Nominal ledger
| Nominal ledger |
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| See also |
Nominal Ledger is a financial book or electronic file. It contains all of the transactions data, including payments, charges and assets, across the company. The period and information included in the Ledger is for lifetime of the company[1].
Usability
All the records are used for preparing financial statements for example, income statement and balance-sheet. Those are compiled by the year-end or period-end.
Prior to computerisation era accounting records written by hand in physical account books. Across the business the Nominal Ledgers were treated as a Bible of each company as it included all the financial statements and transactions records.
Nowadays, it is very rare for the company to keep all the data in a form of physical book, they rather have it all in one computer. But some businesses keep it as a journal and put all the transactions as debt and credit entry and balance the accounts[2].
Digitalisation
Due to technology development and increase in technology replacing traditional method of contact, recording data and also in accounting, accountants don't need to write in a journal each transactions detail and spend hours with calculator on checking each entry to make sure that everything has been put correctly and the balances are right. Useful tools are[3]:
- Excel- one of the best-known programs easing basic accountants’ calculations. It enabled creating e-ledger as per possibility to figure balances and totals more automatically than it used to be. Although Excel is useful and speeds up the processes, all the data, such as sum, amount etc. must be put in by hand. This leads to high risk of making mistake. It is worth remembering that Excel is not a tool dedicated for accountants but it is helpful with basic calculations.
- Designated programs- there are also programs dedicated for accountants or accounting software. As per its usability paper journal, which is Nominal Ledger is considered dated. Sustaining running totals and letting bank to resign and use auto-matching, the designed programs and software conduce to minimalizing the possibility of error.
Self-assessment
All the mentioned improvements ease filling up the self-assessment form. Accountants don't have to record all the transactions manually, but the nominal code for every and each must be amended so those can be reported to the Accounting Software Nominal Ledger, if the system is available.
Some of the systems consist of a Chart of Accounts, also known as COA and those include codes required for transactions recorded in financial statements. Also balance sheet and income statements codes.
As per this kind of programs both, sale and purchase actions, have to place the entry against the code for Nominal Ledger within the software[4].
Footnotes
References
- Chhabra K., Pattanayak J., (2014). Financial Accounting Practices Among Small Enterprises: Issues and Challenges. "IUP Journal of Accounting Research & Audit Practices". V. 12, I. 3, 37-55.
- Jeacle I., (2011). A practice of her own: Female career success beyond the accounting firm, "Critical Perspectives on Accounting". V. 22, I. 3, 288-303.
- Leunonem H., (2015). Decentralised Blockchained and Centralised Real-Time Payment Ledgers: Development Trends and Basic Requirements. "Transforming Payment Systems in Europe". 236-261.
- Yamey B., (2010). Daniel Harvey's ledger, 1623–1646, in context, "Accounting, Business & Financial History". v. 20, I. 2, 163-176.
Author: Anna Zalewska
