VPRS 3553 Ledger

Public sector accounting systems comprise a structured collection of records which together document the financial transactions of the public agency. At the most basic level the flow of information between the integral components, or records, within the system is from source documents such as cash books, cheque butts, etc., to journals, to subsidiary ledgers, to general ledgers to annual financial statements for example.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.

公共部门会计系统（Public sector accounting systems）系由一套结构化的记录集合所构成，用于完整记录公共机构的各类财务交易。就最基础的流程而言，系统内各核心组件或记录间的信息流转路径通常为：从现金日记账簿、支票存根等源头凭证，依次流向日记账、明细分类账、总分类账，最终生成年度财务报表（annual financial statements）。不过实际的信息流转并非总是如此简单。

源头凭证（Source Documents）示例包括收据簿、支票存根、付款凭单等。信息从这些凭证中提取后，会按时间顺序以完整或汇总形式录入现金日记账簿或日记账，该流程被称为日记账登记（journalizing）。

现金日记账簿（Cash Books）兼具原始分录账簿（book of original entry，即日记账）与现金分类账（通常包含银行账户）的双重功能。作为原始分录账簿，它用于按时间顺序记录现金收支交易。按照标准格式，现金（含支票）收入登记在账簿左侧，现金（含支票）支出则登记在右侧。随后这些金额会被过账至对应的分类账账户，可通过分类账页码（ledger folio numbers）或账户编号进行标识。由于现金日记账簿同时替代了现金分类账，因此需要定期进行余额结算。

日记账（特定日记账与普通日记账，Journals (Specific and General)）的核心功能是助力将借贷交易过账至对应的分类账账户。与现金日记账簿类似，日记账也是按时间顺序记录交易的原始分录账簿。实务中通常会设置特定日记账，用于汇总记录同类交易，其中包括现金交易，例如现金收入日记账、薪酬与物料日记账。而普通日记账则用于便捷记录其他各类交易，包括对分类账账户的调整（如更正错误）以及资产的购销业务。日记账也可用于记录金额从一个账户转至另一账户的操作（在财务年末尤为常见），相关账户可通过分类账页码或账户编号进行标识。

分类账（明细分类账与总分类账，Ledgers (Subsidiary and General)）用于记录单个或多个账户的变动（借贷交易）。账户的构成（分类方式）具有任意性，通常取决于机构的职能以及监管其财务报告要求的相关规定。交易从现金日记账簿和日记账过账至分类账账户，过账的来源通常通过页码编号与源记录缩写组合标注，例如“C”或“CB”代表现金日记账簿，“J”代表日记账，“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划分职责，或是为特定账户提供独立的记录。而总分类账则包含了机构编制财务报表所需的全部账户。若使用明细分类账，总分类账通常会设置一个汇总账户，用于反映各明细分类账中所有交易的总额，这一设置被称为“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。财务报表用于总结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要求确定，而这又进一步决定了机构需维护的账户类型。