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what is the purpose of a control account in the general ledger

by Macy Cruickshank Published 2 years ago Updated 2 years ago
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  1. Reconciliation of the general ledger with the control account helps to enhance the accuracy of the account balance.
  2. Trial balance contains aggregated balances, so it’s not difficult to produce control accounts, and their role in checking balance accuracy is vital as well.
  3. It helps in strategic analysis of the balances as there is no much detail.

The control account keeps the general ledger clean of details, but contains the correct balances used for preparing a company's financial statements. The subsidiary ledger allows for tracking transactions within the control account in further detail.

Full Answer

What is control account?

What are the advantages of a general ledger?

What is the difference between a control account and a suspense account?

What is accounting of transactions?

What is balance of trade?

Is a sales account debit or credit?

Can a ledger check arithmetical accuracy?

See 4 more

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What is the purpose of the control accounts?

Control accounts are meant to keep a company's general ledger clean of details. They still need to have the correct financial information needed to prepare the company's financial statements. Control accounts are clean entries that match overall amounts in more detailed ledgers.

What is control account in general ledger?

A control account is a general ledger account that only contains the balance of the associated subsidiary account or accounts. The details of a company's transactions are recorded in various subsidiary ledgers and then balanced and summarized into the corresponding control account.

What are three 3 uses of control accounts?

3 benefits of using control accountsLocate errors. Because control accounts summarize information in subsidiary ledgers, they should always remain in balance. ... Eliminate clutter. Imagine your trial balance or balance sheet with hundreds of transactions appearing on it. ... Protect against fraud.

What type of account is a control account?

A control account is a summary-level account in the general ledger. This account contains aggregated totals for transactions that are individually stored in subsidiary-level ledger accounts.

What are the three general ledger control account?

Examples of General Ledger Control Accounts Other general ledger accounts that may become control accounts include Inventory, Equipment, and Accounts Payable.

What are the four advantages of control account?

Advantages of Control Accounts: (i) Control accounts provide a summary of transactions recorded in various subsidiary ledger. Hence these are very useful to management in policy formulation. (ii) It makes possible the division of accounting work among ledger keepers, thereby resulting in specialisation in work.

Which of the following best defines a control account?

Definition: A control account, often called a controlling account, is a general ledger account that summarizes and combines all of the subsidiary accounts for a specific type. In other words, it's a summary account that equals the sum of the subsidiary account and is used to simplify and organize the general ledger.

Is inventory a control account?

In common use, control accounts refer to those that would, under ideal circumstances, balance to zero. For example, an inventory control account will hold the balance amount between a stock account updated by stock transactions on the balance sheet and the value of stock on hand multiplied by its unit cost.

What is the difference between ledger and control account?

The control account keeps the general ledger clean of details, but contains the correct balances used for preparing a company's financial statements. The subsidiary ledger allows for tracking transactions within the control account in further detail.

What are the two types of control account?

What are the types of control account? The types of control accounts include debtors control accounts, creditors control accounts, and stock control accounts. These forms of control accounts are used to summarize the business within the general ledger.

Is inventory a control account?

In common use, control accounts refer to those that would, under ideal circumstances, balance to zero. For example, an inventory control account will hold the balance amount between a stock account updated by stock transactions on the balance sheet and the value of stock on hand multiplied by its unit cost.

What is cost ledger control account?

(a) Cost Ledger - This is the principle ledger of the cost department in which impersonal accounts are recorded. This ledger is made self-balancing by maintaining therein a Control Account for each subsidiary ledger.

Can you explain the purpose of control accounts? - Bayt.com

Control Accounts are used to summarize the balances of different subsidiary accounts falling under same category of accounts, in other words, they are used to minimize the clutter and details of each and every account and its sub account.

What is a Control Account? - Definition | Meaning | Example

Definition: A control account, often called a controlling account, is a general ledger account that summarizes and combines all of the subsidiary accounts for a specific type. In other words, it’s a summary account that equals the sum of the subsidiary account and is used to simplify and organize the general ledger.

What is a Control Account in Accounting? Definition, Types ... - CFAJournal

Definition The control account is a summarized account in the general ledger. It contains aggregated total for the transactions that are posted in the subsidiary ledger. It is also called a controlling account because it enables us to perform reconciliation control on the ending balance. In other words, control account enables us to reconcile the … What is a Control Account in Accounting ...

What is the purpose of control accounts? | AccountingCoach

What is the purpose of control accounts? Definition of Control Account. A control account is a general ledger account containing only summary amounts. The details for each control account will be found in a related (but separate) subsidiary ledger. The control account keeps the general ledger free of details, but still has the correct balance for preparing the company's financial statements.

What are the Main Control Accounts?

Bookkeepers have access to several control accounts. The two used most often by businesses are the accounts payable control account and the accounts receivable control account .

Why do bookkeepers use control accounts?

Bookkeepers typically use control accounts to identify potential errors in subsidiary ledgers. There are several other advantages to using a control account, including: Control accounts offer the chance to use a single trial balance from the general ledger to keep it clear. If the trial balance doesn’t balance correctly, ...

What is the entry from sales day book?

The entries from the sales day book are entered into the accounts receivable ledger accounts for analysis if needed

How are small business accounts kept?

Small business accounts are kept in a single general ledger used to extract a trial balance. For a large business, where there are too many transactions to be managed by only one person, subsidiary ledgers such as the accounts receivable and accounts payable ledger are opened. These subsidiary ledgers form the double-entry system. The bookkeeper would need to collect information about the balance of both ledgers to determine the trial balance for the account. This process is made more accessible by having control accounts for each subsidiary account listed in the general ledger.

What should the final balance of a control account be?

The final balance for the control account should be the same as the final balance for the associated subsidiary ledger. If these balances don’t match, then it’s likely there was a journal entry made to one account but not the other. Double-check the accounts to make sure that everything matches up. If someone wanted to see detailed information ...

What is the only part of the accounting system?

As the only part of the accounting system is self-balancing, some people refer to it as a “sectional balancing system.”. This makes the system different from an accounting system where every ledger is individually balanced, which creates the “self-balancing system.”.

Why do people check and maintain control accounts?

Different people can check and maintain the control account to protect against fraud. Control accounts speed up the production of management accounts information because you can use the account balance without waiting for individual balances to be extracted and reconciled.

What is control account?

A control account is a general ledger account created for the purpose of recording of the bulk transaction with the same nature and then summarizing the balance. This is transferred from the subsidiary account or the main account need to be shown in the financials (i.e. individual account for the same nature of transactions has been maintained ...

What are the advantages of a general ledger?

Advantages. It can be maintained by any person for fraud checking. If any person in an organization wants to see the balance of the subsidiary, it is a birds-eye view of General Ledger That person would be able to see the balance. It reduces the details.

What is the difference between a control account and a suspense account?

Difference Between Control and Suspense Account 1 A control account is a summary of ledger accounts#N#Ledger Accounts Ledger in Accounting, also called the Second Book of Entry, is a book that summarizes all the journal entries in the form of debits & credits to use for future reference & create financial statements. read more#N#. It is used for subsidiary accounts. A suspense account#N#Suspense Account Suspense Account is a general ledger account that holds records of temporary transactions that which do not have sufficient evidence for double entry or appropriate vouchers. This account is settled within the accounting period and does not appear anywhere in the financial statements. read more#N#is used for doubtful entries in financials, which is not identified at the time of preparing financial accounts. 2 A control account is a summary of subsidiary accounts. It should be matched with the subsidiary account. However, the balance of suspense account is transferred in a relevant account when the reason for the difference is identified. In this account, the amount is entered for temporary before actual grouping, and as and when real grouping happens amount is transferred to that relevant GL. 3 The Control account contains account receivable#N#Account Contains Account Receivable Accounts receivables refer to the amount due on the customers for the credit sales of the products or services made by the company to them. It appears as a current asset in the corporate balance sheet. read more#N#and payable from or to the subsidiary. Suspense account accommodates the difference between debit and credit.

What is accounting of transactions?

In the accounting of the transactions#N#Accounting Of The Transactions Accounting Transactions are business activities which have a direct monetary effect on the finances of a Company. For example, Apple representing nearly $200 billion in cash & cash equivalents in its balance sheet is an accounting transaction. read more#N#, this account is created for recording the summarized balance of the individual ledgers maintained for different parties. E.g., it may be a separate account designed for vendors, and it is maintained, which summarizes the personal accounts. Hence generally, the individual account balances, and the balance of the control account will be tallied.

What is balance of trade?

And the same if the balance of trade. Balance Of Trade The balance of trade (BOT) is the country’s exports minus its imports. BOT is one of the significant components for any current economic asset as it measures a country’s net income earned on global investments. read more.

Is a sales account debit or credit?

One account is debit, and another account is credit with a balance amount. For example, if the balance of the sales account is transferred, then the sales account will be debited, and the sales control account will be credited.

Can a ledger check arithmetical accuracy?

It can check the arithmetical accuracy of the accounts which are posted in ledger.

What is control account?

A control account is a general ledger account created for the purpose of recording of the bulk transaction with the same nature and then summarizing the balance. This is transferred from the subsidiary account or the main account need to be shown in the financials (i.e. individual account for the same nature of transactions has been maintained ...

What are the advantages of a general ledger?

Advantages. It can be maintained by any person for fraud checking. If any person in an organization wants to see the balance of the subsidiary, it is a birds-eye view of General Ledger That person would be able to see the balance. It reduces the details.

What is the difference between a control account and a suspense account?

Difference Between Control and Suspense Account 1 A control account is a summary of ledger accounts#N#Ledger Accounts Ledger in Accounting, also called the Second Book of Entry, is a book that summarizes all the journal entries in the form of debits & credits to use for future reference & create financial statements. read more#N#. It is used for subsidiary accounts. A suspense account#N#Suspense Account Suspense Account is a general ledger account that holds records of temporary transactions that which do not have sufficient evidence for double entry or appropriate vouchers. This account is settled within the accounting period and does not appear anywhere in the financial statements. read more#N#is used for doubtful entries in financials, which is not identified at the time of preparing financial accounts. 2 A control account is a summary of subsidiary accounts. It should be matched with the subsidiary account. However, the balance of suspense account is transferred in a relevant account when the reason for the difference is identified. In this account, the amount is entered for temporary before actual grouping, and as and when real grouping happens amount is transferred to that relevant GL. 3 The Control account contains account receivable#N#Account Contains Account Receivable Accounts receivables refer to the amount due on the customers for the credit sales of the products or services made by the company to them. It appears as a current asset in the corporate balance sheet. read more#N#and payable from or to the subsidiary. Suspense account accommodates the difference between debit and credit.

What is accounting of transactions?

In the accounting of the transactions#N#Accounting Of The Transactions Accounting Transactions are business activities which have a direct monetary effect on the finances of a Company. For example, Apple representing nearly $200 billion in cash & cash equivalents in its balance sheet is an accounting transaction. read more#N#, this account is created for recording the summarized balance of the individual ledgers maintained for different parties. E.g., it may be a separate account designed for vendors, and it is maintained, which summarizes the personal accounts. Hence generally, the individual account balances, and the balance of the control account will be tallied.

What is balance of trade?

And the same if the balance of trade. Balance Of Trade The balance of trade (BOT) is the country’s exports minus its imports. BOT is one of the significant components for any current economic asset as it measures a country’s net income earned on global investments. read more.

Is a sales account debit or credit?

One account is debit, and another account is credit with a balance amount. For example, if the balance of the sales account is transferred, then the sales account will be debited, and the sales control account will be credited.

Can a ledger check arithmetical accuracy?

It can check the arithmetical accuracy of the accounts which are posted in ledger.

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What Is A Control account?

  • A control account in accounting is defined as a summary-level account in the general ledger. The account contains the sum total of individual transactions from subsidiary ledger accounts. Control accounts are typically used to summarize the accounts payable and accounts receivable ledgers. Those ledgers usually contain a vast number of transactions...
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Use of Control Account

  • Small business accounts are kept in a single general ledger used to extract a trial balance. For a large business, where there are too many transactions to be managed by only one person, subsidiary ledgers such as the accounts receivable and accounts payable ledger are opened. These subsidiary ledgers form the double-entry system. The bookkeeper would need to collect i…
See more on myaccountinghelp.org

Advantages of Control Account

  • Bookkeepers typically use control accounts to identify potential errors in subsidiary ledgers. There are several other advantages to using a control account, including: 1. Control accounts offer the chance to use a single trial balance from the general ledger to keep it clear 2. If the trial balance doesn’t balance correctly, then only the accounts where the control account doesn’t match has t…
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Control Account and The Double Entry System

  • You have two options for using control accounts and the double-entry system. These options are presented below. Either one is acceptable. 1. The subsidiary ledgers (the accounts payable and accounts receivable ledger) are considered a part of the double-entry system. With this method, the control account is for information purposes only and isn’t considered part of the overall syst…
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Posting of Control Accounts

  • The information used in the posting of control accounts comes from the books of prime entry, including: 1. Sales returns book 2. Sales daybook 3. Sales returns book 4. Purchases daybook 5. Purchases return book 6. Cashbook
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Control Account Posting Example

  • Let’s look at an example of control account posting. We’ll use credit card sales and accounts receivables for this example. We’ll also assume that the control accounts are considered part of a double-entry system with the subsidiary ledgers used for analysis purposes only. In this scenario, the posting process is as follows: 1. Every sale for the day is recorded in the sales day book and …
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What Are The Main Control accounts?

  • Bookkeepers have access to several control accounts. The two used most often by businesses are the accounts payable control account and the accounts receivable control account.
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Final Thoughts

  • A control account is a summarized account used to maintain records of individual accounts included in the ledger. The control account helps to clarify and verify information from a subsidiary ledger. Using a control account like this enables management to have more control over ledger posting, which helps to prevent fraud and misrepresentation. Control accounts help …
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Explanation

Purpose

Example of Control Account

Journal Entries

Uses

Difference Between Control and Suspense Account

Advantages

Limitations

Conclusion

  • The control ledger is the summarized account maintaining the records of individual accounts involved in the ledger, and the same is clarified and re-verified. Following this procedure helps the management create a control on the ledger posting, which safeguards against the possible chances of misrepresentation and fraud.
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