Under the accrual basis of accounting, revenues are reported in the income statement when they are earned (In the cash basis of accounting, revenues are reported in the income statement when cash is received.).
Under the accrual basis, expenses are matched with corresponding revenues and/or reported when the expense is incurred rather than when cash is paid.
The result of accrual accounting is an income statement that better measures a company's profitability over a given period of time.