Accountancy

Accountancy is the “rulebook” or the total body of knowledge that explains how accounting and book-keeping should be done. It covers all the theories, rules (accounting principles), methods, and standards so that the accounting done by different people or businesses can be compared and trusted. 

“Accountancy refers to the entire body of the theory and process of accounting.” By Kohler.

Book-Keeping

You run a small canteen at school. Every day, you write down each sale (Chips ₹20, Juice ₹30) and each expense (new stock, ₹200). This daily recording of all money in and out is book-keeping.

Accounting

At the end of the month, you check your canteen’s book-keeping records to see the total sales and expenses. You prepare a summary report showing if you made a profit or a loss and how much cash is left. This process of analyzing and summarizing is accounting.

Accountancy

Your teacher shows you that, in every school or business, the method for keeping track of money is similar. Why? Because they all follow established rules (like how to record sales, calculate profits). The full set of these rules and concepts is called accountancy—it explains how to do book-keeping and accounting the right way and why those methods are trusted.