Bank Reconcilliation
A bank reconciliation statement is a document that compares the cash balance on a company’s balance sheet to the corresponding amount on its bank statement. Reconciling the two accounts helps identify whether accounting changes are needed. Bank reconciliations are completed at regular intervals to ensure that the company’s cash records are correct. They also help detect fraud and any cash manipulations.
Reasons for Difference Between Bank
Statement and Company’s Accounting
Record
When banks send companies a bank statement that contains the company’s beginning cash balance, transactions during the period, and ending cash balance, the bank’s ending cash balance and the company’s ending cash balance are almost always different. Some reasons for the difference are:
- Deposits in transit: Cash and checks that have been received and recorded by the company but have not yet been recorded on the bank statement.
- Outstanding checks: Checks that have been issued by the company to creditors but the payments have not yet been processed.
- Bank service fees: Banks deduct charges for services they provide to customers but these amounts are usually relatively small.
- Interest income: Banks pay interest on some bank accounts.
- Not sufficient funds (NSF) checks: When a customer deposits a check into an account but the account of the issuer of the check has an insufficient amount to pay the check, the bank deducts from the customer’s account the check that was previously credited. The check is then returned to the depositor as an NSF check.