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The difference between the general ledger and trial balance

Accounting Tools

What is a General Ledger? A general ledger is the master set of accounts that summarize all transactions occurring within an entity. The general ledger is comprised of all the individual accounts needed to record the assets , liabilities , equity , revenue , expense , gain , and loss transactions of a business.

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Financial accounting basics

Accounting Tools

Related Courses Accountants’ Guidebook Bookkeeper Education Bundle Bookkeeping Guidebook What are the Basics of Financial Accounting? This article gives an overview of financial accounting basics for the non-accountant. Its orientation is toward recording financial information about a business.

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What is accountancy?

Accounting Tools

There are also a number of business transactions that are non-repetitive in nature, and so require the use of journal entries to record them in the accounting records. The fixed asset accountant , general ledger clerk , and tax accountant are most likely to be involved in the use of journal entries.

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Journal entry definition

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A journal entry is used to record a business transaction in the accounting records of a business. A journal entry is usually recorded in the general ledger ; alternatively, it may be recorded in a subsidiary ledger that is then summarized and rolled forward into the general ledger.

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What is an accountant?

Accounting Tools

Areas of Accounting Specialization There are many sub-fields within accounting in which a person can specialize. For example, there are tax accountants , cost accountants , payroll clerks , billing clerks , general ledger accountants , and collection clerks.

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The accounting cycle definition

Accounting Tools

This may involve recording transactions in a specific journal, such as the cash receipts journal , cash disbursements journal , or sales journal , which are later posted to the general ledger. Such transactions may also be posted directly to the general ledger.

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Understanding ASC 606 Revenue Recognition?

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To establish best practices, eliminate confusion and standardize the recognition of revenue, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) and International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) developed a framework – Accounting Standards Codification (ASC 606) – for more consistent revenue recognition.