| Course | AC300 Intermediate Accounting I |
|---|---|
| Unit | Unit 6 |
| Paper type | Bank reconciliation |
| Length | About 570 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 AC300 Unit 6
Dozens of Rent Checks, One Balance: A Unit 6 Bank Reconciliation for a Property Management Firm
[Student Name]
Purdue University Global
AC300: Intermediate Accounting I
Unit 6 Bank Reconciliation
[Instructor Name]
[Date]
Harbor Row Property Management and every amount are composite; the textbook and the control framework and cash standard cited are real.
Bank Side
Balance per bank statement, June 30: $49,860. Add deposits in transit: rent receipts deposited after the bank's cutoff on June 30, $7,420. Deduct outstanding checks: checks 2208, 2211, 2215 and 2216 to owners and vendors, $12,180. Adjusted bank balance: $45,100.
Book Side
Balance per books, June 30: $46,959. Add interest credited by the bank: $54. Deduct a tenant's check returned for insufficient funds: $1,850. Deduct the monthly service charge: $45. Deduct an error: check 2214 for landscaping was written and cleared for $1,286 but recorded as $1,268, two digits swapped, an understatement of $18. Adjusted book balance: $45,100.
Only the book-side items are journalized, because they are events the company had not yet recorded; deposits in transit and outstanding checks are already in the books and will clear the bank in July without any entry.
Journal Entries, June 30
1. Cash, debit $54; Interest Revenue, credit $54.
2. Accounts Receivable, tenant in unit 4B, debit $1,850; Cash, credit $1,850. The tenant again owes the rent, and the property manager will collect it with any returned-check fee the lease allows.
3. Bank Service Charges Expense, debit $45; Cash, credit $45.
4. Landscaping Expense, debit $18; Cash, credit $18.
After posting, the cash account shows $45,100, matching the adjusted bank balance.
Tracing the Reconciling Items
Each item was traced to a source before it was accepted. The deposits in transit match the June 30 deposit slip and the rent ledger for the last business day of the month. The outstanding checks were listed from the check register and compared with the bank's cleared items; all four are dated June 27 or later, so none looks stale. The returned check arrived with the bank's debit advice naming the tenant. The $18 error, divisible by nine as a swap of two digits always is, was found by comparing the cleared check image with the register entry. Reconciling items that cannot be traced to a document are a warning sign and should be investigated before the month closes.
Why This Account Needs Monthly Reconciliation
A property management firm handles other people's money in volume: rent collected for owners, deposits held for tenants, and payments to contractors. A monthly reconciliation performed by someone who does not write checks or record deposits is a basic detective control, catching errors like the $18 transposition and warning signs such as a pattern of returned checks (Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission, 2013). The NSF check also signals a collection risk for that tenant, which the receivables aging should reflect.
Presentation of Cash
The $45,100 in the operating account is unrestricted cash. Tenants' security deposits, held in a separate trust account as state law requires, are not available for Harbor Row's operations; they are presented as restricted cash with a matching liability to tenants, and the restriction is described in the notes. The cash flow statement still counts the trust balance when it reconciles opening and closing cash (Financial Accounting Standards Board, 2016). Separating the two keeps the balance sheet from showing tenants' money as the company's own (Kieso et al., 2019).
References
Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission. (2013). Internal control: Integrated framework. https://www.coso.org
Financial Accounting Standards Board. (2016). Restricted cash (Topic 230): A consensus of the FASB Emerging Issues Task Force (Accounting Standards Update No. 2016-18). https://www.fasb.org
Kieso, D. E., Weygandt, J. J., & Warfield, T. D. (2019). Intermediate accounting (17th ed.). Wiley.
What the AC300 Unit 6 assignment asks for
The sixth unit of AC300 covers cash and its controls, and the assignment provides a bank statement, a cash ledger and enough detail to find the differences. Prepare the reconciliation in two columns, bank side and book side, each ending at the same adjusted balance. Deposits in transit and outstanding checks go on the bank side. Interest, fees, returned checks and recording errors go on the book side. Journalize only the book-side items, and show the cash account after posting. Explain how each item was found and confirmed. Many prompts add a question about internal control or about presenting cash and restricted cash, so answer it in a short section. A paragraph on why the account needs monthly review shows judgment beyond the arithmetic. Two to three pages is enough. Cite the control framework and the cash flow guidance in APA 7.
How this AC300 Unit 6 example is built
The sample builds the bank side first: $49,860 plus $7,420 of rent deposited after the cutoff, less four checks totaling $12,180, equals $45,100. The book side starts at $46,959, adds $54 of interest, and deducts an $1,850 returned tenant check, a $45 service charge and an $18 error on a landscaping check whose two digits were swapped. The highlighted sentence explains why only book-side items get entries. Four entries follow, including a receivable reinstated for the tenant in unit 4B. A tracing section matches each item to its source, the deposit slip, the check register, the bank's debit advice and the cleared check image. A control section cites the COSO framework on separating reconciliation from check writing. The last section presents tenants' security deposits as restricted cash with a matching liability.
Reading the AC300 Unit 6 grading rubric
The arithmetic and the placement of each item carry the bulk of the AC300 points here. Both sides must reach the same balance, and each item must sit on the correct side. Entries are graded next: book-side items only, with correct accounts, such as a receivable rather than an expense for a returned check. An error correction must use the actual difference and the right expense. Showing the posted cash balance proves the work. Explanation of how items were verified shows professional skepticism and earns credit beyond the mechanics. The control discussion is rewarded when it names who should perform the reconciliation and why. Presenting trust balances as restricted cash, linked to the cash flow guidance, connects the clerical task to the statements. A clear two-column layout and APA 7 citations complete what Purdue Global instructors expect.
Common AC300 Unit 6 mistakes, and how to avoid them
The most common reconciliation error is journalizing deposits in transit or outstanding checks, which are already in the books. Returned checks are often recorded as bad debt expense instead of reinstated receivables. Students also reverse the direction of an error correction, adding where they should subtract. Interest and fees from the bank statement are sometimes placed on the bank side. A reconciliation that balances only because of a plug figure earns little. Many papers skip the explanation of how items were found, so the work reads as a template. Others ignore tenants' or customers' money held in trust and present it as the company's own cash. Checks dated weeks earlier deserve a stale-check comment. If your bank statement has many more items than this, a writer can reconcile it and explain every adjustment for your Purdue Global section.
Get an AC300 Unit 6 example written to your instructions
The bank statement figures, the ledger balance and every item the Unit 6 problem lists, including anything said about restricted accounts, are what the schedule is built from; add the rubric and instructions. It returns inside 24-48h with both sides proved and the entries dated. Your first custom sample 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.
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AC300 Unit 6 questions, answered
Does restricted cash belong in a reconciliation assignment?
Not every section asks for it, but AC300 treats cash as a presentation question as well as a clerical one. When the facts mention a separate account held for a specific purpose, the grader usually expects a sentence on where it goes. If the instructions stop at the reconciliation and entries, the presentation paragraph drops away and the rest stands unchanged.
Where can I find a free AC300 Unit 6 sample paper?
This page provides a complete AC300 Unit 6 bank reconciliation for a composite property management firm, reaching $45,100 on both sides, with four journal entries, item tracing, a control discussion and APA 7 references.
How is the $18 error in the AC300 Unit 6 sample identified as a transposition?
The landscaping check cleared for $1,286 but was recorded as $1,268. The difference of $18 is divisible by nine, which is the mark of two swapped digits, and the cleared check image confirmed it.
Why is a returned tenant check debited to accounts receivable in AC300 Unit 6?
The tenant still owes the rent. The bank reversed the deposit, so cash falls by $1,850 and the receivable for the tenant in unit 4B comes back until the rent is collected.
Do tenants' security deposits count as Harbor Row's cash in AC300 Unit 6?
No. They sit in a separate trust account required by state law, so they are shown as restricted cash with an equal liability to tenants, and the notes describe the restriction.