a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1865) I. 39 (MED) Dionysius Exiguus acordeþ nouȝt with þe Gospel in acountynge of ȝeres.

?a1425 Mandeville's Trav. (Egerton) (1889) 39 (MED) Þerfore, after accountyng of ten monethes to þe ȝere, he dyed in þe fourty ȝere.

1486 in H. Littlehales Medieval Rec. London City Church (1905) 14 (MED) The xxvij day of the moneth of Decembre, The yer of our lord god after the course & accomptyng of the Chirch of England ml cccc xxxj.

a1500 (?a1400) Stanzaic Life of Christ (Harl. 3909) (1926) l. 3903 (MED) Sexagesme..in pasch weke endes ay on Wednesday, by acountyng.

a1513 R. Fabyan New Cronycles Eng. & Fraunce (1516) I. sig. a.i^v Thus endeth thaccomptynge of the yeres of y^e worlde from the Creacion of Adam vnto the Incarnacion of Christe.

a1654 J. Richardson Choice Observ. & Explan. Old Test. (1655) i. sig. B^v/1 The Jewes may be said to eat the Passeover on the same day..; so it be understood according to their own several mindes and meanings, reckonings and accountings.

1694 R. South 12 Serm. II. 407 Which Method..must needs have an admirable and mighty Effect upon the Conscience, and keep a Man from breaking, or running behind-hand in his Spiritual Estate, which, without frequent Accountings, he will hardly be able to prevent.

1722 H. Curzon Universal Libr. (ed. 2) II. 487 An easie, certain and compendious Way of accounting by Sticks, called Rabdology.

1882 Cent. Mag. June 294/1 Soon two camps were formed, the seceders feeling strong enough to call for an accounting and to set up for themselves, even at the cost of excommunication.

1998 New Yorker 10 Aug. 36/1 ‘Two under’ or ‘Ten under’ is an accounting of collars, but in Transit a ‘man under’ is not under arrest but under a train.

a1676 M. Hale Short Treat. Sheriffs Accompts (1683) x. 103 The Clerks of the Pipe used different methods of accompting from the Auditors of the Revenue.

1703 I. Newton Let. 15 Jan. in Corr. (1967) IV. 397 Whatsoever Sums were payd to him or his ordr out of that Mint upon such private Rects were paid in Course for Silver Imported & intended upon ye next accounting to be brought to acct & set off upon ye printed Mint Ticquetts.

1788 Ann. Reg. 1786 300/1 Some judgment may be formed how far this plan is practicable, by comparing the alteration it will make in the great outlines of the business of this office, the receipt, the issue, the keeping the accounts, and the accounting, with the forms now in use.

1810 Literary Panorama Jan. 793 They [sc. the Tyrolese] have commonly partners..with whom they divide their profits with a probity, from which they have never swerved. The following is their method of accounting [etc.].

1855 in Accountant (1874) 24 Dec. 5/1 Accountants are frequently employed by courts of law..to aid those courts in their investigations of matters of accounting.

1885 F. H. Carter (title) Practical book-keeping adapted to commercial and judicial accounting.

1892 in J. Isaac Sci. of Accts. p. ii The Indian method of Double Entry classification represents a New Method of Accounting.

1913 E. P. Moxey Princ. Factory Cost Keeping 8 All factory cost accounting is based directly on the principles of double-entry book-keeping.

1924 H. R. J. Holmes Farm Costing 107 The whole object of cost accounting is the elimination of waste.

1957 Encycl. Brit. I. 102/2 The subject matter of accounting embraces every aspect of an enterprise which can be expressed in terms of money.

1962 H. O. Beecheno Introd. Business Stud. vii. 62 The form of accounting most generally used..is called financial accounting.

1978 P. Matthiessen Snow Leopard iv. 314 I pay wages to the sherpas for their months of faithful work, having Tukten explain to Dawa the when, where, and why of the accounting.

2008 Sunday Times (Nexis) 31 Aug. 4 Creative accounting to take advantage of low tax rates means that productivity estimates for these firms are greatly exaggerated.

1720 J. Ozell et al. tr. R. A. de Vertot Hist. Revol. Rom. Republic I. vi. 347 There is no accounting for so extraordinary an Event [Fr. On ne peut rendre raison d'un évenement si extraordinaire].

1744 Philos. Trans. 1740–41 (Royal Soc.) 41 460 In the 15th [section], he refutes..Huygen's Manner of accounting for Haloes, which is by a vast Number of very small Vapours, each with a snowy Nucleus, coated round with a transparent covering.

1765 Crit. Rev. 20 136 As he most sagaciously observes, There is no accounting for taste.

1794 A. Radcliffe Myst. of Udolpho I. xi. 297 I have often thought the people he disapproved were much more agreeable than those he admired;—but there is no accounting for tastes.

1800 Edinb. Mag. June 453 He fancied her kindness to him had diminished, in proportion as Matilda's increased. There was no accounting for it.

1855 W. H. Prescott Hist. Reign Philip II of Spain I. i. viii. 276 One obvious way of accounting for this, doubtless, is by the spirit of persecution which hung like a dark cloud over her reign.

1867 A. Trollope Last Chron. Barset I. xxxi. 263 He had not the slightest objection to recognizing in Major Grantly a suitor for his cousin's hand... There was..no accounting for tastes.

1903 G. B. Shaw Man & Superman iii. 101 I don't admire the heavenly temperament..but it takes all sorts to make a universe. There is no accounting for tastes: there are people who like it.

1980 Films in Rev. Dec. 632/2 There is no accounting for the inelegant, lacklustre, telefilm texture.

2002 N.Y. Rev. Bks. 21 Nov. 22 (advt.) Rarely does a single volume..provide so thorough an accounting for the basis for ‘Afro-Pessimism’.

1885 Insurance Times 18 24/2 The company could not, without suspending its ordinary business, give an accounting to each policyholder of their dealings with his policy.

1903 Smart Set 9 4/2 He must show reasons—give an accounting.

1961 W. Sheed Middle Class Educ. (1963) xviii. 309 She really would have to give some sort of accounting of that part of it.

2001 C. B. Janeway tr. S. Márai Embers xiii. 132 I owed nobody an accounting—I had resigned my commission in the proper fashion, I left behind no messy debts, I had made no promise to anyone which I failed to fulfill.

1915 E. St. Elmo Lewis Getting Most out of Business xxiii. 264 Accounting audits do not check the factory, sales, or office efficiency.

1920 E. P. Morrow in Jrnl. Kentucky Senate 6 Jan. 19 This expenditure should be checked, not only by an accounting audit, but there should be established a continuous audit of operating results.

2002 Jrnl. Public Policy & Marketing 21 169/1 Just as an accounting audit can measure the financial health of any institution, a periodic ethical audit can determine the ethical health of any social marketing organization.

1854 Memphis (Tennessee) Daily Appeal 17 Aug. 2 We indulge the hope that the accounting auditor will exercise his discretion..in such a manner as will hold the absolute cession of the Yard in abeyance.

1918 Motion Picture News 8 Nov. 3429/1 This space has been remodeled and altered and will accommodate the accounting auditor and purchasing departments.

2003 M. Tweeddale Managing Risk & Reliability of Process Plants 303 An accounting auditor may be engaged to express an opinion about the validity of a set of annual accounts prepared by an organization.

1826 Law Advertiser 9 Feb. 75/1 Thomas Cross, Birmingham, accounting clerk.

1942 Accounting Rev. 17 99/1 The positions most common in a cost-inspection office are Principal Accountant, Accountant, Junior Accountant, Senior Accounting Clerk, Accounting Clerk, [etc.].

2011 Patriot News (Harrisburg, Pa.) (Nexis) 19 Apr. a5 She worked as an accounting clerk for several firms.

1780 ‘Integer’ Lett. to High & Mighty United States Amer. iii. 26 Giving up, therefore, for the present, all thoughts of success in the accounting department, I intend..to turn myself to some new employment.

1890 Polit. Sci. Q. 5 214 There are but two comptrollers by name in the accounting department.

1921 F. S. Todman Wall Street Accounting x. 71 It is also one of the duties of the accounting department to compile the purchases and sales notices sent to customers.

2011 Fresno (Calif.) Bee (Nexis) 12 May b5 He had moved quickly from the janitorial team to become an assistant in the accounting department.

1920 Amer. Gas Monthly Aug. 492/2 A consideration of their use is worthy of the time of any accounting manager whose form-writing work is a factor of proportions.

2011 Portland (Maine) Press Herald (Nexis) 8 May e6 Boyd..is the accounting manager and financial reporting administrator.

1794 Rep. Comm. Treasury Dept. House of Representatives 21 The accounting officers of the treasury are governed solely by warrants, in the admission of credits to the collectors of the revenue, or other persons indebted to the United States.

1839 Extra Globe (Washington, D.C.) 5 June 68/3 The accounting officers who have been reluctantly censured by the Black-washing Committee are ultra Whigs.

1938 Amer. Polit. Sci. Rev. 32 949 The Missouri legislature provided St. Louis county with an..accounting officer to be known as the county comptroller.

2011 Cape Times (Nexis) 21 Apr. 8 Williams claimed that he was removed as accounting officer towards the end of last year when he refused to condone the irregular expenditure.