Account of profits
An account of profits is a court remedy used when someone with fiduciary duties breaches them. The court orders the person who breached to give up the profits they earned from the breach, so they do not unjustly gain from their wrongdoing.
When calculating the account, the plaintiff is treated as if they ran the defendant’s business, and only the profits tied to the wrongful act are included. This can be technically complex, often requiring a review of the defendant’s records and sometimes the help of a forensic accountant. Exact math isn’t always possible, and reasonable estimates are acceptable.
Historically, an account of profits came from common law, before the clear split between law and equity.
Co-owners of property also have a right to an accounting of profits to fairly share income from using or leasing the property.
The remedy can apply against strangers to a trust who dishonestly assist a trustee in a breach of duty.
Courts use a couple of general approaches to decide how much profit should be recovered.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 14:56 (CET).