Account an individual accounting record of increases and decreases in specific asset, liability, stockholders' equity, revenue, or expense items. accounting information system the system of collecting and processing transaction data and communicating financial information to decision‐makers. accounting transactions events that require recording in the financial statements because they affect assets, liabilities, or stockholders' equity. chart of accounts a list of a company's accounts. credit the right side of an account. debit the left side of an account. double‐entry system a system that records the two‐sided effect of each transaction in appropriate accounts. general journal the most basic form of journal. general ledger a ledger that contains all asset, liability, stockholders' equity, revenue, and expense accounts. journal an accounting record in which transactions are initially recorded in chronological order. journalizing the procedure of entering transaction data in the journal. ledger the group of accounts maintained by a company. posting the procedure of transferring journal entry amounts to the ledger accounts. t‐account the basic form of an account. trial balance a list of accounts and their balances at a given time.