Control accounts

For a small firm, the trial balance alone may prove sufficient in providing a check on the numerical accuracy of the ledger accounts. Whilst still useful, the trial balance will not necessarily speed up the location of errors.

If a firm operates ledgers for sales, purchases and general accounts then control accounts can be used as a further check on the accuracy of the ledgers. In effect, a control account is like a trial balance for each of the sales and the purchases ledger. If the control account does not tally with the accounts in each ledger, then an error will exist in that ledger.