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what causes a trial balance not to balance?

Forums › Ask ACCA Tutor Forums › Ask the Tutor ACCA FA – FIA FFA › what causes a trial balance not to balance?

  • This topic has 5 replies, 2 voices, and was last updated 1 year ago by John Moffat.
Viewing 6 posts - 1 through 6 (of 6 total)
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  • December 5, 2021 at 7:57 am #642532
    jcafelatte
    Member
    • Topics: 14
    • Replies: 8
    • ☆

    which of the following errors would cause a trial balance imbalance?

    (i) the discounts received column of the cash payments book was overcast
    (ii) cash paid for the purchase of office furniture was debited to general expense
    (iii) return inwards were included on the credit side of the trial balance

    I dont understand what is a discount received column. I understand what overcast means : means it put too much and value too high. for 2nd one, its supposed tobe dr general expense and cr cash but its dr purchases and cr cash. so its the same because both are expenses? so will still balance?

    December 5, 2021 at 8:59 am #642571
    John Moffat
    Keymaster
    • Topics: 57
    • Replies: 51532
    • ☆☆☆☆☆

    Discounts received columns are rarely used these days, but if they are it is just a memorandum (note) column in order to be able to remember when a discount has been received.
    The total of the column is then credited to discounts received and debited to payables. If the column is added wrongly then both of the two entries will be of the wrong amount but will be the same amount, and so the trial balance will still balance.

    December 6, 2021 at 12:58 pm #642711
    jcafelatte
    Member
    • Topics: 14
    • Replies: 8
    • ☆

    can i also ask, “return inwards were included on the credit side of the trial balance” i dont understand this statement at all. what do you mean by included on the credit side? I have watched your lectures but maybe i missed this part. I hope you can explain like how you did previously for discount received. It helped me a lot.

    December 6, 2021 at 4:15 pm #642742
    John Moffat
    Keymaster
    • Topics: 57
    • Replies: 51532
    • ☆☆☆☆☆

    Returns inwards are returns coming into the business and are therefore returns from customers.

    This means that customers owe us less because of having returned goods, so we credit receivables and debit either sales or returns inwards (it doesn’t matter which).

    Here, they are using a return inwards account, and so should have debited it and not credited.
    So the balance on the account should be a debit balance and not a credit balance.

    December 8, 2021 at 3:12 am #643016
    jcafelatte
    Member
    • Topics: 14
    • Replies: 8
    • ☆

    sir i dont understand what does debit balance and credit balance mean. so debit balance = debit higher than credit; credit balance = credit higher than debit?

    also sir for this question, I cant find it in the revision kit. is the answer C? (iii) only ?

    December 8, 2021 at 7:11 am #643051
    John Moffat
    Keymaster
    • Topics: 57
    • Replies: 51532
    • ☆☆☆☆☆

    If the debits on an account are bigger than the credits, then we end up with a debit balance on the account. If the credits on an account are bigger than the debits then we end up with a credit balance.

    The answer is (iii) only.

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