What is the Purpose of Parentheses in Accounting?

In accounting, the presence of parentheses around a number indicate that the number is negative. For example, a cash balance of $(1,000) means that a business has a negative $1,000 cash balance.

When to Use Parentheses in Accounting

In accounting, there are several situations in which it is common practice to put parentheses around numbers. It should be used in the following situations:

When one number is being subtracted from another number
When presenting a negative number in a statement or report
When stating the meaning of a negative amount in a line item description, such as “Net profit (loss)” in the bottom line of an income statement
When presenting the credit side of a journal entry
When presenting an unfavorable budget variance, such as when actual sales are less than budgeted sales
When presenting an account balance that is the reverse of its normal position, such as when an account with a normal debit balance has a credit balance instead