The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 9 letter word AMOUNTING
I've seen this crossword clue in The Times
A
M
O
U
N
T
I
N
G
Buddy explains!

The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.
What does AMOUNTING mean?
AMOUNTING verb- (followed by to) To total or evaluate.
- (followed by to) To be the same as or equivalent to.
- To go up; to ascend.