# Accounting explained

Accounting is the language of business.

- Accountants track the numerical history of transactions, then express the most relevant information in reports.

Understanding how accounting works allows you to understand where the transactions flow from.

- Most of the system is automated with spreadsheets or accounting software, so most people only need to maintain conceptual awareness of how it works.

Accounting isn't strictly a discipline of math.

- [Math](math.md) uses complex calculations, and accounting doesn't use anything above [algebra](math-algebra.md).
- Accounting, does, however, use large *columns* of numbers.
- In that sense, accountants create [databases](database.md) more than performing mathematical calculations.

There are multiple domains to specify how accounting works:

- [The basics of accounting](money-accounting-basics.md)
- [The specific elements in basic accounting](money-accounting-elements.md)
- [Taxes](money-accounting-taxes.md)
- [Other specific elements of accounting](money-accounting-elements-misc.md)