Accounting elements, also known as accounting object elements, refer to the basic classification according to the economic characteristics of transactions or events, the specific objects and contents of accounting and supervision, and the main factors that constitute the specific contents of accounting objects, and are divided into accounting elements that reflect the financial situation of enterprises and accounting elements that reflect the operating results of enterprises. China's accounting standards for business enterprises define six accounting elements, namely assets, liabilities, owners' equity, income, expenses and profits.

Accounting elements refer to the components of accounting objects, the most basic classification of specific contents of accounting objects according to economic characteristics, the concretization of accounting objects and the basic elements of accounting statements. Accounting standards for business enterprises divide accounting elements into assets, liabilities, owners' equity (shareholders' equity), income, expenses (costs) and profits. Among them, three accounting elements, assets, liabilities and owners' equity, focus on reflecting the financial situation of enterprises and constitute the balance sheet elements; Income, expenses and profits are three accounting elements that reflect the operating results of enterprises and constitute the elements of the income statement. Accounting elements are the concretization of accounting objects, the cornerstone of basic accounting theory research and the core of accounting standards construction. Whether the definition of accounting elements is scientific and reasonable directly affects the quality of accounting practice. The reasonable division of accounting elements is conducive to clearly reflecting property rights relations and other economic relations.