Site icon Pathshala Nepal

The steps were taken by an accountant to locate the errors in the trial balance

 What are the steps taken by an accountant to locate the errors in the trial balance?


1 Answer


steps were taken by an accountant to locate the errors in the trial balance

  1. Recast the totals of the debit and credit columns of the trial balance.
  2. Compare each account head and its amount appearing in the trial balance with that of the ledger to detect any difference in the amount or omission of any account.
  3. Compare the trial balance of the current year with that of the previous year to check the additions or deletions to any accounts and to verify if there is an unexplained difference in amounts.
  4. Re-check the correctness of balances of individual accounts in their respective ledgers.
  5. Re-check the accuracy of the postings in individual accounts from the transactions entered in the books of original entry.
  6. If the difference between the debit and credit columns is of `1, `10, `100, or `1000, the casting of the subsidiary books should be re-checked.
  7. If the difference between the debit and credit columns is divisible by 2, then there is a possibility that an amount equal to half the difference may have been posted to the wrong side of another ledger account.
  8. The above point may also indicate a complete omission of a posting.
  9. If the difference is divisible by 9, the mistake could be because of the transposition of figures.
  10. Still, if it is not possible to locate the errors, the difference in the trial balance for that moment is transferred to the suspense account. All the one-sided errors detected are rectified through this account.
Related Questions