Definition of General ledger

General ledger

A book that contains all the accounts of the company and the balances of those accounts.

General ledger

The master set of accounts that summarizes all transactions occurring
within a company. There may be a subsidiary set of ledgers that summarizes into the
general ledger.

Bank reconciliation

The process of taking the balances from the bank statement and the general ledger and making adjustments so that they agree.

Control account

An account maintained in the general ledger that holds the balance without the detail. The detail is maintained in a subsidiary ledger.

Posting

The process of taking journal entries and recording them in the general ledger.

Subsidiary ledger

An accounting record giving the detailed transactions in an account; the subtotals of the debits and credits are posted to the control account maintained in the general ledger. It helps to keep the general ledger free of clutter.

T account

The format used for a general ledger page. The name of the account is put on the top line, and a vertical line is dropped from the top line (hence the "T"). Debits are recorded on the left side, and credits are recorded on the right.

Capital lease

A lease in which the lessee obtains some ownership rights over the asset
involved in the transaction, resulting in the recording of the asset as company property
on its general ledger.

Chart of accounts

A listing of all accounts used in the general ledger, usually sorted in
order of account number.

Subsidiary account

An account that is kept within a subsidiary ledger, which in turn
summarizes into the general ledger.

Country risk General

Level of political and economic uncertainty in a country affecting the value of loans or
investments in that country.

General cash offer

A public offering made to investors at large.

General obligation bonds

Municipal securities secured by the issuer's pledge of its full faith, credit, and
taxing power.

General partner

A partner who has unlimited liability for the obligations of the partnership.

General partnership

A partnership in which all partners are general partners.

Generally Accepted Accounting Principals (GAAP)

A technical accounting term that encompasses the
conventions, rules, and procedures necessary to define accepted accounting practice at a particular time.

Ledger cash

A firm's cash balance as reported in its financial statements. Also called book cash.

Limited-tax general obligation bond

A general obligation bond that is limited as to revenue sources.

GENERAL-AND-ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES

What was spent to run the non-sales and non-manufacturing part of a company, such as office salaries and interest paid on loans.

Ledger

A collection of all the different accounts of the business that summarize the transactions of the
business.

generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP)

This important term
refers to the body of authoritative rules for measuring profit and preparing
financial statements that are included in financial reports by a business
to its outside shareowners and lenders. The development of these
guidelines has been evolving for more than 70 years. Congress passed a
law in 1934 that bestowed primary jurisdiction over financial reporting
by publicly owned businesses to the Securities and Exchange Commission
(SEC). But the SEC has largely left the development of GAAP to the
private sector. Presently, the Financial Accounting Standards Board is
the primary (but not the only) authoritative body that makes pronouncements
on GAAP. One caution: GAAP are like a movable feast. New rules
are issued fairly frequently, old rules are amended from time to time,
and some rules established years ago are discarded on occasion. Professional
accountants have a heck of time keeping up with GAAP, that’s for
sure. Also, new GAAP rules sometimes have the effect of closing the barn
door after the horse has left. Accounting abuses occur, and only then,
after the damage has been done, are new rules issued to prevent such
abuses in the future.

General Agreement

on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) a treaty
among many nations setting standards for tariffs and trade
for signees

Generally accepted accounting principles

The rules that accountants follow when processing accounting transactions and creating financial reports. The rules are primarily
derived from regulations promulgated by the various branches of the AICPA Council.

Ledger

A book or database in which accounting transactions are stored and summarized.

general cash offer

Sale of securities open to all investors by an already-public company.

generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP)

Procedures for preparing financial statements.

Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP)

A common set of standards and procedures
for the preparation of general-purpose financial statements that either have been established
by an authoritative accounting rule-making body, such as the Financial Accounting
Standards Board (FASB), or over time have become accepted practice because of their universal
application.

Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP)

GAAP is the term used to describe the underlying rules basis on which financial statements are normally prepared. This is codified in the Handbook of The Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants.

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