Statements of this kind, unless properly classified, are unintelligible to the average business man. A mere statement of the balances of the ledger accounts arranged without respect to their relationship, one to the other, may show that the ledger is in balance, but does not present information of special value to the manager of a business. What he wants—and expects—is a statement from which he can readily extract desired information; it must emphasize the salient points.
The classification of accounts has already been touched upon, but no harm will be done by placing still greater emphasis on the importance of this feature. For with the right classification of accounts in the ledger, the trial balance itself will supply some very interesting information, instead of being a mere list of balances. The following rules should be observed in the arrangement of accounts in the ledger.
All asset accounts should be assembled in the first section and grouped according to their classification; i. e., active, fixed, and passive or fictitious.
The liabilities should be divided into secured or funded, unsecured or floating, and capital; the latter includes any reserve accounts that may be maintained.
The expense accounts should follow and should be subdivided as to selling, general, and administrative.
The trading accounts should be grouped and divided into purchases, in-freight, and sales.
If a manufacturing business, the manufacturing accounts should be divided as to purchases, labor, and expenses.
The advantages of card and loose leaf ledgers are apparent in connection with the proper arrangement of accounts. They readily lend themselves to any desired classification, and new accounts as needed can be inserted at any point.
For the purpose of showing some of the possibilities in the classification of accounts, we give a few examples of model trial balances.
_Assets_ Cash $264.20 Bank 4,728.50 Accounts Receivable 6,270.00 Inventory (Jan. 1) 7,860.00 Real Estate 10,000.00 Furniture and Fixtures 5,000.00
_Liabilities_ Mortgage Payable $3,000.00 Bills Payable 5,000.00 Accounts Payable 6,120.00 Capital Stock 20,000.00
_Profit and Loss_ Advertising 475.00 Salesmen's Salaries 300.00 Traveling Expenses 189.70 General Expense 74.00 Interest and Discount 22.60 Building Maintenance 37.00 Taxes and Insurance 42.00 Salaries 525.00