Which of the following is/are the objective(s) of accounting? I. Maintenance…

Concept: Accounting is the systematic process of recording, classifying, summarising, and interpreting the financial transactions of a business. Its two primary objectives are (a) maintaining a permanent, verifiable record of every transaction, and (b) ascertaining the profit or loss and overall financial position of the business for a period.

Application: Statement I describes the bookkeeping function — recording each transaction in journals and ledgers so a permanent record exists. Statement II describes the analytical function — using that recorded data to prepare the Trading and Profit and Loss Account and determine whether the business earned a profit or incurred a loss. Both are foundational, universally recognised objectives of accounting, so both statements hold together.

• Limiting the objective to "Only I" ignores that ascertaining profit or loss is an equally core aim of accounting, not a by-product.

• Limiting the objective to "Only II" ignores that profit or loss cannot be determined without first maintaining a systematic record of transactions — recording is the foundational step.

• Denying both objectives ("Neither") contradicts the basic definition of accounting, which explicitly covers both recording transactions and ascertaining profit or loss.

Since both statements independently describe genuine, recognised objectives of accounting, "Both I and II" is the correct answer.