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Accounting & Tax vocabulary · Bookkeeping & Ledgers

Trial balance

Meaning in accounting & tax, with examples

nounCore term

In accounting & tax, trial balance means: A list of all ledger accounts with their debit or credit balances at a certain date, used to check that total debits equal total credits before preparing statements.

In Turkish: mizan, geçici mizan

How it is used

Accountants run or pull a trial balance (TB) at month-end. Auditors start their work from the TB, and the version after year-end adjustments is called the adjusted trial balance.

Example sentences

  1. Can you send me the trial balance as of 30 June in Excel?

  2. The trial balance doesn't balance; there's a difference of 1,250 lira.

Common collocations

  • run a trial balance
  • adjusted trial balance
  • trial balance as of
  • the trial balance balances
  • general ledgerThe main set of accounts of a business, where all transactions are collected account by account to show the balance of each one.
  • debitAn entry on the left side of an account. Debits increase asset and expense accounts and decrease liability, equity and revenue accounts.
  • creditAn entry on the right side of an account. Credits increase liability, equity and revenue accounts and decrease asset and expense accounts.
  • balance sheetA financial statement that shows what a company owns (assets), what it owes (liabilities) and the owners' share (equity) on a specific date.
  • month-end closeThe set of tasks accountants complete after each month ends, such as posting accruals and reconciling accounts, so that the month's results are final.

More terms: Bookkeeping & Ledgers

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This page explains English vocabulary for learners. It is not financial advice.