What is true about the trial balance?
A) The total of the debits must equal the total of the credits.
B) It contains a detailed listing of every transaction during a period.
C) Payroll accounts do not appear on the trial balance because of their changeable nature.
D) It may contain whatever accounts the accountant wishes to include.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The trial balance is a list of all the accounts in the ledger with their debit or credit balance amounts. The main purpose of the trial balance is to ensure the total debits equal the total credits, which is the fundamental principle of double-entry bookkeeping.

Answer: C
 Payroll accounts may not appear on the trial balance because they are typically recorded in a separate payroll system or module that is not integrated with the general ledger. Payroll accounts may also be adjusted frequently due to changes in employee salaries, benefits, taxes, and other factors.

Therefore, choices B and D are incorrect because the trial balance does not contain a detailed listing of every transaction nor can it contain any accounts the accountant wishes to include without proper justification or relevance to the financial statements.

What Is True About the Trial Balance