system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
ELI5: What is the point of a fiscal year. Why can't a business year end December 31st like everyone else?
gpt
A lot of businesses will set their fiscal year (FY) ends with the calendar at 12/31. That being said, a business can decide when they want to set their for a variety of reasons, but a major one would be to set it at a slower period in their business cycle.

For example, a university might have semesters starting in September and January with an additional summer session. Setting a FY end in the summer will allow management to see their financial results for the entire school year (operating cycle). If they were to use 12/31 as their FY end, then they would be looking at their financial performance for segments of two different operating cycles.