Using the Trial Balance

To open the trial balance:

  1. Click the engagement on the Engagement List page.

    Note: See Using the Engagement List Page for information about using the pagination and search features to find an engagement in the list.

  2. Click on the navigation bar and select Trial Balance.

If a trial balance has not been imported, the Importing Trial Balance Data page displays when you open an engagement. You can either import the Trial Balance or manually add accounts and balances. See Managing Accounts to add an account manually.

Information on the Trial Balance Tabs

The Trial balance has two tabs: Financial and Tax. This allows you to assign groups and subgroups for both financial and tax preparation. The first row of the Financial and Tax trial balance grid is the total row which displays the sum of all accounts for all the balance columns including the unadjusted, adjusting journal entries, adjusted, reclassifying journal entries, final, tax journal entries, and tax balances.

  • The Financial trial balance is sorted by account type and then by account numbers. If account numbers are not used, then the accounts are listed in the same order as the import file. The current year adjusted balance for an account is equal to the unadjusted balance plus the sum of the adjusting journal entries. The current year final balance is equal to the adjusted balance plus the sum of the reclassifying journal entries. The $ Var column displays the dollar variance between the prior year final balance and the current year final balance. The % Var column displays the difference between the prior year final balance and the current year final balance as a percentage.
  • The Tax trial balance is sorted by account type and then by account numbers. If account numbers are not used, then the accounts are listed in the same order as the import file. The current year tax balance for an account is equal to the final balance plus the sum of the tax journal entries. The $ Var column displays the dollar variance between the prior year tax balance and the current year tax balance. The % Var column displays the difference between the prior year tax balance and the current year tax balance as a percentage.

By default, the Account Number and Account Name columns are pinned to the left side of the screen, so they are always visible when you scroll left to right.

Working with Single-Tier Consolidated Engagements

For a financial consolidated engagement, only the Financial tab displays on the trial balance page. For a tax consolidated engagement, only the Tax and Send to Tax tabs display on the Trial Balance page.

You can view the trial balance data and reports at either the consolidated level or a subsidiary level.

To select the entity to view, do the following:

  1. From the Trial Balance page of the consolidated engagement, click to open the drop-down menu.

  2. Select the entity you want to view. The consolidated entity is always the first item on the list. Then, each subsidiary with an imported trial balance is listed in the same order as they appear on the Subsidiary Setup page.

The trial balance data that displays on the page is for the selected entity only.

  • When viewing the consolidated entity, you can view the subsidiary data in columns or in rows.

  • View Subsidiaries in Columns: This is the default view for the consolidated entity.

  • The subsidiaries are displayed in columns in the order they appear on the Subsidiary Setup page. To change the order on the trial balance, you must change the order on the Subsidiary Setup page.

  • The subsidiary columns show the Final balance type for a financial consolidated engagement and the Tax balance type for a tax consolidated engagement.

  • If you have more than 3 subsidiaries, you will need to choose to show the other subsidiary columns.

  • Hover your pointer over a column header until the icon displays, then click the icon.

  • Select the check box for each subsidiary you want to display in the trial balance.

  • Click outside the list of columns to close the columns window.

  • Columns after the subsidiaries:

  • The Subsidiary Total column sums up all the subsidiary balances for each row. This is the total for all subsidiaries, even if a subsidiary column is currently hidden from view.

  • The EJE column displays the net amount of eliminating journal entries posted for each row.

  • The Consolidated Total (current year) column sums up the "Subsidiary Total" amount and the net EJE amount.

  • The Consolidated Total (prior year) column sums up the "Subsidiary Total" amount from the prior year and the net EJE amount in the prior year.

  • The rows and amounts are the account balances for each subsidiary summed up to either the financial groups and subgroups, or the tax groups and subgroups.

  • View Subsidiaries in Rows:

  • The subsidiaries are displayed in rows in the order they appear on the Subsidiary Setup page. To change the order on the trial balance, you must change the order on the Subsidiary Setup page.

  • The rows and amounts are the account balances summed up to either the financial groups and subgroups, or the tax groups and subgroups.

  • The columns show all balance types and journal entry types for each subsidiary.

  • When viewing a subsidiary entity, the trial balance rows are the accounts and balances. You can perform the same tasks on a subsidiary view that you can perform in a trial balance for a non-consolidated engagement such as: assigning groups and sub-groups, adding journal entries, importing the trial balance again, adding/editing accounts and groups, exporting to Microsoft® Excel®, and creating custom TB Reports.

Working with Multi-Tier Consolidated Engagements

For a financial consolidated engagement, only the Financial tab displays on the Trial Balance page. For a tax consolidated engagement, only the Tax and Send to Tax tabs display on the Trial Balance page.

To select the entity to view, do the following:

  1. From the Trial Balance page of the consolidated engagement, click to open the drop-down menu.

  2. Select the entity you want to view. The consolidated entity is always the 1st item on the list. Then, each subsidiary with a trial balance is listed in the same order as they appear on the Subsidiary Setup page.

The trial balance data that displays on the page is for the selected entity only.

  • When a parent entity is selected at the top of the page, you have two ways to view the entities that roll up to the selected entity:

  • View Entities in Columns: This is the default view for the consolidated entity.

  • The entities that roll up directly to the entity selected are displayed in columns in the order they appear on the Consolidation Setup grid. To change the order, you must change the order on the Consolidation Setup grid.

  • The parent column(s) displays the total balance of the entities that roll up to the parent. The balance type is the Final balance for a financial consolidated engagement and the Tax balance for a tax consolidated engagement.

  • The subsidiary column(s) displays the total account balances, Final balance for a financial consolidated engagement, and the Tax balance for a tax consolidated engagement.

  • If you have more than 3 entities, you will need to select to show the other entity columns.

  • Hover your pointer over a column header until the icon displays, and then click the icon.

  • Select the check box for each entity you want to display in the trial balance.

  • Click outside the list to close the window.

  • Columns after the entities:

  • The Entity Total column sums up all the entity balances for each row. This is the total for all entities, even if an entity column is currently hidden from view.

  • The EJE column displays the net amount of eliminating journal entries posted for each row for the selected parent.

  • The Consolidated Total (current year) column sums up the "Entity Total" amount and the net EJE amounts in the current year.

  • The Consolidated Total (prior year) column sums up the "Entity Total" amount from the prior year and the net EJE amounts in the prior year.

  • View Entities in Rows:

  • The entities are displayed in rows in the order they appear on the Consolidation Setup grid. To change the order on the trial balance, you must change the order on the Consolidation Setup grid.

  • The rows and amounts are the account balances summed up to either the financial groups and sub-groups, or the tax groups and sub-groups.

  • The columns show all balance types and journal entry types.

Workpaper References

WP Ref columns display next to the Final current year balance and the Tax current year balance columns. Clicking the gray icon in these columns allows you to add a link to a workpaper that is relevant for that account and balance. A blue icon in these columns indicates that a workpaper reference link has already been added for the account. You can click this icon to open or download the workpaper.

See Referencing Workpapers from the Trial Balance for more information about workpaper reference links.

Note: See Using Annotations to add comments and tick marks on the Trial Balance.

Toolbar Buttons

Use the Closedbuttons on the right side of the page to perform common trial balance tasks.

Note: If this is an interim engagement, the accounts and balances are for the active period selected. To view another period, change the active period in the drop-down list.

Back to top