A period of one year after which major (often audited) financial statements are prepared. The activity involved in preparing these statements is commonly referred to as "year end". Many enterprises has a fiscal year that starts January 1 and ends December 31. Some enterprises have a fiscal year that starts at another time during the year (e.g. Oct 1 - Sep 30). Normally once a fiscal year has been established it is not changed.

A fiscal year is sub-divided in several accounting periods. Most business use a month as their accounting period. Financial statements are commonly prepared at the end of each accounting period. This activity is commonly referred to as "month end".