diff --git a/hledger-lib/Hledger/Data/AccountName.hs b/hledger-lib/Hledger/Data/AccountName.hs
index ea61ca2c1..b1779a1ed 100644
--- a/hledger-lib/Hledger/Data/AccountName.hs
+++ b/hledger-lib/Hledger/Data/AccountName.hs
@@ -59,6 +59,7 @@ parentAccountNames a = parentAccountNames' $ parentAccountName a
       parentAccountNames' "" = []
       parentAccountNames' a = a : parentAccountNames' (parentAccountName a)
 
+-- | Is the first account a parent or other ancestor of (and not the same as) the second ?
 isAccountNamePrefixOf :: AccountName -> AccountName -> Bool
 isAccountNamePrefixOf = isPrefixOf . (++ [acctsepchar])
 
diff --git a/hledger-lib/Hledger/Data/Posting.hs b/hledger-lib/Hledger/Data/Posting.hs
index 7b3c78a41..d599dd49d 100644
--- a/hledger-lib/Hledger/Data/Posting.hs
+++ b/hledger-lib/Hledger/Data/Posting.hs
@@ -226,7 +226,7 @@ accountNameApplyAliases aliases a = accountNameWithPostingType atype aname'
   where
     (aname,atype) = (accountNameWithoutPostingType a, accountNamePostingType a)
     aname' = foldl
-             (\acct alias -> dbg6 "got" $ aliasReplace (dbg6 "alias" alias) acct)
+             (\acct alias -> dbg6 "result" $ aliasReplace (dbg6 "alias" alias) (dbg6 "account" acct))
              aname
              aliases
 
@@ -235,8 +235,9 @@ accountNameApplyAliases aliases a = accountNameWithPostingType atype aname'
 -- aliasMatches (RegexAlias re  _) a = regexMatchesCI re a
 
 aliasReplace :: AccountAlias -> AccountName -> AccountName
-aliasReplace (BasicAlias old new) a | old `isAccountNamePrefixOf` a = new ++ drop (length old) a
-                                    | otherwise = a
+aliasReplace (BasicAlias old new) a
+  | old `isAccountNamePrefixOf` a || old == a = new ++ drop (length old) a
+  | otherwise = a
 aliasReplace (RegexAlias re repl) a = regexReplaceCI re repl a
 
 
diff --git a/tests/misc/aliases.test b/tests/misc/aliases.test
index 67ea9f180..6e804d7d2 100644
--- a/tests/misc/aliases.test
+++ b/tests/misc/aliases.test
@@ -1,5 +1,7 @@
 # alias-related tests
 
+# simple aliases
+
 # simple alias directive
 hledgerdev -f- accounts
 <<<
@@ -23,6 +25,18 @@ A:B:c
 a:bb:d
 >>>=0
 
+# a simple alias matching the whole account name works
+hledgerdev -f- accounts
+<<<
+alias a:b = A:B
+1/1
+    (a:b)   1
+>>>
+A:B
+>>>=0
+
+# regular expression aliases
+
 # regex alias directive
 hledgerdev -f- accounts
 <<<
@@ -68,6 +82,8 @@ alias /A (.)/=\1
 
 >>>=0
 
+# CLI
+
 # --alias command-line options are applied in the order written.
 # Spaces are allowed if quoted.
 #