総決算(そうけっさん)

そうけっさん
noun
final reckoning; overall settlement; grand summing-up
formalbusinessevaluation
1. final settlement of accounts; overall accounting
The comprehensive closing of all accounts at the end of a fiscal period, covering all transactions.
年末(ねんまつ)に総決算(そうけっさん)を行(おこな)う。
We conduct the final settlement of accounts at the end of the year.
The results of the company's final accounting were announced.
I will give a report on the overall accounting of this term's performance.
2. final reckoning; grand summing-up
A figurative comprehensive review or final assessment of a period of effort, a series of events, or an entire endeavor.
今年(ことし)も終(お)わりなので、総決算(そうけっさん)をしよう。
The year is coming to an end, so let's do a final review.
He spoke of the final reckoning of his life as a politician.
十年間(じゅうねんかん)の研究(けんきゅう)活動(かつどう)の総決算(そうけっさん)として、論文集(ろんぶんしゅう)を出版(しゅっぱん)した。
As a grand summing-up of ten years of research, they published a collection of papers.

A compound of 総(そう) (overall, total) and 決算(けっさん) (settlement of accounts). Originally an accounting term, it is widely used figuratively to mean a comprehensive review or final assessment of any endeavor.

Common collocations

Usage

In business, this is a formal accounting term. In everyday usage, it often appears at year-end or at the conclusion of a long project, career, or era to describe looking back and evaluating the whole.

Related words

  • 決算(けっさん): settlement of accounts — the base word, for regular accounting periods
  • 総括(そうかつ): summary, overview — similar figurative use but emphasizes summarizing rather than settling