Though many do, fiscal years do not necessarily have to follow the standard calendar year (i.e. January through December). For both economic and business purposes, there are advantages to offsetting a fiscal period from the calendar time. Since many firms are required or choose to release quarterly reports, the year can be arranged in such away as to provide tax or accounting benefits. Furthermore, reports can more accurately cover activity for a specific period when cultural events like the winter holidays would typically skew results.