Finding Errors
Let's assume that the total debits do not equal the total credits. We will use the trial balance in Figure 3-7 to illustrate the techniques in finding errors. The first step is to find the difference. Let's say our mistake was to list the Notes payable as 56,000 instead of 65,000. Therefore, the balance in the debit column would still be 550,500; however, the credits would total 541,500. The difference between the two columns is 9,000 (550,500 − 541,500). The second step is to take the difference and divide it by 9. If the result is an integer (no remainder), the error could be a transposition error. A transposition error occurs when you flip two adjacent numbers. Our difference is 9,000, so when we divide by 9, we get 1,000. Since ...
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