The Worksheet

Introduction

Before the final statements are drawn up, an accountant often needs a single working paper on which the trial balance, the year end adjustments and the resulting statements can all be seen together. That working paper is the worksheet. It is not a formal account and is never published; it is a tool that reduces errors and speeds up the preparation of the income statement and balance sheet. This chapter studies what the worksheet is, why it is used, and how its columns are filled.

Meaning and need

A worksheet is a multi column statement, usually prepared on a large sheet, that brings together the unadjusted trial balance, the adjustments, the adjusted trial balance, and the income statement and balance sheet columns. It is prepared for internal convenience. Its main uses are to organise the year end data in one place, to make sure the adjustments have been carried through correctly, to check that the books still balance after adjustment, and to make the drafting of the final statements almost mechanical. Because it is only a rough working, any mistake found on it can be corrected before the formal accounts are written up.