Which of the following describe trial balance?

Assessment: JAMB UTME - Principles of Accounts - 2025 Subject: Financial Accounting

Question 1 Report

Which of the following describe trial balance?

Answer Details

A trial balance is prepared by extracting the closing balance of every account in the general ledger and arranging these balances in two columns, one for debit balances and one for credit balances, as at a specific date.

This makes it, in essence, a list of accounting balances taken from the books, drawn up mainly to confirm that total debits equal total credits before the final accounts are prepared. It is not itself an account (it has no debit and credit sides recording individual transactions the way a ledger account does), so calling it "a special account" mischaracterises what it is. It also does not reveal the financial position of a business; that is the role of the balance sheet, which is prepared afterwards using the trial balance as raw material. Finally, it does not show every entry made in the books, only the net closing balance of each account, so individual transactions cannot be traced from it.

Examination reminder: distinguish a trial balance (a list of net balances used as a checking and preparation tool) from an account (which records individual debit and credit entries) and from a balance sheet (which presents the financial position after the trial balance has been used to draw up the final accounts).

Download The App On Google Playstore

Everything you need to excel in your exams

Green Bridge CBT Mobile App
Personalized AI Learning Chat Assistant
200,000+ Exam Questions Across IGCSE, JAMB, WAEC & NECO
Over 3,900 Lesson Notes
Offline Support - Learn Anytime, Anywhere
Green Bridge Timetable
Literature Summaries & Potential Questions
Track Your Performance & Progress
In-depth Explanations for Comprehensive Learning