A chart of accounts is a listing of all accounts used in the accounting system of an association. Associations have some freedom in the choice of a suitable chart of accounts. They can select the accounts that are most relevant for the respective association. It is important that members and the executive committee know on which items money has been spent, where the money comes from, and what the current status of assets and liabilities is. The balance sheet accounts, i.e. assets and liabilities, should be based on the actual assets and liabilities of the association. In concrete terms, this means that if an association has a bank account, its chart of accounts must include a “bank” account or if the association has a loan, a “loan” account must be included in the chart of accounts. With regard to the income statement, i.e. income and expenses, the association is free to choose which accounts it wishes to add to its chart of accounts. The executive committee must consider which information it wants to gain from the accounting. Proportionality is important here: it is only possible to draw relevant conclusions if the individual items are neither too small nor too large (it makes little sense to have an account with a final balance of CHF 15.20). In principle, it is advisable not to have too many accounts in the income statement, as a large number of accounts increases the risk of incorrect postings or of posting transactions of the same kind to different accounts, and incorrect postings lead to a distortion of the information generated in the accounting system. A variety of accounting software is available to help associations manage their accounting. They offer the flexibility to tailor each chart of accounts to best suit the individual association’s needs, adding accounts as needed.