case， the matching is done on a time basis. That is to say that the expenses for the period are related to the period rather than to specific revenues. The Conservation Principle （the prudence¹² Principle） According to the conservatism principle， the accountant will take risk into consideration by recognizing both expenses and liabilities when there is some reasonable probability of some adverse¹³ event occurring. On expensesYand liabilitiesQwhen there is some reasonable probability8of some adverse eventAoccurring. On the other hand， the accountant will recognize revenues and assets only when there is virtual certainty of an advantageous¹⁴ event occurring. More specifically it means that suspected but uncertain losses should be anticipated. This principle is a prudent¹⁵ reaction to uncertainty¹⁶ and is adopted in order to ensure that adequate consideration is given to all inherent business risks.

　　收支配比原则收支配比原则确认一旦费用发生就必须被确认。这要求任何时候收入发生就必须被确认。换句话说，费用应与相同的会计期间确认的收入相抵。当费用和收入发生时，一些费用折射出直接的因果关系这些费用通常被称为直接费用，这些费用与特定的收入相关。例如货物销售的成本，委托销售的费用和运输费用等等。但是事实上，相当多的费用不能直接与收入配比。例如折旧和店面租金等等。这些费用就是通常所提到的非相关费用。监于此，收支配比原则适用于一定的会计期间。这就是说，一定期间的费用只与该期间相关，而不是特定的收入。谨慎性原则（或称慎重性原则）根据谨慎性原则，当一些不利的事件有发生的可能时会计人员将冒险考虑确认费用和负债。另一方面，只有有利的事件确认发生时，会计人员才会确认收入和资产。不明确的收入不被计算，但是不确定的损失应被确认。这个准则是对不确定因素的谨慎反映，准则被采用的目的是对所有的企业内部风险做充分的考虑。

　　The Objectivity Principle According to the objectivity principle， the accounting records from which the periodic accountingstatements are prepared must have objectivity and verifiability； they must be maintained in such a way that the individual bias¹⁷ or personal opinion of the accountant does not influence the accounting process， so as to ensure greater truth and reliability¹⁸ in accounting statements. The market values of some items， such as real estate， are constantly changing， and estimates of these values are matter of personal opinion or professional judgment¹⁹， but they are not factual and objective. Historical cost， on the other hand， supported by business document such as sales slips， purchase invoices²⁰， is factual， objective， and verifiable. This gives reasonable assurance that any accountant viewing the evidence is likely to treat that financialLevent in the same way. Business documents provides the basic source of accounting records， and act as a basis for objectivity of the information.

　　客观性原则根据客观性原则，当期会计报表中列示的会计记录必须有实质意义并且可以确认。他们必须维持这样一种方式，那就是会计人员的个人的偏见或人为选择不会影响会计核算的整个过程，因此会计报表确认真实可靠是非常重要的。某些物品（例如房地产）的市场价格经常发生变化，而且价格的估计取决于人为选择或专家判断。但是他们不是事实上和客观上的价格。另一方面，历史成本以商业文书，例如销售清单和购买发票为依据，是事实的、客观的和可确认的。这合理确认：任何看到实物依据后的会计人员都可能采用相同的方法来记录这一财务信息。商业文书是会计记录的基础，扮演着确认信息真实性的角色。

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