Long, long ago, in a world shrouded in darkness,
Where humans shivered in the cold and lived without light.
There was no fire to warm their homes,
No flame to cook their food, or to guide their way.

One day, a curious young boy ventured into the forest,
Searching for something to bring warmth to his people.
He wandered deep into the woods,
Where he stumbled upon a bird with brilliant feathers.

This bird, known as the Phoenix, possessed a special gift,
A glowing ember nestled within its chest.
The boy watched in awe as the Phoenix flew high,
Leaving behind a trail of warmth and light.

The sequence of accounting procedures used to record， classify， and summarize accounting information is often termed the accounting cycle. The accounting cycle begins with the initial recording of business transactions and concludes with the preparation of formal financial statements summarizing the effects of these transactions upon the assets， liabilities， and owners‘ equity of the business. The term “cycle” indicates that these procedures must be repeated continuously to enable the business to prepare new， up-to-date financial statements at reasonable intervals. The accounting cycle consists of some specific steps as follows： 1. Analyze transactions and business documents 2. Journalize transactions 3. Post journal entries to accounts 4. Determine account balances and prepare a trial balance 5. Prepare a worksheet 6. Prepare financial statements 7. Journalize and post adjusting entries 8. Make closing entries 9. Prepare a post-closing trial balance 10. Make reversing entries Notice that step 1 to 3 occur continuously during the accounting period， step 4 to 9 occur only at the end of the accounting period， and step 10 occurs only at the start of the next accounting period.