Accounting Definition:

The goal in a request for an accounting, is for a financial report called, in law, accounts.

In Maxim Integrated Products, in regards to obligations that might be imposed upon directors of a company (who are fiduciaries of a corporation), Justice Ware of the United States District Court wrote:

"An accounting is an equitable remedy which allows the court to determine the extent of a misallocation of expenses and the damages resulting therefrom when there is fiduciary relationship between the parties."

Earlier, in Bates v Northwestern Human Services, Justice Walton, of the same court, had used these words:

"An accounting is a detailed statement of the debits and credits between parties arising out of a contract or a fiduciary relation."

REFERENCES:

• Bates v. Northwestern Human Services Inc., 466 F. Supp. 2d 69 (United States District Court, District of Columbia, 2006)
• In re Maxim Integrated Products Inc., 574 F. Supp. 2d 1046 (United States District Court at San Jose, 2008)