Trial balance errors

Types of Trial Balance Errors

The trial balance is a summary-level of listing of the debit or credit total in each account. You normally use the initial, or unadjusted, trial balance for two reasons:

This unadjusted trial balance may contain a number of errors, only a few of which are easy to spot in the trial balance report format. Here are the more common errors, with suggestions on how to find them:

  • Entries made twice. If an entry is made twice, the trial balance will still be in balance, so that is not a good document for finding it. Instead, for an ongoing transaction, you may have to wait for the issue to resolve itself. For example, a duplicate invoice to a customer will be rejected by the customer, while a duplicate invoice from a supplier will (hopefully) be spotted during the invoice approval process.

  • Entries not made at all. An entry not made at all is impossible to find on the trial balance, since it is not there (!). Your best bet is to maintain a checklist of standard entries, and verify that all of them have been made.

  • Entries to the wrong account. An entry made to the wrong account may be apparent with a quick glance at the trial balance, since an account that previously had no balance at all now has one. Otherwise, the best form of correction is preventive - use standard journal entry templates for all recurring entries.

  • Reversed entries. An entry for a debit may be mistakenly recorded as a credit, and vice versa. This issue may be visible on the trial balance, especially if the entry is large enough to change the sign of an ending balance to the reverse of its usual sign.

  • Transposed numbers. The digits in a number may have been switched. This is easy to find, since the underlying entry is unbalanced, and so should not have been accepted by the accounting software. If a manual system is being used, journal entry totals must be compared to the totals in the trial balance. This issue relates to the following one.

  • Unbalanced entries. An unbalanced entry is listed last, since it is impossible in a computerized environment, where entries must be balanced or the system will not accept them. If you are using a manual system, then the issue will be apparent in the column totals of the trial balance. However, locating the exact entry is vastly more difficult, and will call for a detailed review of every entry, or at least of the totals in every subsidiary ledger that rolls into the general ledger.

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Error Correction Best Practices

Whenever you correct an error, be sure to use a clearly labeled journal entry with supporting documentation, so that someone else can trace through your work at a later date. Another best practice is to have an experienced, senior-level accountant review these proposed error corrections beforehand, since the corrections may also be in error.

Related Articles

How to Prepare a Trial Balance

The Difference Between an Unadjusted and Adjusted Trial Balance

The Difference Between the General Ledger and Trial Balance

The Purpose of a Trial Balance

Trial Balance Worksheet