General Ledger
General Ledger – Record to Report Process
The ‘Record to Report’ process, also referred to as ‘Account to Report’ or simply as general ledger process, refers to the maintenance of the general ledger right from recording of transactions to preparation of unit trial balances and reporting company’s consolidated financial results.
Bookkeeping is a critical accounting activity that provides the solid financial foundation on which an organization stands. The correctness and integrity of the financial statements that an organization produces largely depend on the correctness and integrity of its bookkeeping activities. Entry of Journals and review and posting to ledgers are the two core bookkeeping activities. The journals are where all transactions are first recorded on a daily basis. Information from a journal is then posted to the ledgers to update each account. Various accounts in the ledgers are then summarized, tested, and validated, and used for producing financial statements at the end of an accounting period.
Here we will help you understand the basic accounting concepts and expose you to the general ledger process of entry of journals, review, posting summarization, reconciliation and finally reporting and closing of an accounting period. This section from TechnoFunc will help you understand the fundamentals of an effective automated general ledger system and subsequently explain all the important GL concepts including how to analyze a transaction, record it in the appropriate journal, and then post it to the ledgers. We assure you this is the best place to learn the record to report process!!
GL - Accruals and Reversals
There are two commonly used methods of accounting - Cash Basis and the Accruals Basis. Understand the difference between accruals and reversals. Recap the earlier discussion we had on accruals and reversals and see the comparison between these two different but related accounting concepts. Understand how the action of accruing results in reversals subsequently in the accounting cycle.
GL - Different Type of Journals
Two basic types of journals exist: general and special. In this article, the learner will understand the meaning of journalizing and the steps required to create a journal entry. This article will also discuss the types of journals and will help you understand general journals & special journals. In the end, we will explain the impact of automated ERPs on the Journalizing Process.
GL - Accrued Expenses
Accrued expenses, sometimes referred to as accrued liabilities, are expenses that have been incurred but have not been recorded in the accounts. Discuss the need to record accrued liabilities and why they require an adjustment entry. Understand the treatment for these entries once the accounting period is closed and learn to differentiate when the commitments become liabilities.
GL - Account Allocations
An allocation is a process of shifting overhead costs to cost objects, using a rational basis of allotment. Understand what is the meaning of allocation in the accounting context and how defining mass allocations simplifies the process of allocating overheads to various accounting segments. Explore types of allocations and see some practical examples of mass allocations in real business situations.
Prepayments and Prepaid Expenses
Prepayments are the payment of a bill, operating expense, or non-operating expense that settle an account before it becomes due. Learn the concept of prepaid expenses. Understand the accounting treatment for prepaid expenses. Understand the concept by looking at some practical examples and finally learn the adjusting entry for these expenses.
GL - Inquiry & Drilldown
An account inquiry is a review of any type of financial account, whether it be a depository account or a credit account. In this tutorial, you learn what we mean by drill through functionality in the context of the general ledger system. We will explain the concept of drill-down and how it enables users to perform account and transaction inquiry at a granular level and the benefits of using this functionality.
GL - Accrual Basis Accounting
Period End Accruals, Receipt Accruals, Paid Time-Off Accruals, AP Accruals, Revenue Based Cost Accruals, Perpetual Accruals, Inventory Accruals, Accruals Write Off, PO Receipt Accrual, Cost Accrual, etc. are some of the most complex and generally misconstrued terms in the context of general ledger accounting. In this article, we will explore what is the concept of accrual and how it impacts general ledger accounting.
GL - Accrued / Unbilled Revenue
Accrued revenues (also called accrued assets) are revenues already earned but not yet paid by the customer or posted to the general ledger. Understand what we mean by the terms accrued revenue, accrued assets, and unbilled revenue. Explore the business conditions that require recognition of accrued revenue in the books of accounts and some industries where this practice is prevalent.
