Adjusted trial balance example and explanation
/What is an Adjusted Trial Balance?
An adjusted trial balance is a listing of the ending balances in all accounts after adjusting entries have been prepared. The intent of adding these entries is to correct errors in the initial version of the trial balance and to bring the entity's financial statements into compliance with an accounting framework, such as Generally Accepted Accounting Principles or International Financial Reporting Standards.
Once all adjustments have been made, the adjusted trial balance is essentially a summary-balance listing of all the accounts in the general ledger - it does not show any detail transactions that comprise the ending balances in any accounts. The adjusting entries are shown in a separate column, but in aggregate for each account; thus, it may be difficult to discern which specific journal entries impact each account.
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Uses for the Adjusted Trial Balance
The adjusted trial balance is not part of the financial statements - rather, it is an internal report that has two purposes:
To verify that the total of the debit balances in all accounts equals the total of all credit balances in all accounts; and
To be used to construct financial statements (specifically, the income statement and balance sheet; construction of the statement of cash flows requires additional information).
The second application of the adjusted trial balance has fallen into disuse, since computerized accounting systems automatically construct financial statements. However, it is the source document if you are manually compiling financial statements. In the latter case, the adjusted trial balance is critically important - financial statements cannot be constructed without it.
How to Prepare an Adjusted Trial Balance
The process for preparing an adjusted trial balance is relatively simple. The steps for doing so are as follows:
Print an unadjusted trial balance. This is a standard report in your accounting software, and will provide you with a summary listing of the ending balances in every general ledger account.
Make adjusting entries. Consult your procedure for closing the books, and create adjusting entries based on that procedure. This may include charging off a portion of prepaid expenses, adjusting the reserve for doubtful accounts, recording expense accruals, and recording depreciation and amortization expense.
Repeat as necessary. Print the adjusted trial balance and verify that all adjusting entries have been made. It is quite possible that you will need to make adjustments and re-run the report several times before you are satisfied with the result.
Close the period. Close the period in the accounting software and print your final set of financial statements.
Example of an Adjusted Trial Balance
The following report shows an adjusted trial balance, where the initial, unadjusted balance for all accounts is located in the second column from the left, various adjusting entries are noted in the third column from the left, and the combined, net balance in each account is stated in the far right column.
ABC International
Trial Balance
July 31, 20XX
The adjusting entries in the example are for the accrual of $25,000 in salaries that were unpaid as of the end of July, as well as for $50,000 of earned but unbilled sales.
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