Which of these will not appear in the preparation of control account. I. Bad debts II. Discounts III. Returns IV. Provision for bad debts

The item that will not appear in the preparation of a control account is option IV only, which is "Provision for bad debts." A control account is a summary account that provides an overview of the individual accounts that make up a particular category, such as debtors or creditors. The purpose of a control account is to reconcile the total balance of individual accounts with the balance in the control account. In the context of accounts receivable, which is money owed to a company by its customers, the control account typically includes transactions such as sales, cash receipts, discounts, and returns. Bad debts, which are accounts that are unlikely to be paid by customers, are also included in the control account. However, the provision for bad debts is a separate account that is used to estimate the amount of bad debts that are likely to occur in the future, and it is not typically included in the control account. In summary, the provision for bad debts is not included in the preparation of a control account, while bad debts, discounts, and returns are typically included.