accrue
verb
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Definition of accrue
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Other Words from accrue
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adjective
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noun
Examples of accrue in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
FedEx Cup points accrued during the regular season and quadrupled in the postseason were reset to give everyone a chance. — Doug Ferguson, BostonGlobe.com, "Justin Thomas loses cushion, shares lead in Tour Championship," 22 Aug. 2019 FedEx Cup points accrued during the regular season and quadrupled in the postseason were reset to give everyone a chance. — Doug Ferguson, The Denver Post, "Justin Thomas loses cushion, shares lead in Tour Championship," 22 Aug. 2019 Players signed to a two-way contract can accrue no more than 45 days of service with their respective NBA club during the regular season and will spend the remainder of their time with the team’s NBA G League affiliate. — Pioneer Press, Twin Cities, "Timberwolves sign Kelan Martin to two-way contract," 9 Aug. 2019 And by then the Martinis had accrued, and his anxiety had quieted a little. — Emma Cline, The New Yorker, "Son of Friedman," 24 June 2019 Thus, McCarron was only on the active roster for the final three games and did not accrue a season toward unrestricted free agency. — Jim Owczarski, Cincinnati.com, "An inside look at the AJ McCarron grievance against the Cincinnati Bengals," 13 Feb. 2018 Almost no economist would agree that this argument applies to what Mr Johnson has proposed, in part because most of the benefits of the tax cuts would accrue to richer folk, who are more likely to save their windfalls. — The Economist, "Britain’s Tories used to relish fiscal discipline. No longer," 27 July 2019 Now that he is poised to become prime minister, there’s a jarring contrast between the air of antic hilarity that so often accrues to Johnson’s public image and the utter seriousness of Britain’s political predicament. — Christina Boyle, Los Angeles Times, "Boris Johnson, one of Britain’s most eccentric politicians, on track to be next prime minister," 22 July 2019 This is because the benefits of information accrue disproportionately to those who are already favored by natural aptitudes and aptitudes acquired through education and other socialization. — George Will, Twin Cities, "George Will: Is the individual obsolete?," 17 July 2019These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'accrue.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for accrue
accrue
verbFinancial Definition of accrue
What It Is
To accrue is to record revenue and expenses in the periods in which they are incurred. Accruals, the result of accruing, are key components of the accrual method of accounting.
How It Works
Company XYZ must insure one of its buildings. The insurance company bills Company XYZ $600 every six months (one bill in January, the next in July). If each bill is for six months' coverage, then under the accrual method, Company XYZ would not record a $600 expense in January and a $600 expense in July (doing so would mean Company XYZ was using the cash method); it would instead record a $100 expense each month for the whole year. That is, Company would match the expense to the periods in which it is incurred: $100 for January, $100 for February, $100 for March, and so on.
As you can see, accruing recognizes economic events in certain periods regardless of when actual cash transactions occur.
Why It Matters
Although it is more complex, harder to implement and harder to maintain than the cash method of accounting, most analysts agree that accruing provides a more accurate picture of a company's performance. That's because in any given accounting period, revenues are associated with their corresponding expenses, which gives a truer picture of the real costs of producing the revenue in a given period.
Additionally, accruing allows companies to reflect the fact that sales may have been made and expenses incurred even if cash has not changed hands yet (as is often the case with sales made on credit and similar circumstances). This in turn produces financial statements that are comparable over time.
However, one of the big drawbacks of accruing is that it tends to obscure the nature of the company's actual cash position (e.g., a company may show millions in sales but only have $10 in its cash account because its customers haven't paid yet).
Source: Investing Answers
accrue
verb
English Language Learners Definition of accrue
See the full definition for accrue in the English Language Learners Dictionary
accrue
verb
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Legal Definition of accrue
Note: Statutes of limitations begin to run when a cause of action accrues.
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