| Course | AC112 Accounting Fundamentals for Management |
|---|---|
| Unit | Unit 3 |
| Paper type | Trial balance problem |
| Length | About 700 words, 5 pages double-spaced |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| School | Purdue University Global |
| Program | BS in Accounting |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for AC112 Unit 3
Equal Columns and a Policy That Is Already a Month Old: A Unit 3 Trial Balance for a Dog Grooming Salon
[Student Name]
Purdue University Global
AC112: Accounting Fundamentals for Management
Unit 3 Trial Balance Problem
[Instructor Name]
[Date]
Sudsy Hound is a composite business with invented figures; the cited textbook, conceptual framework and COSO control framework are real.
Posting to the Ledger
Each event from the Unit 2 list, tagged a to k, was posted as a debit and a credit to T-accounts. Debits increase assets, expenses and withdrawals; credits increase liabilities, capital and revenue (Franklin et al., 2019). The postings and ending balances are listed account by account below, with the event letter beside each amount so any figure can be traced to its source.
1. Cash: debits a $30,000, e $7,800, g $1,600; credits b $6,000, c $2,400, h $3,900, i $2,200, j $900, k $1,500. Debit balance $22,500.
2. Accounts Receivable: debit f $2,600; credit g $1,600. Debit balance $1,000.
3. Supplies: debit d $1,500. Debit balance $1,500.
4. Prepaid Insurance: debit c $2,400. Debit balance $2,400.
5. Equipment: debit b $18,000. Debit balance $18,000.
6. Accounts Payable: credit d $1,500; debit j $900. Credit balance $600.
7. Notes Payable: credit b $12,000. Credit balance $12,000.
8. Renata Cole, Capital: credit a $30,000. Credit balance $30,000.
9. Renata Cole, Withdrawals: debit k $1,500. Debit balance $1,500.
10. Grooming Revenue: credits e $7,800 and f $2,600. Credit balance $10,400.
11. Wages Expense: debit h $3,900. Debit balance $3,900.
12. Rent Expense: debit i $2,200. Debit balance $2,200.
Trial Balance
Sudsy Hound Grooming. Trial Balance. March 31.
Debit balances: Cash $22,500; Accounts Receivable $1,000; Supplies $1,500; Prepaid Insurance $2,400; Equipment $18,000; Withdrawals $1,500; Wages Expense $3,900; Rent Expense $2,200. Total debits: $53,000.
Credit balances: Accounts Payable $600; Notes Payable $12,000; Capital $30,000; Grooming Revenue $10,400. Total credits: $53,000.
Check of the total: $22,500 plus $1,000 is $23,500; plus $1,500 is $25,000; plus $2,400 is $27,400; plus $18,000 is $45,400; plus $1,500 is $46,900; plus $3,900 is $50,800; plus $2,200 is $53,000. On the credit side, $600 plus $12,000 plus $30,000 plus $10,400 is $53,000.
Note to Renata: What Equal Columns Prove
Renata, the two columns agree at $53,000, which tells you that every amount was posted with an equal debit and credit and that the balances were added correctly. That is worth knowing, and it is about all the agreement tells you.
It cannot tell you whether an amount went to the wrong account. If the kennel's $1,600 payment had been credited to revenue instead of receivables, both columns would still match, while revenue would be overstated and the kennel would appear to owe more than it does. It cannot tell you whether something was left out entirely, because an event never posted affects neither column. Nor can it tell you whether the amounts are still current. Keeping errors like these out of the books depends on controls such as matching invoices to deliveries and having someone other than the bookkeeper review the accounts, not on the trial balance itself (Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission, 2013).
The balance I would question first is Prepaid Insurance at $2,400, because a full month of the policy has already been used and the trial balance still lists all twelve months as an asset.
Supplies at $1,500 raise the same question. That is what you bought, not what is still on the shelf after a month of baths. Neither figure is an error in the bookkeeping sense; both are waiting for the adjustments that come next. Until then, the month's expenses are understated, so the $4,300 difference between revenue and the two recorded expenses overstates what the salon actually earned.
What This Means Before the Statements
Financial information is useful when it represents what actually happened, completely and without error (Financial Accounting Standards Board, 2018). A balanced trial balance is a step toward that, not the end of it. Before preparing statements, the insurance, supplies, equipment wear, unpaid wages and any unbilled grooming should all be adjusted, and the accounts should be read once more by someone asking what is missing rather than whether the columns match.
References
Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission. (2013). Internal control: Integrated framework. https://www.coso.org
Financial Accounting Standards Board. (2018). Conceptual framework for financial reporting: Chapter 1, The objective of general purpose financial reporting, and Chapter 3, Qualitative characteristics of useful financial information (Statement of Financial Accounting Concepts No. 8, as amended). https://www.fasb.org
Franklin, M., Graybeal, P., & Cooper, D. (2019). Principles of accounting, volume 1: Financial accounting. OpenStax. https://openstax.org/details/books/principles-financial-accounting
The Purdue Global AC112 Unit 3 instructions
For the third AC112 unit, students carry the earlier event list into the ledger, account by account, and then list the balances in two columns. T-accounts or a four-column ledger may be used; follow the prompt. Tag each posting with the event it came from so balances can be traced. List the accounts in chart order with debit and credit columns, and total both. Most sections then ask for a short written explanation for a manager. That note should separate what agreeing columns confirm from what they leave untested, with examples of errors that leave the columns equal. Point out any balance that looks stale or doubtful, since this prepares for adjustments. Keep the note in plain language. The full assignment is usually two pages, with any citations in APA 7.
How this AC112 Unit 3 example is built
The sample lists the postings for twelve accounts, from Cash through Rent Expense, each with its event letters and ending balance. The trial balance follows under a three-part heading, with eight debit balances and four credit balances totaling $53,000 each, and the additions are shown step by step. A note addressed to the owner explains what the agreement proves. It gives two errors the trial balance would miss: a collection credited to revenue instead of receivables, and an event never posted. It cites the COSO internal control framework on the controls that do catch such errors. The highlighted sentence flags Prepaid Insurance, and supplies get the same question. A final section links the note to the adjustments that come next.
Reading the AC112 Unit 3 grading rubric
Trial balance problems are graded on correct postings, correct balances and totals that agree. Each account must end on its normal side unless the problem explains otherwise. Traceable postings help graders award partial credit when an amount is wrong. In AC112 the written note for a manager often carries a meaningful share of the points, because the course teaches skepticism about balanced figures. Notes that name specific undetectable errors score better than general warnings. Identifying a balance that needs adjustment shows readiness for the next unit. Neat layout, consistent account titles and a proper heading count. Citations to the textbook or a framework support the explanation, and APA 7 formatting completes the assessment.
AC112 Unit 3 help: mistakes that cost points
Trial balance errors usually come from postings entered on the wrong side, such as a payment debited to Cash. Some students list withdrawals or expenses among credits. Totals that agree are taken as proof that everything is right, so the note says little. Notes often stay general instead of naming an error type the trial balance cannot catch. Stale balances such as prepaid insurance go unremarked. Postings without event references make errors hard to find. If your T-accounts are drawn but your columns will not agree, our writers can check your postings and draft the note for your problem.
Get an AC112 Unit 3 example written to your instructions
Once you send the Unit 3 problem, the instructions and the rubric, the ledger accounts and the trial balance come from your numbers, and the manager's note speaks to your own figures. Expect it within 24-48h. The first custom sample is on us, so a check against your own attempt costs nothing. The paper above is an original model document written by our desk, not a submitted student paper and not an official Purdue University Global document.
More AC112 papers and BS in Accounting samples
- AC112 Unit 1: Why Managers Read Entries Post
- AC112 Unit 2: Transaction Analysis Exercise
- AC112 Unit 4: Adjusting Entries Set
- AC112 Unit 5: Financial Statement Preparation
- AC112 Unit 6: Cash Flow Discussion
- AC112 Unit 7: Ratio Interpretation Memo
- AC112 Unit 8: Seminar Reflection
- AC112 Unit 9: Budget Schedule
- AC112 Unit 10: Management Report
AC112 Unit 3 questions, answered
Should my AC112 trial balance use T-accounts or a four-column ledger?
Either can support a correct trial balance, and the prompt usually signals which one it expects. T-accounts are more common in AC112 because they make the direction of each posting visible to a reader who is not a bookkeeper. When a section supplies ledger forms, the sample follows the form so the grader sees familiar columns.
My columns agree. Why would the note still matter so much?
Because the course is teaching managers to read figures skeptically, and a balanced list is the figure most people trust blindly. The note shows you understand that agreement is a test of arithmetic, not of accuracy. An instructor grading a manager's course often weights that understanding as heavily as the totals, sometimes more heavily.
What if one account ends up on the wrong side?
Check the postings first; a cash account with a credit balance usually means a payment was entered as a receipt somewhere. If the balance is genuinely unusual, such as an overdrawn bank account, leave it in the column where it falls and add a brief note. Moving it to make the page look tidy is marked more severely than the unusual balance itself.
Where can I find a free AC112 Unit 3 sample paper?
This page offers a complete AC112 Unit 3 trial balance problem for a grooming salon, with traced postings to twelve accounts, a $53,000 trial balance and a note on what equal columns prove.
Why does the AC112 Unit 3 sample question the insurance balance?
The $2,400 policy covers twelve months and one has already passed, yet the trial balance still lists the full amount as an asset. The adjustment in the next unit moves $200 to expense.