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Other steps in the Accounting Cycle after the preparation of Financial Statements are:-

h) Closing entries in Accounting Cycle.

As previously stated, revenues increase owner’s equity, and expenses and withdrawals by the owner decrease owner’s equity. If the only financial statement that we needed was a balance sheet, these changes in owner’s equity could be recorded directly in the owner’s capital account. However, owners, managers, investors, and others need to know amount of specific revenues and expenses, and the amount of net income earned in the period. Therefore we maintain separate ledger account to measure each type of revenue and expense, and other owner’s drawings.

The revenue, expense, and drawing accounts are called temporary accounts, are nominal accounts, because they accumulate the transactions of only one accounting period. At the end of this accounting period the changes in owner’s equity accumulated in these temporary accounts are transferred into the owner’s capital account. This process serves two purposes. First it updates the balance of the owner’s capital account for changes in owner’s equity account for changes in owner’s equity occurring during the accounting period. Second, it returns the balances of the temporary accounts to zero, so that they are ready for measuring the revenue, expenses, and drawings of the next accounting period.

The owner’s capital account and other balance sheets are called permanent or real accounts, because their balances continue to exist beyond the current accounting period. The process of transferring the balances of the temporary account into the owner’s capital account is called closing the accounts. The journal entries made for the purpose of closing the temporary accounts are called closing entries.

Revenue and expense accounts are closed at the end of each accounting period by transferring their balances to a summary account called income summary. When the credit balance of the revenue accounts and the debit balances of expense accounts have been transferred into one summary account, the balance of this income summary will be the net income or net loss for the period. If the revenue (credit balances) exceeds the expenses (debit balances), the income summary account will have a credit balance representing net income. Conversely, if expenses exceed revenue, the Income Summary will have a debit balance representing net loss. This is consistent with the rule that increases in owner’s equity are recorded by credits and decreases are recorded by debits.

Closing Entries for Revenue Accounts

Revenue accounts have credit balances. Therefore, closing a revenue account means transferring its credit balance to the Income Summary account. This transfer is accomplished by a journal entry debiting the revenue account an amount equal to its credit balance, with an offsetting credit to the Income Summary account. The debit portion of this closing entry returns the balance of the revenue account to zero; the credit portion transfers the former balance of the revenue account into the Income Summary account.

Closing Entries foe Expense Accounts

Expense accounts have debit balances. Closing an expense account means transferring its debit balance to the Income Summary account. The journal entry to close an expense account, therefore, consists of a credit to the expense account in an amount equal to its debit balance, with an offsetting debit to the Income Summary account.

Closing the Income Summary Account

Due to increase in net income owner’s equity increases. The credit balance of Income Summary account is, therefore transferred to the owner’s equity account. Conversely if the expenses of a business are larger than its revenue, the Income Summary account will have a debit balance, representing a net loss for the accounting period .In this case, the closing of the Income Summary account requires a debit to the owner’s capital account and an offsetting credit to the Income Summary account. The owner’s equity will, of course, be reduced by the amount of the loss debited to the capital account. Note that the Income Summary account is used only at the end of the period when the accounts are being closed. The Income Summary account has no entries and no balance except during the process of closing the accounts at the end of accounting period.

Closing the Owner’s Drawing Account

Withdrawals of cash or other assets by the owner are not considered an expense of the business and, therefore, are not a factor in determining the net income for the period. Since drawings by the owner do not constitute an expense, the owner’s drawing account is closed not into the Income Summary account but directly to the owner’s capital account. Revenue, Expense and Drawing (by owner) change owner’s equity. These are temporary capital accounts. To make these Accounts ready for recording events of next accounting periods, we take the following steps:-

• Close (transfer) Revenue Accounts to Income Summary Account.
• Close (transfer) Expense Accounts to Income Summary Account.
• Close (transfer) Income Summary Account to Owner’s Equity Account or Capital Account.
• Close Drawing Account directly to Capital Account.

Debit and credit entries of course are involved in journal and ledger.

i) Prepare after-closing trial balance. In many cases, another trial balance is prepared after closing entries have been recorded in journal and posted in ledger.

Summary

Steps in Accounting Cycle:

The accounting procedures in the accounting cycle may be summarized as follows

1. Journalize Transactions
2. Post to Ledger Accounts
3. Prepare A Trial Balance
4. End of Period Adjustments
5. Prepare an Adjusted Trial Balance
6. Prepare Financial statements
7. Journalize and Post Closing Entries
8. Prepare an After Closing Trial Balance