Unadjusted Trial Balance Case Study

Register to read the introduction… An unadjusted trial balance is simply a list of the accounts with the credit and debit balances with totals. The totals from the two columns must match. If they do not mach there is an error somewhere that needs to be uncovered. In my experience, the trial balance is simply printed from a program and a bookkeeper reviews the totals to be sure they match the journal entries and that all transactions have been recorded then makes sure that the debits and credits match. If there are errors, the bookkeeper is the one who uncovers and corrects them.
The next step is adjusting entries. Adjusting entries are can fall into four categories: prepaid expenses, unearned revenues, accrued revenues and accrued expenses. The adjusting entries, in my experience are always prepared and recorded by a bookkeeper or higher. In some cases, a department head will submit information to be recorded, but the accounting department always makes the adjustments.
The next step is the adjusted trial balance. The concept of the adjusted trial balance is the same as the unadjusted trial balance; the difference is that all of the events for the period have been recorded. The adjusted trail balance is usually done by a bookkeeper and then given to an accountant for …show more content…
The financial statements are prepared from the adjusted trial balance. The financial statements are usually prepared by an accountant, but may be prepared by a bookkeeper under the supervision of an accountant. I have seen the financial statements done on an excel spreadsheet and I have seen accounting software that automatically prints them. In either case, they have always been reviewed by an accountant or member of management. I have also never worked at a place that used worksheets. I was first exposed to the idea in one of my earlier accounting classes and found it very easy and less prone to error to use one than to not use …show more content…
This consists of transferring all of the income statement accounts to the income summary account. The revenues and expenses are matched and the net result is transferred into an equity or retained earnings account. The bookkeeper usually does this step supervised by an accountant who will review everything before everything is posted to the general ledger. I have personally never been involved in this part of the accounting cycle, so although I am familiar with it form other classes, I have no "real" experience with this step.
Reversing entries are the final step. This step is useful when an expense will be allocated between two periods. For example, if a note payable has interest due in the middle of the month, an adjusting entry can be made at the end of the previous month for the full amount and then a reversing entry can be made at the beginning of the next month in order to properly allocate the expense in the period in which it occurred. Reversing entries are optional, except in the case of accruals. This can be done by a bookkeeper or by an