Bank Reconciliations are a means of making sure that your financial records agree with those kept by your financial institution. A bank reconciliation also ascertains the right balance in your bank account after adjusting for transactions such as cheques not yet presented and deposits not yet banked.
Bank reconciliation statement processes and tips
You should have recorded in your cash books all amounts you’ve actually received and payments you’ve actually made. However, the cash books may be incomplete as your bank may have put extra transactions through your account, such as:
- Bank fees or interest charges, or
- Direct debits (payments) and
- Direct credits (receipts).
Doing regular bank reconciliations will allow you to:
- Take into account any extra transactions your bank puts through your account, and
- Check and record any errors or omissions.
By regularly doing bank reconciliations (say monthly), you can be more confident that your records contain all the information you need to accurately prepare your income tax return and activity statements.
Regularly doing a bank reconciliation can also reduce the time it takes your tax agent or accountant to prepare your income tax return or activity statements. We recommend that you regularly bank all the money your business receives. You should also check with your bank or financial institution to see if you can access your bank statements electronically through your bank’s secure website as this will allow you to conveniently access your banking transactions and other information.
Are you after advice on bank reconciliations?
For advice or more information on reconciliations, bookkeeping or any business accounting requirements contact the accountants at The Quinn Group now by submitting an online enquiry form or call 02 9223 9166.
