The debit and credit accounting method originated in Italy in the 13th century and was introduced to China from Japan during the Guangxu period at the end of the Qing Dynasty. Among the various double-entry accounting methods, the debit and credit accounting method is the earliest and the most widely used and scientific accounting method in countries around the world today. At present, my country's enterprises and institutions all use the debit and credit accounting method.

The debit and credit accounting method uses "debit" and "credit" as the accounting symbols. In two or more interconnected accounts, each economic business is fully accounted for by an equal amount. A double-entry accounting method for keeping records. Its main features are reflected in the following aspects:

1. Accounting symbols

Accounting symbols reflect the increase and decrease in the number of various economic businesses.

(1) "Debit" and "credit" are abstract accounting symbols

The debit and credit accounting method uses "debit" and "credit" as accounting symbols to Indicate the direction of increase and decrease in accounting, the correspondence between accounts and the nature of account balances, etc. It has nothing to do with the meaning of these two words and their original meaning in accounting history, and cannot be interpreted literally. "Debit" and "credit" are accounting terms and have become common international business language.

(2) The meaning of increase and decrease represented by "borrow" and "credit"

As accounting symbols, "borrow" and "credit" both have the dual meaning of increase and decrease. . . When "debit" and "credit" mean an increase and when a "debit" means a decrease, it must be accurately explained based on the specific nature of the account. Assets and expenses are increased by "debit" and decreased by credit. Liabilities and owner's equity are increased by "debit" and "credit" is increased by income. According to the accounting equation "Assets + Expenses = Liabilities + Owners' Equity + Income", it can be seen that the two accounting symbols "debit" and "credit" have opposite meanings of increase and decrease for the accounting elements on both sides of the accounting equation.

2. Account settings

Under the debit and credit accounting method, the account settings can basically be divided into assets (including expenses) and liabilities and owner's equity (including income). Two major categories.

The debit registration amount of an asset account is the increase, and the credit registration decrease amount is generally the debit balance (the account balance is generally on the increase side, the same below).

The formula for the ending balance of asset accounts is: Ending debit balance = Beginning debit balance 10 debits for the current period 1 futures occurrence

Liabilities and owners' equity accounts Credits register increases and debits register decreases, generally the credit balance.

The formula for the ending balance of liability and owner's equity accounts is: ending balance of goods parties = balance of goods parties at the beginning of the period + amount of futures parties incurred in the current period and debit amount incurred in the period.

(3) Structure of dual-nature accounts

Since the accounting symbols of "debit" and "credit" have opposite meanings of increase and decrease for the accounting elements on both sides of the accounting equation, Therefore, it is possible to set up accounts with both asset properties and dual-nature accounts with liability properties. For example, "accounts payable" and "accounts received in advance" can be merged into one account, and "accounts payable" and "accounts payable in advance" can also be merged into one account.

The nature of dual nature accounts is not fixed and should be judged based on the direction of the account balance. If the balance is on the debit side, it is an asset account; if the balance is on the credit side, it is recognized as an equity account. There are only a few accounts with dual nature, and the nature of most accounts is still fixed.

3. Accounting rules

Accounting rules refer to the rules that must be followed when using accounting methods to correctly record accounting matters. Accounting rules are the basis for accounting and reconciliation.

(1) Contents of accounting rules

The accounting rules of the debit and credit accounting method are: "If there is a debit, there must be a credit, and the debit and credit must be equal."

(2) Application of accounting rules

Accounting rules are also called the principle of debit and credit balance, which can test the correctness of a series of accounting processes such as accounting entries, postings, and settlements. Taking the preparation of accounting entries as an example to illustrate the application of accounting rules.

1. Format of accounting entries

The most important content in accounting vouchers is accounting entries. The so-called accounting entries refer to the record of the name of the account to be recorded for a certain economic business, the direction of debit and credit, and the amount of increase or decrease. Accounting entries are a simplified form of accounting vouchers, sometimes called "accounting formulas."

The general format of accounting entries is:

Debit: cash 1,000

Credit: bank deposit 1,000

2. Accounting Classification of entries

Accounting entries can be divided into simple entries and compound entries according to the number of accounts involved. A simple entry is one debit and one credit, and a compound entry is one debit and multiple credits, multiple borrows and one credit, and multiple borrows and multiple credits. When the debit and credit accounting method is used to register each economic business according to the accounting rules, a mutual relationship between the relevant accounts will occur. This mutual relationship between the accounts is called the corresponding relationship between the accounts. Accounts with corresponding relationships are called corresponding accounts.

Simple entries only involve two accounts, while compound entries involve more than two accounts. In fact, a compound entry is composed of several simple entries.

IV. Trial balance

The trial balance refers to a certain period of time (such as the end of the accounting period), in order to ensure the correctness of the accounting treatment of the current period, based on the accounting equation or double-entry The principle of accounting is a specialized method of summarizing and calculating all records of each account in the current period to test their correctness. Through trial balance, the correctness of accounting records can be checked, and the reasons for incorrect accounting records can be found out and adjustments can be made to provide accurate information for the preparation of accounting statements.

Under the debit and credit accounting method, based on the basic principles of double-entry accounting for debits and credits, there are two main methods of trial balance: the current period balance method and the balance balance method.

(1) The balance method for the current period

The balance method for the current period refers to adding up the debits and credits of all accounts in the current period. Finally, a trial balance method is used to test the correctness of the account processing of the current period's balance by using the accounting rules of "everything borrowed must be credited, and the debit and credit must be equal". The trial balance formula is as follows:

The total debit amount of all accounts in the current period = the total credit amount of all accounts in the current period

The principle of this trial balance method is: when preparing accounting entries in normal times, "if there is a loan, there must be a credit" ", debits and credits must be equal", and after being recorded in the relevant accounts and aggregated, it must also be "debits and credits must be equal". The current period's occurrence method and the balancing method are mainly used to check the correctness of the economic transactions that occurred in the current period when handling various accounts.

(2) Balance balance method

The balance balance method refers to adding up all the debit amounts and all the credit amounts of the account balance at the end of the accounting period, using "assets = A trial balance method to test the correctness of accounting treatment based on the balance principle of "liabilities + owners' equity".

The trial balance formula is as follows:

The debit ending balance of all accounts = the credit ending balance of all accounts

The basic principle of the balance balance method: in debit and credit Under the accounting method, the ending balance of the asset account is on the debit side, and the ending balance of the liability and owner's equity accounts is on the credit side. Since there is a balance relationship of "assets = liabilities + owners' equity", the total debit side ending balance of all accounts is Should equal the total ending credit balance of all accounts. The balance balancing method mainly checks and infers the correctness of account processing through various account balances.

If the trial calculation is unbalanced, it means that the account records must be wrong. If the trial calculation is balanced, it means that the account records are basically correct, but not necessarily completely correct. This is because some errors do not affect the balance between lenders and borrowers. If a certain economic transaction is re-recorded, omitted or recorded in the wrong account in the relevant account, it cannot be discovered through a trial balance. But a trial balance is still an effective way to check that account records are correct.

5. Advantages of the debit and credit accounting method

(1) The scientific use of the accounting symbols of "debit" and "credit" fully reflects the ins and outs of capital movement. The relationship between opposites is unified, and the accounting method system is scientific and rigorous.

(2) The accounting rule of "everything borrowed must be credited, and the credit must be equal" is very convenient to apply. When preparing each accounting entry, the corresponding relationship between the accounts can be clearly seen, which facilitates timely checking of the correctness of the accounting records, thereby laying a good foundation for further accounting processing.

(3) Since the debits and credits in each accounting entry are self-balanced, it provides convenience for daily self-examination of accounting processing and the trial balance at the end of the period. The trial balance method is easy to understand, convenient and easy to operate.

For beginners, the difficulty in learning the debit and credit accounting method is that "debit" and "credit" cannot simply represent the increase or decrease in the account content. In fact, this difficulty is not difficult to overcome. As long as you can memorize the increase and decrease meanings of "borrow" and "credit" and perform appropriate targeted exercises, you can master it. We should be clear that under the debit and credit accounting method, the two accounting symbols "debit" and "credit" are given the dual meanings of increase and decrease, which makes the debit and credit accounting method have the above advantages and become the most scientific Double-entry accounting method.