Trial balance

A list of every account balance in the ledger, with debits in one column and credits in the other, which must total the same.

It is the checkpoint between bookkeeping and reporting: the financial statements are assembled from it after adjustments for accruals, depreciation and provisions.

A balanced trial balance proves the arithmetic, not the truth. A transaction posted to the wrong account, or omitted entirely, leaves it perfectly balanced.

The check catches slips. It cannot catch judgement.