Detecting errors and making the trial balance agree

If the debit and credit columns of the trial balance do not agree, it is sure that there are one or more errors in books of accounts. So, efforts must be made to detect those errors and make the trial balance agree. It is needless to mention that if all errors are detected and rectified, the trial balance must agree.

Steps to detect errors in accounting records

The following steps should be taken to detect the errors in accounting record:

1. Check the total of both columns of the trial balance and see if the difference is in round figures, i.e., 10, 100, 1,000, etc. It is possible that the casting is wrong.
2. See whether the cash and bank balances have been correctly drawn and included in the trial balance.
3. See whether the total of discount columns on both sides of the cash book is correct and whether they have been correctly posted in the discount account.
4. See whether the balances of all ledger accounts have been correctly included in the trial balance.
5. See whether the balances of all debtors and creditors have been correctly included in the trial balance.
6. See whether the totals of special journals (subsidiary books) are correct and whether they have been posted correctly to the concerned ledger accounts.
7. See whether the balances of all ledger accounts have been correctly drawn.
8. See if each item of the special journals is correctly written and whether it has been posted correctly to the concerned ledger accounts.
9. See if each item of the cash book has been correctly recorded and posted to the concerned ledger accounts.
10. See if each item of the journal proper has been correctly recorded and posted to the concerned ledger accounts.
11. See whether the opening balance of each account has been correctly brought down.
12. If the difference is divisible by 9, it is possible that in writing an amount the digits have been interchanged or transposed, i.e., 81 instead of 18, 917 instead of 179, 545 instead of 455, 273 instead of 372 etc.
13. Compare each item of the current trial balance with corresponding figures of the past year’s trial balance. In case of a large difference, verify the concerned figures carefully.
14. See whether there is any amount in the trial balance equal to half of the difference. If there is such an amount, it is possible that it has been recorded in the wrong column of the trial balance.