Financial accounting is the field of accounting concerned with the summary, analysis, and reporting of the economic activities of an entity. Financial accounting involves the preparation of financial statements in accordance with an accounting framework that is composed of standards, conventions and rules. Various types of accounting frameworks exist and the main types are explained in this section.

An accounting framework provides the criteria for an audit of financial statements since the auditor's objective is to evaluate if the financial statements are prepared in accordance with the chosen accounting framework.