SummaryA widely accepted language is necessary for a business or organization to effectively communicate its results and position to stakeholders, which is why accounting has come to be known as the "language of business ". Accounting is actually the means of providing financial information to others. The financial analyst then takes the data that the accountants have compiled into reports and makes educated guesses about what their company should do next. David Ballast (1996) said: “The fact remains that accounting and finance are the primary tools for reducing a business's problems and opportunities to a common denominator, setting goals, measuring results and make decisions. » (p. 1)Accounting and financeDistinction between accounting and financeAccounting and finance both deal with money and assets; however, they are categorically different concepts. This part of the essay will discuss the differences between accounting and finance. Examples of different concepts will be given for the two practices. Accounting as a discipline is more a matter of law, while finance is more of a theoretical practice. Accounting has clearly defined guidelines, rules and regulations. As defined by Wikipedia (2005), “Accounting is the measurement, disclosure, or provision of assurance about information that helps managers and other decision makers make resource allocation decisions.” Two key disciplines of accounting are financial accounting and auditing. Financial accounting involves processes by which financial information about a business is recorded, classified, summarized, interpreted and communicated (Wikipedia, 2005). Auditing is related to financial accounting, but it is a separate discipline. "Auditing is the process...... middle of paper ......ng Paper.Marshall, D., McManus, W. and Viele, D. (2004). Accounting: what the figures [University of Phoenix electronic text] New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Companies. Retrieved December 30, 2005 from The University of Phoenix MBA 503 website (2004). Dictionary of the English Language, fourth edition Houghton Mifflin Company, 2004. Retrieved December 20, 2005 from Answers.com/topic/financeTutor2u 2006 at: http://www.tutor2u.netWikipedia (2005). Free encyclopedia Accessed December 20, 2005 at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AccountingWikipedia 2. (2005) Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Accessed December 20, 2005 at: http://en. .wikipedia.org/wiki/Finance.