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ACCA Applied Knowledge · Financial Accounting · Suspense accounts

Which one of the following errors would NOT cause a difference on the trial balance, and so would not require a suspense account entry?

Debiting the wrong customer's receivable account with a sales invoice does not affect the trial balance, because debits still equal credits. It is an error of commission. The other options involve unequal amounts or one-sided entries, which would cause a trial balance difference and need a suspense account.

  1. AA purchase of inventory on credit for $4,000 was debited to purchases and credited to the supplier's account as $400
  2. BA sales invoice of $2,500 was recorded by debiting the wrong customer's receivable account and crediting salesCorrect
  3. CCash received of $900 was credited to the cash account but no debit entry was made
  4. DRent paid of $1,200 was debited to the rent account only

Explanation

Debiting the wrong customer's account still gives equal debits and credits, so it is an error of commission and the trial balance still balances. The other options each record unequal debit and credit amounts or a single-sided entry, so a trial balance difference arises.

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