VPRS 14799 General Ledgers

This series consists of general ledgers created by Fish Creek Waterworks Trust (VA 2088).Public sector accounting systems comprise a structured collection of records which together document the financial transactions of the public agency.From cash books and journals, sub-totals for expenditure and revenue were consolidated into subsidiary ledgers. Figures in subsidiary ledgers were used to compile totals of income and expenditure that were recorded in the general ledger. Categories of income and expenditure were then aggregated under account segments for use in financial statements.The flow of information, however, is not always this straightforward.Source DocumentsExamples include receipt books, cheque butts, vouchers etc. Information is extracted from these documents and entered chronologically, in full or summary form, into cash books or journals. This process is called journalizing.Cash BooksA cash book is a combination of a book of original entry (ie. a journal) and the ledger account for cash (often including the bank account). As a book of original entry it is used to record receipt and payment transactions in chronological order. Following a standard format, cash (and cheque) receipts are entered on the lefthand side of the book, and cash (and cheque) payments are recorded on the righthand side. These amounts are then posted to the relevant ledger accounts which are identified either by ledger folio numbers or account numbers. As the cash book is also a replacement of the ledger account for cash, it is balanced at regular intervals.Journals (Specific and General)The prime function of a journal is to facilitate the posting of credit and debit transactions into the appropriate ledger accounts. Like the cash book the journal is a book of original entry which records transactions in chronological order. Specific journals are often maintained to summarise information about similar types of transactions, including cash transactions, eg. cash receipts journal, wages and stores journal. General journals, on the other hand, provide a convenient record of other transactions, including adjustments to ledger accounts (to correct errors for example) and the sale or purchase of assets.Journals may also be used to record the posting of amounts from one account to another (particularly common at the end of a financial year). The relevant accounts are identified either by the ledger folio number or an account number.Ledgers (Subsidiary and General)Ledgers comprise a record of changes (debit and credit transactions) concerning one or more accounts. The makeup (classification) of accounts is arbitrary and usually depends on the functions of the agency and the regulations governing its financial reporting requirements. Transactions are posted to the ledger accounts from the cash books and journals. The source of the posting is usually indicated by a combination of folio numbers and an abbreviation of the source record (eg. 'C' or 'CB' = Cash Book, 'J' = Journal, 'PC' = Petty Cash Book etc.Subsidiary ledgers are often maintained to facilitate a division of responsibilities within a large account, or to provide a separate record of a particular account.A general ledger, however, comprises all accounts necessary for the compilation of the finance statements required by the agency. If subsidiary ledgers are used it is common for a general ledger to include a single account which represents the totals of the transactions of the accounts in each of the subsidiary ledgers. This device is called a control account.Finance StatementsExamples include Statements of Operations, Balance Sheets, Profit and Loss Statements.Finance statements provide the final summary of the agency's financial situation at a particular point in time. They are usually compiled once a year and published with an annual report, although they may be compiled at more regular intervals. The types of statements and their format are generally determined by legislative requirements, and these in turn determine the nature of the accounts required to be maintained.

本数据集系列由鱼溪水务信托（VA 2088）编制的总分类账（General Ledger）构成。
公共部门会计系统是一套结构化的记录集合，用于完整记录公共机构的各类财务交易。从现金日记账（Cash Book）与分录簿（Journal）中提取的支出与收入分项总额，将被汇总至明细分类账（Subsidiary Ledger）。明细分类账中的数据将用于编制总分类账中登记的收入与支出总金额。随后收入与支出类别将按照账户科目进行归集，用于编制财务报表。但信息流转的实际流程并非总是如此简单。

### 原始凭证（Source Document）
原始凭证示例包括收据簿、支票存根、凭证等。工作人员会从这些凭证中提取信息，按时间顺序以完整或汇总形式录入现金日记账或分录簿，该流程称为分录编制（Journalizing）。

### 现金日记账（Cash Book）
现金日记账兼具原始分录簿（即分录簿）与现金（通常含银行账户）总账账户的双重功能。作为原始分录簿，它用于按时间顺序登记收款与付款交易。按照标准格式，现金（及支票）收款记录在账簿左侧，现金（及支票）付款则登记在右侧。上述金额随后会过账至对应的总账账户，对应账户可通过分类账页号或账户编号识别。由于现金日记账可替代现金总账账户，因此需定期进行余额核对。

### 分录簿（专用与通用）
分录簿的核心功能是便于将借贷交易过账至对应总账账户。与现金日记账相同，分录簿也是按时间顺序登记交易的原始分录簿。专用分录簿通常用于汇总同类交易的信息，例如现金交易相关的现金收款日记账、工资与物料日记账等。通用分录簿则用于便捷记录其他各类交易，包括总账账户调整（如更正错账）以及资产的买卖业务。
分录簿也可用于记录账户间的金额过账操作，该操作在财务年度末尤为常见。对应账户可通过分类账页号或账户编号识别。

### 分类账（明细与总分类）
分类账用于记录单个或多个账户的变动情况（即借贷交易）。账户的设置（分类）并无固定标准，通常取决于机构的职能以及其财务报告相关的监管要求。交易数据从现金日记账和分录簿过账至分类账账户，过账的来源通常通过页号与来源记录缩写组合标注，例如“C”或“CB”代表现金日记账，“J”代表分录簿，“PC”代表零用现金日记账等。
明细分类账通常用于在大型账户中实现职责分工，或为特定账户单独设立记录。
而总分类账则包含机构编制财务报表所需的全部账户。若使用明细分类账，总分类账通常会设立一个单一账户，用于汇总各明细分类账中所有账户的交易总额，该账户称为统驭账户（Control Account）。

### 财务报表
财务报表示例包括运营表（Statements of Operations）、资产负债表（Balance Sheets）以及损益表（Profit and Loss Statements）。
财务报表用于汇总机构在特定时点的财务状况，通常每年编制一次并随年度报告一同发布，但也可按更短的周期编制。报表的类型与格式通常由法律法规规定，而这些规定又进一步决定了机构需维护的账户类型。