thirteenth-month accounting period

thirteenth-month accounting period

An accounting method that does not seek to make annual corrections or adjustments during any particular month or quarter, because that would skew the financial reporting for that particular period. Instead, an artificial month is created, being the thirteenth month. Bad debts, other write-offs, and income from unusual activities are all booked in the thirteenth month and then flow through for year-end accounting purposes. (Do not confuse with thirteenth-period accounting,which uses 13 periods per year,each with 4 weeks,for a total of 52 weeks or 1 year.)