VPRS 14797 General Ledgers

This series consists of general ledgers created by Korumburra Waterworks Trust (VA 2110) and its successor, Korumburra Water Board (VA 4723).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 summarize 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.

本系列数据集包含由科伦布拉水务信托基金（Korumburra Waterworks Trust，档案编号VA 2110）及其后续机构科伦布拉水务委员会（Korumburra Water Board，档案编号VA 4723）编制的总分类账（general ledger）。

公共部门会计系统是一套结构化的记录集合，可完整记录公共机构的各类财务交易。从现金日记账（cash books）和分录簿（journals）中产生的支出与收入小计，会被汇总至辅助分类账（subsidiary ledgers）。辅助分类账中的数据将用于编制总分类账中记录的收入与支出总额。随后，收支类别会按账户细分进行归集，用于编制财务报表。不过，信息流转的实际流程并非始终如此简单直接。

### 原始凭证（Source Documents）
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，该流程称为日记账分录（journalizing）。

### 现金日记账（Cash Books）
现金日记账兼具原始分录簿（book of original entry，即分录簿）与现金分类账（通常包含银行账户）的双重功能。作为原始分录簿，它用于按时间顺序记录收款与付款交易。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）付款则记录在右侧。随后，这些金额会被过账至对应的分类账户，对应账户可通过分类账页码或账户编号识别。由于现金日记账同时替代了现金分类账，因此需要定期进行余额结算。

### 分录簿（Specific and General Journals）
分录簿的核心功能是便于将借贷交易过账至对应的分类账户。与现金日记账类似，分录簿也是按时间顺序记录交易的原始分录簿。机构通常会维护专用分录簿，用于汇总同类交易的信息，其中包括现金相关交易，例如现金收款日记账、工资与物料日记账。而通用分录簿则用于便捷记录其他交易，例如对分类账户的调整（如更正差错）以及资产的购销业务。分录簿还可用于记录金额从一个账户转至另一个账户的操作（在财年末尤为常见）。对应账户可通过分类账页码或账户编号识别。

### 分类账（Subsidiary and General Ledgers）
分类账（ledgers）用于记录与一个或多个账户相关的变动（借贷交易）。账户的构成（分类方式）并无固定标准，通常取决于机构的职能以及管辖其财务报告要求的法规。交易从现金日记账和分录簿过账至分类账户，过账来源通常通过页码组合与源记录缩写标识（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）。
辅助分类账通常用于在大型账户中划分职责，或为特定账户提供独立记录。
而总分类账则包含了机构编制财务报表所需的全部账户。若使用辅助分类账，总分类账通常会设置一个单一账户，用于汇总各辅助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（Finance Statements）
示例包括运营报表、资产负债表、损益表。
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，不过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要求确定，而这些要求又反过来决定了机构需维护的账户类型。