A trial balance is a report that lists every account in the general ledger with its ending debit or credit balance, then totals each column.
Key takeaways
A trial balance is a report that lists every account in the general ledger with its ending debit or credit balance, then totals each column. If the books are properly kept, total debits equal total credits. Accountants run a trial balance before closing to catch errors and confirm the ledger is in balance.
The trial balance is the checkpoint between raw bookkeeping and finished financial statements, if it doesn't balance, something's wrong before those errors reach investors or the board. A clean trial balance is a prerequisite for a fast, credible monthly close.