Accrued expenses are costs a company has incurred but hasn't yet paid or been billed for, recorded as a liability under accrual accounting so the expense shows up in the period the obligation was actually created.
A common example is payroll: employees earn wages throughout a pay period, but the actual payment might land after the books close for that month. The unpaid portion gets recorded as an accrued expense, matching the cost to the period the work happened rather than the later date it was paid.
Missing accrued expenses is a common way a company's books understate what it actually owes at a given point in time, which makes the balance sheet look healthier than reality until the bill actually comes due. Reviewing for unrecorded accruals is a standard part of a proper monthly close.
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