Dual aspect is the foundation or basic principle of accounting.

It provides the very basis Ledger Accounts

of recording business transactions in the books of accounts.
This concept assumes that every transaction has a dual effect, i.e. it affects two Asset accounts have left-side balances
accounts in their respective opposite sides. Therefore, the transaction should be
recorded at two places. It means, both the aspects of the transaction must be recorded Entries on the left side increase asset account balances
in the books of accounts. For example, goods
purchased for cash has two aspects which are (i) Giving of cash
(ii) Receiving of goods. These two aspects are to be recorded. Entries on the right side decrease them
Thus, the duality concept is commonly expressed in terms of fundamental
accounting equation : Liabilities and owners’ equity accounts have right-side balances
Assets = Liabilities + Capital
The above accounting equation states that the assets of a business are always equal to Entries on the right side increase their balances
the claims of owner/owners and the outsiders. This claim is also termed as capital or
owners equity and that of outsiders, as liabilities or
Entries on the left side decrease them
creditors’ equity.The knowledge of dual aspect helps in identifying the two aspects of a
transaction which helps in applying the rules of recording the transactions
in books of accounts. The implication of dual aspect concept is that every transaction has Debits and Credits
an equal impact on assets and liabilities in such a way that total assets are always equal
to total liabilities. Accountants use the terms
Let us analysis some more business transactions in terms of their dual aspect :
1. Capital brought in by the owner of the business Debit (abbreviated Dr.) to denote an entry on the left side of any account
The two aspects in this transaction are :
(i) Receipt of cash
Credit (abbreviated Cr.) to denote an entry on the right side of any account
(ii) Increase in Capital (owners equity)

It encourages the accountant to post each entry in opposite sides of two Some accountants use the word “charge” instead of debit
affected accounts
Cash Dr. Cr.
Accounting Concepts
ACCOUNTANCY
The Recording Process
2. Purchase of machinery by cheque
The two aspects in the transaction are
(i) Reduction in Bank Balance The sequence of five steps in recording and reporting transactions is as follows:
(ii) Owning of Machinery
3. Goods sold for cash Source documents are the original records of any transaction
The two aspects are
(i) Receipt of cash Transactions Documentation Journal Ledger Trial Balance Financial Statements
(ii) Delivery of goods to the customer
4. Rent paid in cash to the landlord
The two aspects are The Recording Process
(i) Payment of cash
(ii) Rent (Expenses incurred). The general journal is a formal chronological listing of each transaction and how it affects the balances in
Once the two aspects of a transaction are known, it becomes easy to apply the accounts
the rules of accounting and maintain the records in the books of accounts
properly. Transactions are entered into the ledger
The interpretation of the Dual aspect concept is that every transaction has
an equal effect on assets and liabilities in such a way that total assets are The trial balance is a simple listing of the accounts in the general ledger together with their balances
always equal to total liabilities of the business.
Significance
Preparation of financial statements occurs at least once a quarter for publicly traded companies
This concept helps accountant in detecting error.

Chart of Accounts

The Double-Entry Accounting System A chart of accounts is a numbered or coded list of all account titles

In the double-entry system, every transaction affects at least two accounts Account numbers are used as references in the Post Ref. column of the journal

After each transaction, the balance sheet equation must always remain in balance Journalizing Transactions

This balance sheet format is too cumbersome for recording each and every transaction Journalizing is the process of entering transactions into the general journal

Assets = Liabilities + Stockholders’ Equity
Ledger Accounts
The elements of transactions are organized into accounts that group similar items together
In a double-entry system, a ledger contains the records for a group of related accounts
A general ledger is the collection of accounts that accumulate the amounts reported in the financial
statements
A journal entry is an analysis of all the effects of a single transaction on the various accounts, usually
accompanied by an explanation
A compound entry means that a single transaction affects more than two accounts
Journalizing Transactions
The following conventions are used for recording in the general journal
The title of the account or accounts to be debited are placed at the left margin

Ledger Accounts The title of the account or accounts to be credited are indented in a consistent way

A T-account is a simplified version of accounts used in practice Journalizing Transactions

The vertical line in the T divides the account into left and right sides for recording increases and decreases The following conventions are used for recording in the general journal

The account title is on the horizontal line The journal entry is followed by the narrative explanation of the transaction

Cash Left side (Increases in cash) Right side (Decreases in cash) The Post. Ref. column contains an identifying number that is assigned to each account and is used for
cross-referencing to the ledger accounts
Ledger Accounts
Journalizing Transactions
The T-accounts for the first three Biwheels Company transactions are as follows
The following conventions are used for recording in the general journal
Assets = Liabilities + Stockholders’ Equity Cash Note Payable Increases Decreases Decreases Increases (1)
400,000 (3) 150,000 (2) 100,000 (2) 100,000 Merchandise Inventory Paid-in Capital Increases Decreases The debit and credit columns are for recording the dollar amounts that are debited or credited for each
Decreases Increases (3) 150,000 (1) 400,000 account

Ledger Accounts Posting Transactions to the Ledger

Each transaction affects at least two accounts Posting is the transferring of amounts from the journal to the appropriate accounts in the ledger

The process of creating a new T-account in preparation for recording a transaction is called opening the The following example shows
account

How the debit to merchandise inventory and the credit to cash are posted
An account balance is the difference between the total left-side and right-side amounts at any particular
time
Columns for dates, explanations, journal references, and amounts in the ledger
Cash Balance 4,000 10,000 6,000
Posting Transactions to the Ledger
Posting Transactions to the Ledger
Cross-referencing is the process of using numbering, dating, and/or some other form of identification to
relate each ledger posting to the appropriate journal entry
Closing the Accounts Cost of Goods Sold Bal. 100,000 C2 100,000 0 Rent Expense Bal. 2,000 C2 2,000 Bal.
100 C2 100 0 0 Depreciation Expense Income Summary C2 102,100 C1 160,000 Sales C1 160,000 Bal.
160,000 0 Retained Income Bal 0 C3 57,900 C3 57,900 New bal. 57,900 0 There are three closing entries:
C1: Close all revenue accounts C2: Close all expense accounts C3: Close the Income Summary account

A single transaction from the journal might be posted to several different ledger accounts
Cross-referencing allows users to find all the components of the transactions in the ledger no matter where
they start
Revenue and Expense Transactions
Closing the Accounts C1. Transaction : Clerical procedure of transferring the ending balances of revenue
accounts to the Income Summary account Analysis : The stockholders' equity account Sales decreases to
zero The stockholders’ equity account Income Summary increases Journal Entry : Sales………………………
160,000 Income Summary…… 160,000 C2. Transaction : Clerical procedure of transferring the ending
balances of expense accounts to the Income Summary account Analysis : The negative stockholders’
equity (expense) accounts Cost of Goods Sold , Rent Expense , etc. decrease to zero The stockholders’
equity account Income Summary decreases Journal Entry : Income Summary……………102,100 Cost of
goods sold………. 100,000 Rent expense……………. 2,000 Depreciation expense…… 100

Ignoring dividends, T-accounts can be grouped as follows:
Assets = Liabilities + Paid-in Capital + Retained Earnings Debit Credit Debit Credit Debit Credit Debit
Credit + - - + - + - + Expenses Revenues Debit Credit + +
Closing the Accounts C3. Transaction : Clerical procedure of transferring the ending balance of Income
Summary account to the Retained Earnings account Analysis : The stockholders' equity account Income
Summary decreases to zero The stockholders’ equity account Retained Earnings increases Journal Entry :
Income summary…………57,000 Retained earnings…… 57,000

Effects of Errors
Revenue and Expense Transactions

If an error is detected after posting to the ledger accounts, a correcting entry must be made
Revenue and expense information is accumulated separately to prepare a more meaningful income
statement
The following is an example of a correcting entry:

Expense and revenue accounts are part of Retained Earnings

The correcting entry cancels or offsets the erroneous debit to Equipment

A revenue account increases retained earnings

CORRECT ENTRY 12/27 Repair Expense 500 Cash 500 ERRONEOUS ENTRY 12/27 Equipment 500 Cash 500
CORRECTING ENTRY 12/31 Repair Expense 500 Equipment 500
An expense account decreases retained earnings

Some Errors are Temporary Errors—Others Persist Until Corrected

Although a debit entry increases expenses, it results in a decrease in retained earnings

Some errors in one period are automatically corrected in the next period
Revenue and Expense Transactions Transaction : Sales on credit, $160,000 Analysis : The asset account
Accounts Receivable increases The stockholders’ equity account Sales Revenues increases Journal Entry :
Accounts receivable……….160,000 Sales revenues………… 160,000 Posting : Accounts Receivable Sales Such errors misstate net income in both periods
Revenues 160,000 160,000
By the end of the second period the errors counterbalance or cancel each other out
Revenue and Expense Transactions Transaction : Cost of merchandise sold, $100,000 Analysis : The asset
Merchandise Inventory decreases Stockholders’ equity decreases because an expense account, Cost of
They affect the balance sheet of only the first period—not the second
Goods Sold ( a negative stockholders’ account) increases Journal Entry : Cost of Goods
Sold………………..100,000 Merchandise Inventory………… 100,000 Posting : Merchandise Inventory Cost of
Goods Sold 100,000 100,000 Some errors will keep subsequent balance sheets in error until correcting entries are made

Prepaid Expenses and Depreciation Transactions Transaction : Paid rent for 3 months in advance, $6,000
Analysis : The asset Cash decreases The asset Prepaid Rent increases Journal Entry : Prepaid
rent………………..6,000 Cash…………………… 6,000 Posting : Cash Prepaid Rent 6,000 6,000

Prepaid Expenses and Depreciation Transactions Transaction : Recognized expiration of rental services,
$2,000 Analysis : The asset Prepaid Rent decreases The negative stockholders’ equity account Rent
Expense increases Journal Entry : Rent expense………………..2,000 Prepaid Rent…………….. 2,000 Posting :
Prepaid Rent Rent Expense 6,000 2,000 2,000

Prepaid Expenses and Depreciation Transactions Accumulated Depreciation, Store Equipment Depreciation
Expense Transaction : Recognized depreciation, $100 Analysis : The asset reduction account Accumulated
Depreciation, Store Equipment increases The negative stockholders’ equity account Depreciation Expense
increases Journal Entry : Depreciation expense…………………………………………...100 Accumulated
depreciation, store equipment…………….. 100 Posting : 100 100

Prepaid Expenses and Depreciation Transactions Asset: Store Equipment $14,000 Contra Asset:
Accumulated depreciation, equipment 100 Net asset: Book value $13,000

The book value or carrying value is the balance of an account minus the value of any contra accounts

Preparing the Trial Balance

A trial balance is a list of all the accounts with their balances

The purpose of the trial balance is twofold:

Proving whether the total debits equal the total credits in the ledger

Summarizing the balances in the ledger accounts in preparation to construct the financial statements

Preparing the Trial Balance *Retained earnings in the trial balance does not yet reflect the income for the
period *

Preparing the Trial Balance

The trial balance is prepared with the accounts in the following order:

Asset accounts

Liability accounts

Stockholders’ equity accounts

Revenue accounts

Expense accounts

The trial balance is the springboard for preparing the balance sheet and the income statement

Deriving Financial Statements from the Trial Balance Balance Sheet Income Statement

Closing the Accounts

Closing the accounts has two purposes:

It transfers the balances of the “temporary” stockholders’ equity accounts (revenues and expenses) to the
“permanent” stockholders’ equity account (retained earnings)

It makes the revenues and expense accounts have a zero balance, which readies them for the next
period’s transactions