Final answer:
Accounting provides several benefits to businesses, such as revealing profits, analyzing hypothetical scenarios, and showing asset values, but it does not legalize financial records, which is more about regulatory compliance.
Step-by-step explanation:
Accounting can benefit your business in numerous ways, but it does not include legalizing your financial records. Accounting is instrumental in revealing whether your business has made a profit by distinguishing between revenues and costs, taking into account both explicit and implicit costs. Profitability can be further explored by playing 'what-if' games to evaluate potential profits under various scenarios. Additionally, accounting helps in showing the value and sources of your assets, which is crucial for making informed business decisions regarding where to allocate resources and how to raise financial capital—be it from early-stage investors, by reinvesting profits, through loans from banks or bonds, or by issuing stock.
However, the process of making financial records legal, like complying with tax laws or business regulations, is more related to legal and regulatory compliance than to the practice of accounting itself.