Trial Balance

Trial Balance

Prepare an unadjusted trial balance for "$ARGUMENTS". List all ledger account balances and verify that total debits equal total credits.

Prerequisites

Read .metapowers/accounting/$ARGUMENTS/03-ledger.md for the ledger account balances.

Process

1. Extract account balances:

   • List every account from the general ledger with its closing balance
   • Place debit balances in the debit column and credit balances in the credit column
   • Order accounts by category: assets, liabilities, equity, revenue, expenses

2. Calculate totals:

   • Sum all debit balances
   • Sum all credit balances
   • Compare totals — they must be equal

3. Investigate discrepancies:

   • If totals do not match, check for:
     • Transposition errors (digits swapped)
     • Slide errors (decimal point shifted)
     • Omitted or double-posted entries
     • Entries posted to the wrong side
   • Document any corrections made

4. Write the artifact to .metapowers/accounting/$ARGUMENTS/04-trial-balance.md with sections:

   • Unadjusted Trial Balance — all accounts with debit and credit columns
   • Balance Verification — total debits, total credits, and difference (should be zero)
   • Error Log — any discrepancies found and corrections applied

Output

The trial balance written to .metapowers/accounting/$ARGUMENTS/04-trial-balance.md. Present a summary highlighting:

• Total debits and total credits
• Whether the trial balance is in balance
• Any errors detected and corrected