accountancy

IPA/əˈkaʊntənsi/
KK[əkˈaʊntənsi]IPA/əˈkaʊntənsi/

accountancy — noun

1. the work that an accountant does, including keeping records of money that a comp

1.nounB2
Definition

the work that an accountant does, including keeping records of money that a company spends and earns, checking these records, and preparing reports about them.

Example

Diego studied accountancy at university before joining a small firm in Taipei.

study + accountancy

After ten years in accountancy, Mr. Chen opened his own office near the train station.

in + accountancy for working in the field

Common collocations
  • study accountancy
  • qualify in accountancy
  • accountancy firm
  • accountancy exams
  • career in accountancy
Synonyms
  • accounting

    everyday and American-English equivalent; covers both the profession and the daily activity

  • bookkeeping

    narrower; just the daily recording of money in and out, not the full profession

  • auditing

    a specialist branch focused on checking that financial records are correct

Grammar Patterns

uncountable noun

Usage Note

Almost always uncountable; do not use 'an accountancy' or 'accountancies'. British English uses 'accountancy' more often, while American English tends to prefer 'accounting' for the same idea.

Common Mistakes

She works as an accountancy.
She works as an accountant.
'accountancy' is the field; the person is an 'accountant'.
I have two accountancies on my CV.
I have two accountancy qualifications on my CV.
the noun is uncountable, so add a countable head noun.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

All four words sit in the same money-records family but cover different scopes. 'Accountancy' is the formal British term for the whole profession of an accountant, especially as a career path or university subject — you study accountancy and then work as an accountant. 'Accounting' is the more neutral, common word, used widely in American English for both the profession and the everyday activity of recording and reporting money. 'Bookkeeping' is narrower and more practical: it refers only to the daily writing-down of payments and income, with no judgement or analysis. 'Auditing' is a specialist branch — independently checking that someone else's financial records are accurate. So a student might say, 'I'm studying accountancy,' a manager might say, 'Send this to accounting,' a small-shop owner might do their own bookkeeping, and a big firm hires outside experts for auditing.

accountancy ↗accounting ↗bookkeeping ↗auditing ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

  • accountancy firm
  • accountancy practice
  • accountancy profession
  • accountancy qualification
  • accountancy exams
  • accountancy student

Phrases

  • a career in accountancy
  • qualify in accountancy
  • the world of accountancy

Prepositions

  • in accountancy
  • of accountancy

Etymology

LatinOld FrenchEnglish

Formed in English in the mid-1800s by adding the noun-ending '-ancy' (meaning 'state or quality of') to 'accountant'. 'Accountant' itself came into English from Old French 'acuntant', built on the verb 'acompter' (to count up, reckon), which traces back to Latin 'computare' — the same root that gives us 'compute' and 'count'. So 'accountancy' literally describes the state of being an accountant, that is, someone whose job is reckoning and reporting on money.