The Procurement Glossary » Chart of Accounts (CoA)

Chart of Accounts (CoA)

Finance & Payments

Also known as: CoA

Definition

The structured list of account codes a business uses to record and classify financial transactions.

Explanation

The CoA determines how spend is categorised in the ledger. Mapping procurement categories cleanly to it enables accurate financial reporting and reconciliation between procurement and finance systems.

Example

Each purchase is coded to a CoA account so it reports correctly in the financial statements.

Related terms

• General Ledger (GL) — The central accounting record holding all of a company's financial transactions.
• Cost Center — An organisational unit to which costs are assigned for tracking and accountability.
• Cost Allocation — The assignment of shared or indirect costs to the departments, projects or products that drive them.
• Spend Classification — The categorisation of each transaction into a consistent taxonomy so spend can be analysed by category.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Chart of Accounts (CoA)?

The structured list of account codes a business uses to record and classify financial transactions. The CoA determines how spend is categorised in the ledger. Mapping procurement categories cleanly to it enables accurate financial reporting and reconciliation between procurement and finance systems.

Can you give an example of Chart of Accounts (CoA)?

Each purchase is coded to a CoA account so it reports correctly in the financial statements.

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