We're over by $95.13 for the TB. The figure we're suppose to have is $2,112,052.13. Our group has been looking for errors for hours but it's like we've hit a brick wall. : |

Any advice of where to look for errors (or any help in general) would be highly appreciated. The jpeg has been posted below.

Thank you in advance,

Mistakim

newunadjustedtb.jpg picture by mistakim33 - Photobucket

I found an error! But we're still $95.13 off. : |

Think about some stuff. You just corrected an error by moving it from receivables to sales discounts. And notice what happened - or more like, what didn't happen. You still balance. You still have the same totals.

So this is a fantastic example of several things. One, being in balance doesn't make you correct. The total of those columns means absolutely nothing (other than that they have to balance). The reason they haven't changed is cause you simply moved a number from one debit account into another debit account. Hence, the debits add up the same.

The other thing this should be a good illustration of is that no one else could have told you that error existed. I could not have known it was wrong, assuming it really was. And I can't know if something else is wrong. I can only see a bunch of ending balances.

In real life we don't know what the total is supposed to be. We only know whether it balances or not, and mistakes happen and we never know. Cause you can't tell by looking at a trial balance. All we can do is see if something looks "funny." Which it doesn't. Plus it's a small error and those are hard to find. (People always panic when they're WAY off on their trial balance without realizing it's the small errors that are hard to find.)

(Though I do wonder why your post-closing trial balance has the same inventory balance as the unadjusted balance. Looks like periodic, meaning that inventory should've been adjusted. i.e. that looks "funny." But still doesn't solve your immediate problem.)

Most of the things that could cause that type of error are not really things you can just look for. For instance, if you debited a debit account instead of debiting a credit account. You can't start trying to find a thing like that -- it's just math and there's nothing there saying what accounts it might be. You need to keep checking your entries and postings anyway - you either know they're correct or you don't.

About the only thing you really could check is for a double-posting or a missing posting. There's a condition: it would have to be the entire entry and not just one account cause that would put you out of balance. i.e. you double-posted an entire entry or you missed posting an entire entry. There's another condition but it won't help you to know it. I would just check all the postings if I were you. And check carefully. You'll have to try to mark both the journal and ledger as you check each one so you'll know if something's missing or there's something extra.

Other than that, no one can really help without seeing the entire problem to know what those balances should be. And in real life we wouldn't even have the luxury of knowing it was wrong.