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ACCA Applied Knowledge · Financial Accounting · Correction of errors

Which one of the following errors would cause the trial balance totals to differ?

The cash sale recorded as a $900 debit and a $90 credit causes the trial balance to be out by $810, because unequal amounts were posted. The other errors involve equal debits and credits, or none at all, so the trial balance still balances.

  1. AA cash sale of $900 was debited to the bank account and credited to the sales account as $90Correct
  2. BRent paid of $700 was debited to the rates account and credited to the bank account
  3. CA purchase invoice was posted to the correct purchases account but to the wrong supplier's payables account
  4. DA purchase of inventory was completely omitted from the books

Explanation

Debiting $900 and crediting $90 makes the debits exceed credits by $810, so the trial balance will not agree. The rent/rates posting is an error of commission between two expense accounts, the wrong supplier posting does not alter the total payables debits or credits, and a complete omission leaves debits equal to credits.

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