VPRS 15977 Balance Book

This series comprises records that belonged to an accounting system. An explanation of the types of records found within accounting systems follows.Accounting RecordsAccounting systems comprise a structured collection of records which together document financial transactions. At the most basic level the flow of information between the integral components, or records, within the system is as follows:* Source Documents* Cash Books and Journals* Subsidiary Ledgers* General Ledger* Finance 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 journalising.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 left hand side of the book, and cash (and cheque payments) are recorded on the right hand 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 make up (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.The Balance Book, which performs the same function as the statement of accounts, is an example of a finance statement.

本系列数据集包含某会计系统的各类记录。下文将对该会计系统内收录的记录类型进行详细说明。

会计记录（Accounting Records）
会计系统由一系列结构化的记录集合构成，共同用于完整记录各类财务交易。从最基础的层面来看，系统内各核心组件（或记录）之间的信息流通常遵循如下路径：
* 原始凭证（Source Documents）
* 现金日记账与日记账（Cash Books and Journals）
* 明细分类账（Subsidiary Ledgers）
* 总分类账（General Ledger）
* 财务报表（Finance Statements）

不过实际的信息流转并非始终如此简单。

原始凭证（Source Documents）
示例包括收据簿、支票存根、凭单等。工作人员需从这些凭证中提取信息，并按时间顺序以完整或汇总形式录入现金日记账或日记账中，该流程称为日记账登记（journalising）。

现金日记账（Cash Books）
现金日记账兼具原始分录簿（即日记账）与现金分类账账户（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）收款录入账簿左侧，现金（及支票）付款则记录于右侧。随后，这些金额将被过账至对应的分类账账户，对应账户可通过账页号（ledger folio numbers）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，因此需定期进行余额结算。

专用与通用日记账（Journals (Specific and General)）
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，日记账作为原始分录簿，同样按时间顺序记录交易。实务中通常会设置专用日记账，用于汇总同类交易的信息，其中就包括现金交易，例如现金收款日记账、工资与物料日记账。而通用日记账则用于便捷记录其他交易，包括对分类账账户的调整（例如用于更正错误）以及资产的购销。日记账也可用于记录金额从一个账户过账至另一账户的操作（这在财务年末尤为常见），对应账户可通过账页号或账户编号进行标识。

分类账（明细与总分类）（Ledgers (Subsidiary and General)）
分类账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）并无固定标准，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。交易将从现金日记账和日记账过账至分类账账户，过账来源通常通过账页号与来源记录的缩写组合进行标识，例如C或CB=现金日记账（Cash Book）、J=日记账（Journal）、PC=零用现金日记账（Petty Cash Book）等。明细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单一账户，用于汇总各明细分类账账户的交易总额，该账户称为统驭账户（control account）。

财务报表（Finance Statements）
示例包括运营表（Statements of Operations）、资产负债表（Balance Sheets）、损益表（Profit and Loss Statements）。财务报表提供了机构在特定时点的财务状况的最终汇总信息，通常每年编制一次并随年度报告一同发布，但也可按更短的间隔编制。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需维护的账户类型。与对账单功能一致的余额簿（Balance Book），即为财务报表的一例。