What can you tell me about reconciling and verifying general ledgers?

The Steps of General Ledger Reconciliation process .

1. Beginning balance investigation -Match the beginning balance in the account to the ending reconciliation detail from the prior period. If the amounts do not match, investigate the reason for the variance in the prior period. If the account has not been reconciled for some time, it is possible that the error lies several periods in the past.
2. Current period investigation. -Match the transactions reported in the account within the period to the underlying transactions, and adjust as necessary.
3. Adjustments review.-Review all adjusting journal entries recorded in the account within the period for appropriateness, and adjust as necessary.
4. Reversals review.-Ensure that all journal entries that should have reversed within the period have been reversed.
5. Ending balance review.-Verify that the ending detail for the account matches the ending account balance.

Best Regards .

First, Verify that all deposits appearing on the bank statement agree with the deposits recorded in the check register, and that there are no deposits in the check register that have not cleared the bank, with the exception of deposits in transit at the end of the month.

The reconciliation of the accounts is to update the balances of the accounts of the operations recorded in a company in general accounting with those of the same accounts of the company recorded in other structures. Example the banking link.

The general ledger is where all of the business's transactions and expenses are recorded. Good accounting practice requires that the general ledger be "reconciled," or checked for accuracy, on a regular basis. Additionally, because the general ledger is the source of information for the four financial statements (the balance sheet, income statement, statement of cash flows, and statement of shareholder's equity), reconciliation can refer to cross-checking the balances on these statements with those in the general ledger. Reconciling the general ledger can be useful in preparation for an annual audit or can simply be used to ensure that a business owner is getting an accurate picture of the business's financial health

The general ledger is where all of the business's transactions.The process begins by 1)Opening balance investigation

2)Ensuring all transactions for the period have been captured

3)Adjustments review

4)Reversals review

5)Ending balance review

It is one of the important step before going to prepare the Income statement and Balance sheet, Reconciling the GL monthly basis and to assure the accuracy of posting or recording of financial entries. its help you to reconcile and correct the classification of different entries. you can say Genral Ledger a group of Ledgers ie vendors ledgers, debitor and creditors ledgers and inventory wise ledgers. during monthly reconciliation you can update your purchases and sales according to your inventory record. 

Reconciling and Verifying General Ledgers means, it reviews the financial infomation on a regular and timely basis, it also uses reports to verify revenue and expenditure transactions, payroll transactions and other financial transactions for accuracy and completeness, monthly.

General ledger reconciliations are important to ensure the financial reporting is accurate. Any inaccurate or incorrect accounting entries are identified through reconciliation process. Following are the steps of general ledger account reconciliation:

1. Identify the source of entries to the general ledger account.
2. Match the entries in the general ledger account to the source.
3. If the general ledger has multiple sub-ledgers (viz. debtors general ledger account in balance sheet has vendor wise sub-ledgers), ensure the totals of sub-ledgers matches with the general ledger account balance.
4. If there any any differences identified in step two and three above, it has to be identified as 'reconciling item' on the reconciliation.
5. Based on the Company's policy, the reconciling item in the reconciliation has to be cleared within a specific time frame (say 30 days or 45 days and so on).
6. If the reconciling items are not cleared within the stipulated period, the account has to be classified as 'un-reconciled'.
7. Un-reconciled accounts are reported to management and to the Audit Committee, based on the organisation policy.

Review adjusting journal entries made since the previous reconciliation. Verify the accuracy of the entry’s dollar amount and the accounts affected. Review documentation to support the entry, such as a revised invoice for services rendered or a bill of sale for the purchase of a vehicle.

2. Prepare a list of unusual transactions and transactions that do not have supporting documentation for the general ledger accounts being reconciled. Keep in mind that an unusual transaction may have supporting documentation but still be considered odd for the company. For example, if a bakery purchased a computer and the invoice is attached to the journal entry but the bakery does not have a computer in the store, the question may be posed as to where the computer is. The owner may have the computer at home, still in the box, waiting for a technician to set it up for easier order tracking. On the other hand, the bakery owner may have brought the computer home for his son to use at college and used business funds to pay for the computer.

3. Review the general ledger for mispostings. Everyone makes mistakes; it is possible that an employee posted a valid transaction to the wrong account. Posting errors can be small in the overall picture of a company’s financial position, but it is always a sensible business idea to present finances as accurately as possible. A general ledger reconciliation performed on a regular basis enables the errors to be fixed before the errors become more difficult to isolate.

General Ledger reconciliation is very important for maintaining accuracy in our books. 

Reviewing and verifying Revenue, Expenditures, and other Financial transactions for specific examples of corroborating financial information.