What is a reporting entity in accounting?

An accounting entity is the economic unit, the business that is being accounted for and not necessarily a legal entity (Sands J 2002). I currently manage and submit accounting reports for a business unit within the company I work for, the business unit is an accounting entity with retained earnings, assets, etc... however the business unit is not in itself a legal entity, it is a department within a legal entity.

The business entity convention in accounting distinguishes the business from any other accounting entity. So the accounts of the owners are kept separate from those of the business.

The accounting entity suggests that the owners funds are kept separate from the business's, The legal entity however considers them to be the same account when seizing assets for reasons such as debt

Any entity which can be represented by name of an individual or entity is known as personal account in accounting parlance.