Fiscal Period Definition

Fiscal Period Definition – An accounting time period (usually a month, a quarter, or a year) at the end of which the books are closed and profit or loss is determined.

It is the time which reflects in the financial statements of a company. In other words. various segments of a fiscal year is known as fiscal period. Mostly the fiscal period is either the calendar year or the quarter. It is mandatory for all the public companies to provide their financials for the fiscal period. Sometimes, this period is also known as accounting period.

To be very precise, fiscal period is the time range when accounts of the company are prepared. There can be multiple fiscal periods or even a single fiscal period. It could be fiscal year, calendar year, quarterly and half yearly. This is solely depends upon the organisation.

Fiscal Period Example

Let’s understand the fiscal period definition in a better way with the help of an example. Say, ABC Company has fiscal year which starts from 1 January 2017 to March 31. Now company decides to assess its financial performance on quarterly basis. So, first fiscal period is 1 April to 30 June, second fiscal period is from 1 July to 30 September and so on.

Fiscal Period Definition | Meaning | Example