VPRS 14214 General Ledger

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.

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项财务交易。从现金日记账（Cash Book）和普通日记账（Journal）中，支出与收入的分项汇总额将被整合至明细分类账（Subsidiary Ledger）中。明细分类账中的数据将用于编制总分类账（General Ledger）中记录的收入与支出总额。随后，收入与支出类别将按照账户分类进行汇总，用于编制财务报表（Financial Statements）。不过，信息的实际流转流程并非总是如此简单直接。

原始凭证（Source Documents）：示例包括收据簿、支票存根、凭证等。相关信息将从这些凭证中提取，并按时间顺序以完整或汇总形式录入现金日记账或普通日记账，该流程被称为日记账登记（Journalizing）。

现金日记账（Cash Book）：现金日记账兼具原始分录账簿（即普通日记账）与现金（通常包含银行账户）分类账账户的功能。作为原始分录账簿，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，这些金额将被过账（Posting）至对应的分类账账户，账户可通过分类账页码（Ledger Folio）或账户编号进行标识。由于现金日记账同时替代了现金分类账账户，因此需要定期进行余额结算。

专用与通用日记账（Specific Journals and General Journals）：日记账的核心功能是便于将借贷交易过账至对应的分类账账户。与现金日记账类似，日记账同样属于原始分录账簿，按时间顺序记录各类交易。专用日记账通常用于汇总同类交易的信息，其中包含现金交易，例如收款日记账（Cash Receipts Journal）、工资与物料日记账（Wages and Stores Journal）等。而通用日记账则用于便捷记录其他类型的交易，包括对分类账账户的调整（例如更正差错）以及资产的购销业务。日记账也可用于记录账户间的金额过账操作（该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（Ledgers, Subsidiary and General）：分类账用于记录单个或多个账户的变动（即借贷交易）。账户的构成（分类）并无统一标准，通常取决于机构的职能以及规范其财务报告要求的相关法规。交易将从现金日记账和日记账过账至分类账账户，过账的来源通常通过页码与来源记录的缩写组合标识，例如‘C’或‘CB’代表现金日记账（Cash Book），‘J’代表日记账（Journal），‘PC’代表零用现金日记账（Petty Cash Book）等。

明细分类账（Subsidiary Ledger）通常用于在大型账户中实现职责分工，或为特定账户提供独立的记录。而总分类账（General Ledger）则包含编制机构所需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单独的账户，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（Financial Statements）：示例包括运营状况表（Statement of Operations）、资产负债表（Balance Sheet）、损益表（Profit and Loss Statement）。财务报表用于汇总机构在特定时点的财务状况。财务报表通常每年编制一次，并随年度报告一同发布，但也可根据需要按更短的周期编制。报表的类型与格式通常由法律法规规定，而这又进一步决定了机构需维护的账户类型。