debit or credit in one account may be compensated by excess credit or debit in some other account. These are also known as offsetting errors. Example Purchases book and sales book are overcast by ` , each. Student activity Think: Do you think that all the errors can be revealed by trial balance?
. Errors disclosed by the trial balance and errors not disclosed by the trial balance Generally, one-sided errors are revealed by trial balance. They will cause disagreement of totals of debit balances and credit balances. Two-sided errors are not revealed by trial balance.
Thus, the errors can be classified on the basis of their effect on the trial balance as follows: . . Errors disclosed by the trial balance Certain errors affect the agreement of trial balance. If such errors have occurred in the books of accounts, the total of debit and credit balances will not be the same.
The trial balance will not tally. Error of partial omission and error of commission affect the agreement of trial balance. Accountancy Examples of such errors are follows: ( i) Entered in the journal but posted to one account and omitted to be posted to the other. (ii) Posting an amount to the wrong side of a ledger account.
(iii) Posting twice in a ledger account (iv) Over-casting or Under-casting in a subsidiary book (v) Posting a wrong amount to the correct side of an account (vi) Posting a wrong amount to the wrong side of an account (vii) Errors arising in carrying forward the page total from one page to the next page of an account or subsidiary book. (viii) Errors arising in the balancing of an account. (ix) Omission to post an entry from a subsidiary book. .
. Errors not disclosed by the trial balance Certain errors will not affect the agreement of trial balance. Though such errors occur in the books of accounts, the total of debit and credit balance will be the same. The trial balance will tally.
Errors of complete omission, error of principle, compensating error, wrong entry in