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The bank reconciliation statement (BRS) is prepared by the accountant of the business. It is prepared periodically to match all the bank transactions in the cashbook with the bank statement and ensure the accuracy of the same.
The questions of who, why, and when usually go hand in hand, therefore, I would like to familiarize you with all the three, in brief, to make the concept simpler.
Why and when is a bank reconciliation statement prepared?
After a brief introduction, you might be wondering why and when is a bank reconciliation statement prepared by the accountant. As the closing balance of the cash book and that of the bank statement do not match in the books of accounts the accountants maintain a bank reconciliation statement. There are plenty of reasons why the balances do not match and some of them are as follows:
- The rate of interest or charges was not known at the time of recording transactions therefore no account is found.
- Cheques were issued by the company but not cleared by the bank.
- There is a mismatch in the date of entry and date of credit.
Due to some of the reasons as mentioned above, the closing balance in the books of accounts of the organization and that of the bank will not match, therefore, the accountants maintain a bank reconciliation statement depending on the value of the transactions.
In case the value of the transactions is high, the statement is reconciled on a daily or weekly basis whereas in the case of small transactions it is usually done monthly or as per the will of the organization.
Steps in preparation of a bank reconciliation statement
The following steps are usually followed by the accountants to prepare a BRS:
