WEEK 3
TOPIC: BOOKKEEPING
Book keeping is the recording, on a day-to-day basis, of the financial transactions and information pertaining to a business. It ensures that records of the individual financial transactions are correct, up-to-date and comprehensive. Accuracy is therefore vital to the process.
Book keeping provides the information from which accounts are prepared. It is a distinct process that occurs within the broader scope of accounting.
Each transaction, whether it is a question of purchase or sale, must be recorded. There are usually set structures in place for bookkeeping that are called ‘quality controls’, which help ensure timely and accurate records.
Recording transactions
In principle, transactions must be recorded daily into the books or the accounting system.
For each transaction, there must be a document that describes the business transaction. This could include a sales invoice, sales receipt, a supplier invoice, a supplier payment, bank payments and journals.
These accompanying documents provide the audit trail for each transaction and are an important part of maintaining accurate records in the event of an audit.