1.
final settlement of accounts; overall accounting
The comprehensive closing of all accounts at the end of a fiscal period, covering all transactions.
年末に総決算を行う。
We conduct the final settlement of accounts at the end of the year.
会社の総決算の結果が発表された。
The results of the company's final accounting were announced.
今期の業績について総決算の報告をします。
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.
今年も終わりなので、総決算をしよう。
The year is coming to an end, so let's do a final review.
彼は政治家としての人生の総決算を語った。
He spoke of the final reckoning of his life as a politician.
十年間の研究活動の総決算として、論文集を出版した。
As a grand summing-up of ten years of research, they published a collection of papers.
A compound of 総 (overall, total) and 決算 (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:
- 総決算を行う: to conduct a final reckoning
- 総決算をする: to do a summing-up
- 一年の総決算: a year-end review
- 人生の総決算: a life's final reckoning
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 TERMS:
- 決算: settlement of accounts — the base word, for regular accounting periods
- 総括: summary, overview — similar figurative use but emphasizes summarizing rather than settling