What Is a General Ledger Trial Balance?

General ledger account balances transfer to a trial balance statement. By doing this, the accountant checks balances for mathematical validity. The trial balance verifies accuracy. This is its main purpose, although not its only one. When balance calculations are correct frequently during the accounting cycle, it is less likely hidden errors exist.

Trial Balance Statement

When calculating the trial balance, credit and the debit totals should be equal. Some mistakes do not surface easily, especially when credits and debits are the same. Just because the trial balance is mathematically correct does not guarantee that it is error-free.

General Ledger Contents

The general ledger contains all transactions occurring during a certain period. At the end of that period, the credit and debit columns transfer onto the trial balance statement. Therefore, it is important to verify that all transactions are in the general ledger and show correct amounts with no transposition of numbers.

Frequency of Verification

When the trial balance is out of balance, you know a hidden error exists. It is not always easy to identify the source of this problem. However, verifying the trial balance frequently makes the detective work less tedious.

The general ledger becomes the basis of all records in a financial portfolio. A trial balance, however, is a statement that verifies totals and represents a work sheet to verify totals. A general ledger trial balance refers to the statement verifying numbers behind the remaining financial sheets.

References

• Future a/ccountant: Trial Balance Preparation and Purpose
• NetMBA: Business Knowledge Center - Trial Balance
• College Accounting Coach: Definition Of A Trial Balance