Chart of accounts

The chart of accounts is the backbone of double-entry bookkeeping: a numbered list of accounts for assets, liabilities, equity, income and expenses. Every transaction is posted to at least two accounts, and financial statements are built by summing account balances according to the structure of the chart.

Approaches differ across the EU. France, Belgium, Spain, Portugal, Romania, Czechia and Slovakia prescribe a national chart that every business follows, which makes filings and audits uniform. Germany and Austria use standard charts published by professional bodies, such as DATEV SKR03 and SKR04, and the Nordic and Anglo-Irish countries leave the design largely to the company within reporting rules. Kontevia maps its categories to the chart used in each country so exports land on the right accounts.