Trial Balance

A trial balance is a bookkeeping or accounting report that lists the balances in each of an organization's general ledger accounts. The debit balance amounts are listed in a column with the heading "Debit balances" and the credit balance amounts are listed in another column with the heading "Credit balances." The total of each of these two columns should be identical.

The trial balance continues to be useful for auditors and accountants who wish to show 1) the general ledger account balances prior to their proposed adjustments, 2) their proposed adjustments, and 3) all of the account balances after the proposed adjustments. The adjusted amounts make up the adjusted trial balance, and the adjusted amounts will be used in the organization's financial statements.