Final answer:
An accounting period is the time during which financial statements are prepared, lasting commonly a month, quarter, or year, often coinciding with a fiscal year.
Step-by-step explanation:
An accounting period refers to the duration in which financial statements are prepared. It is a set span of time, such as a month, a quarter, or a year, at the end of which a company or an organization will tally up its financial information to report its performance. The comptroller of public accounts, for example, is responsible for maintaining state accounting records and must prepare an annual statement, indicating that the state operates on a yearly accounting period, similar to the fiscal year described. This fiscal year typically starts on October 1 and ends on September 30 of the following year, highlighting the boundary of an accounting period for government budgetary purposes.