Chapter -1

Introduction

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 Chapter -1

A Chartered accountant is one who is specialized in accounting, auditing and taxation.

He also serves as a management and corporate caretaker. In recent times, accountancy has
become popular as a profession. The services of a CA are required in money matters even
in a small business .Moreover , according to the Company act only CA’s in professional
practice are allowed to be appointed as auditors of companies in India. A chartered
accountant is a person who is accepted as a member of the Institute of Chartered accountants
of India (ICAI) after having passed the final examination of the Chartered accountancy
course conducted by the institute. The institution of Chartered accountants of India (ICAI) is
a statutory body established by an Act of Parliament, viz. The chartered accountant Act, 1949
for regulating the profession of Chartered Accountancy in the country. The Institute ,
functions under the administrative control of the ministry of corporate affairs, Government of
India. The ICAI is the second largest professional body of chartered accountants in the world
with a strong tradition of services to the Indian economy in public interest.

The CA profession is contributing a lot to the economy. But mostly it’s a supporting role , not
a leading role. The major role in the economic development is played by entrepreneurs,
businessmen and the government. People who bring together various resources to produce
goods or services in an economy.

Chartered accountants don’t bring together any resources to create any significant economic
Development, they are resources themselves. Most CAs help the economy indirectly through
the following activities

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Supporting in tax compliance – This includes liaison with government authorities,
representing clients in courts, ensuring smooth business operations by taking over the
complex tax compliance part. For example, without the CA profession, changes like GST will
be very hard to implement.

Financing – Creating opportunities by arranging for business finance. They are helpful in
making calculations and convincing banks about the credit worthiness of entrepreneurs .
On a large scale too, many CAs working with investment banks help to arrange some key
Business deals between organizations.

Auditing – which includes the redundant but still necessary function of control procedures.
This is to prevent leakages from the economy and stand vigil to check on creation of illegal
properties , black money and frauds etc.

Accounting – Bringing together professional standards of accounting in changing business

environment and to accommodate new developments in business. This ensures
comparability , reliability and investor faith, which is good for the economy.

General business support - Things that chartered accountants do can be classified as

general support and consulting services. They can do this because of their knowledge
about laws, taxes, compliance, financial markets , investments, valuations, banking ,
regulations etc. It’s too many things, but mostly for supporting roles only .

Filing of return – The main task with the chartered accountant is the filing of return .
Chartered accountant is a professional who is authorized by Certificate of Chartered
accountants of India and is a authorized person who can file the returns on the behalf of
his clients.

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Introduction

This report is based on “ A study on bank reconciliation statement (BRS) in accounts “ on

Gunasheela and assoicates of CA Firm Bangalore. Bank reconciliation statement (BRS) is
a accounts of CA firm, it is study on bank reconciliation statement (BRS) control by the
company.

Meaning of bank

An organization which keeps money safely for its customers; the office or building of such an
organization. You can take money out, save, borrow or exchange money at a bank.
A bank statement is a document that summarizes the activity on your bank account over a
specific period of time. It shows all your deposits, withdrawals, interest accrued, opening
balance, closing balance and account information.

Definiton of bank
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 A bank is a financial institution that deals with money, offering services like accepting
deposits, providing loans, and facilitating financial transactions. They act as intermediaries
between savers and borrowers, channeling funds to support economic activity. The word
bank is used as a noun to refer to a place where people deposit money or to a long mound or
slope, like a riverbank. Bank is also used as a verb meaning to bounce off of something.

Types of bank :

1. Commercial Banks:
 Public Sector Banks:
Owned and managed by the government, these banks are often large and have a wide
network.

 Private Sector Banks:

Owned by private individuals or organizations, these banks are known for their customer-
centric approach and innovative products.

 Foreign Banks:
Banks with headquarters outside India but operate within the country.

 Regional Rural Banks (RRBs):

Specialized banks that cater to the financial needs of rural areas, particularly in agriculture
and related activities.

2. Cooperative Banks:
 Urban Cooperative Banks: Operate in urban areas and are often smaller in size
compared to commercial banks.

 Rural Cooperative Banks: Provide banking services to rural communities.

3. Specialized Banks:
 Small Finance Banks: Focus on providing financial services to underserved
populations, including small businesses and low-income individuals.

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  Payment Banks: Offer basic banking services like payments and remittances.
 Local Area Banks: Banks that operate within a limited geographical area.
4. Other Notable Types:
 Central Bank: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) regulates and supervises the
entire banking system in India.

 Development Banks: Focus on long-term financing of development projects.

 Differentiated Banks: Banks that specialize in specific sectors or customer
segments.

What is reconciliation statement ?

A reconciliation statement is a document that compares two sets of financial data to identify
and resolve any discrepancies. It ensures that financial records are accurate and up-to-date. A
common example is a bank reconciliation statement, which compares a company's recorded
bank account balance with the balance listed by the bank.

Meaning of bank reconciliation statement (BRS)

Bank reconciliation statement is a report or statement prepared by the business to match the
bank transactions recorded in the books of accounts with the bank statement. The bank
reconciliation statement helps to check the correctness of the entries recorded in the books of
accounts and thereby, ensures the accuracy of bank balances.

Why bank reconciliation statements are prepared

With the definition of a bank reconciliation statement, you might be wondering why bank
transactions recorded in the books of accounts do not match with the bank statement? There
are plenty of reasons and some the common ones are listed below:
 Cheques Issued but not cleared in the bank

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  Difference in cheque deposited and cheque credited date
 Date of cheque issued towards payment and date on which it is debited is different
 Cheque issued or received is not presented to the bank for clearing
 Bank interests, charges etc. are not accounted for. Reason being it is not known till
you reconcile.
 Banks can also do mistake in debiting or crediting the transactions
 Just like banks, you too can make mistake in accounting the bank transactions in
books of accounts and so on….
Due to the reasons listed above, the closing bank balance in your books of accounts
and actual bank balance as per bank will not match. This means, the bank balance
what you think you have it your bank is not the one available in the bank. Deciding
basis the book balance will put you in an uncomfortable situation.
To avoid those situations, bank reconciliation statements are prepared. This statements simply
matches the bank transactions as per company books with bank statement so that you always
have accurate bank balance reflecting in the books of accounts.

When does a business prepare bank reconciliation Statement?

Depending on the volume and value of bank transactions, the reconciliation activities are
carried out daily, weekly, fortnightly etc. If the volume or value of transactions is higher, the
reconciliation activities are carried on daily to mitigate the risk of payment/cheque bounce.

How to prepare a bank reconciliation statement?

Bank reconciliation statement (BRS) involves the process of identifying the

transactions individually and match it with the bank statement such that the closing
balance of bank in books matches with the bank statement. For one which is not
matched, suitable adjustments or correction will be done in the book to match it

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Benefits of using accounting software for preparing BRS

Comparing the two statements with a long list of transactions is stressful and error-prone
using the manual and conventional method of bank reconciliation.
The only way to overcome this is to ‘automate’ the bank reconciliation process using
accounting software. It saves time and effort in day-to-day operations. More importantly, you
get accurate and near real-time information on bank balance in books of accounts.
Here, automating bank reconciliation is nothing but using accounting software to record the
business transactions including the bank transactions such that the bank reconciliation
statements are automatically prepared. Also, accounting software will help you automatically
reconcile the bank statements with minimum efforts.
The following are benefits of automating the bank reconciliation process using accounting
software.
 Easy to reconcile: Using an accounting software will help you to prepare a bank
reconciliation statement automatically and reconcile with minimum efforts.

 Saves time and efforts: No matter whether there are 50 or 500 transactions, the
efforts and time to reconcile is the same. Since it is reconciled automatically, you will
save a lot of time and efforts involved reconciling the bank transactions.

 Detecting unaccounted transactions is easier: Get to know the new

transactions(unaccounted) like bank charges or bank interests etc. and easily account
and reconcile.

What is the purpose of a bank reconciliation statement?

The purpose of this bank reconciliation process is to detect any errors in recording
transactions. It also means the business has an up-to-date and accurate view of its
exact bank balance on a specified date. This can help spot any unusual or irregular
payments that might indicate fraud.

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How often should you produce bank reconciliation statements?

The more frequently you produce bank reconciliations, the more accurate your
financial management will be, with reduced chances of error or irregularities. It’s
good practice to prepare a bank reconciliation statement every time you receive a
statement from the bank - for large businesses this may be on a daily basis. For most
organisations, bank reconciliation usually occurs at the end of each week.

Reasons for preparing a bank reconciliation statement

There are several reasons why bank reconciliation is necessary. These include:

Identifying any accounting errors :

Accounting errors, such as missed or double payments, are not uncommon. Bank
reconciliation helps you to spot such accounting errors early. Most businesses want to
know of any issues before they cause embarrassing (or worse) situations.
You don’t want your cheque or payment to bounce on an important customer. And
your team doesn’t want to have to deal with calls from irate suppliers. A bank
reconciliation will ensure you know exactly which payments have been released.
Many companies are realising the benefits of investing in digital finance software and
automating key processes, including bank reconciliations. This drives greater
efficiency in their business and saves company resources. It also allows finance teams
to spend more time on value-add tasks, such as evaluating data to inform company
strategy and key decisions.

Managing risk:
Bank reconciliations will help you to spot fraudulent transactions and reduce the risk
of transactions that could cause penalties and late fees.

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Tracking interest and fees:
Regular bank reconciliations ensure you can keep track of all interest payments, fees
or penalties your bank might add to your account. You can then add or subtract such
amounts in your books.

Confirming receivables :
Bank reconciliations allow you to confirm all your receipts. You’ll avoid the
embarrassment of chasing payments that have already been received and you’ll spot
any entries for receipts you didn’t deposit.

Cash control :
Another important reason to perform a bank reconciliation is to improve internal
control over your company's cash. Ideally, the reconciliation will be done by someone
other than the person handling and recording receipts and payments. This reduces the
risk of anyone using the company's cash improperly.

Improve accuracy and confidence in your balance sheet :

You (and other stakeholders) need to know that the amount of cash that is reported on
your company's balance sheet is accurate. The purpose of a bank reconciliation is to
ensure the additions and deductions on the bank statement are compared (or
reconciled) with the items that are entered in your company's general ledger.
If there are differences, such as outstanding payments or deposits in transit, they can
be noted as timing differences. As most companies use the double-entry system of
accounting, any omission or error in the company's general ledger cash account also
means that at least one other general ledger account will have a corresponding
omission or error. The bank reconciliation could prevent this omission from
occurring.
Modern bank reconciliation software fully automates these processes. It enables you
to:

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 Periodically reconcile your bank accounts to account for charges and unanticipated
Transactions .
 Save time and deal with discrepancies faster with live bank feeds .
 Close each month faster and with greater confidence.

Importance of Bank Reconciliation Statement

Generally while making a comparison between the company’s cash book and bank
balance, the balance does not tally. Therefore, it is important to determine the cause
for the difference and display them in the bank reconciliation statement and then tally
the two balances. The bank reconciliation statement helps in explaining the
differences in the amount between the company’s cash book and bank balance. The
cash book and the bank passbook differences are caused by:

 The difference in timing recording the transactions: The difference in timing can be
caused by many factors which are:
 Bank-issued cheque but not yet deposited for payment .
 Paid cheque in the bank but yet not cleared .
 Bank made direct debit from the customer’s side .
 Cheque/ amount deposited directly to the bank account .
 Dividends and Interest collected by the bank .
 Bank made direct payment from the customer’s side .
 Cheques deposited/bills discounted dishonoured .

 Errors made by the company or by the bank: In a few occasions, the error in two
balances can be made from the bank side or in the company’s cash book. Few errors
are as follows:
 Errors made while registering the transaction by the company .
 Errors made while registering the transaction by the bank .

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 Types of Bank reconciliation statement (BRS)

1. Periodic reconciliation

Periodic reconciliation involves checking the transactions of corresponding accounts

periodically, usually on a monthly basis. This approach ensures that inconsistencies are
proactively detected and corrected before they become a problem. Through regular
reconciliation, financial records remain accurate and up-to-date.

2. Continuous reconciliation

Continuous reconciliation is a process that involves matching transactions in real-time or

on a daily basis. This strategy enables businesses to keep their financial records
consistently accurate. Continuous reconciliation is especially useful for firms with high
transaction volumes since it helps to swiftly discover and rectify differences.

3. Inter-company reconciliation

Intercompany reconciliation is a process that involves comparing and matching

intercompany transactions between different companies under the same organization. This
becomes critical for firms that have several subsidiaries or divisions, whereby

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 intercompany transactions should be correctly captured to ensure accuracy in
consolidated financial reporting.

Purpose of bank reconciliation statement

Bank reconciliation plays an important role in getting detailed visibility into cash availability,
accurate reporting, fraud detection, faster financial close, and facilitating seamless audits.
Regular bank reconciliations can help businesses proactively identify any conflicting items
on bank statements and take prompt actions. It is imperative for businesses to be prepared for
regular bank reconciliations and to adopt best practices in reconciliation, as transaction
volume increases. Here are some of reasons why businesses should prioritize bank
reconciliation processes :

 Accuracy: It ensures the accuracy of financial records through the

identification and rectification of discrepancies.
 Fraud Detection: It helps detect unauthorized transactions and probable
fraud by the regular review and transaction matching.

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 Financial Control: It gives better control of cash and proper management
of overall finance since all transactions are accurately recorded.
 Compliance: Ensures compliance with regulatory and audit requirements,
providing detailed and accurate financial statements.
 Error Identification: Identifies errors in both the company’s records and
the bank’s statements, ensuring all transactions are accurately recorded.
 Cash Flow Management: It assists in effective cash flow management by
providing a clear picture of available funds and financial health.

Manual Bank Reconciliation vs Automated Bank Reconciliation

Bank reconciliation can be done manually or automatically with specialized

accounting software. Each strategy has its own attributes, benefits, and downsides
. The table below compares manual and automated bank reconciliation.

Aspect Manual Bank Automated Bank Reconciliation

Reconciliation

Process Involves manually Uses software to automatically match transact

comparing bank intervention
statements with
financial records

Time Time-consuming, Significantly faster, processes large volumes o

Consumptio especially for large
n volumes of
transactions

Accuracy Prone to human Higher accuracy due to automation which red

error during data
entry and
comparison

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 Resource Requires Requires less manual effort, freeing up staff fo
Requirement considerable
human resources
and effort

Error Errors may go Quickly identifies discrepancies and errors

Detection unnoticed longer
due to manual
oversight

Cost Lower initial costs Higher initial cost for software but lower long
but higher ongoing
labor costs

Scalability Challenging to Easily scalable to accommodate increasing tra

scale with business
growth

Reporting Limited reporting Comprehensive reporting features, providing

capabilities, often analysis
requiring additional
manual effort

Compliance It is more difficult Simplifies compliance and audit processes wi

& Audit to maintain records
thorough records
for audits

Real-Time Typically Enables real-time or daily reconciliation

Processing reconciled
periodically
(monthly,
quarterly)

Benefits of automated bank reconciliations

Automated bank reconciliation has significant advantages over manual processing,

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 changing the way firms handle their financial data. Using innovative technology and
software, automated bank reconciliation improves efficiency, accuracy, and overall
financial management. Here are some of the major advantages of automated bank
reconciliation:

 Fast and accurate

AI-based anomaly detection enables faster financial close and accurate reconciliation
of bank statements and general ledger (GL) and sub-ledger, saving accountants from
manual work and making the process faster and more accurate
.

 Proactive risk assessment

AI-powered reconciliation allows accountants to prioritize reconciliations by risk,

value thresholds, and other key parameters. They can auto-assign reconciliations to
users or user groups.

 Improved visibility and control

Real-time dashboard offers visibility to all stakeholders on the status of reconciliation,

dependencies, and any required action.

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  Standardized data documentation

Automation software for account reconciliation allows users to leverage pre-

configured reconciliation templates (or create their own templates) to accelerate the
reconciliation process. Transactional data analysis, computations, and document
creation can be done in the same template.

 Increased Efficiency

Automated bank reconciliation significantly reduces the time and effort required to
reconcile accounts by quickly matching transactions, allowing finance teams to focus
on more strategic tasks.
.

 Real-time reconciliation

Automated systems enable real-time or daily reconciliation, providing businesses with

up-to-date financial information and improving cash flow management.

Example of Bank Reconciliation

To understand bank reconciliation better, let’s look at a simplified example of Company

X:
 Bank Statement Balance: On March 31st, the bank statement shows a balance of
$15,000.
 Outstanding Checks: The company issued checks worth $1,200 that have not yet
cleared the bank.
 Deposits in Transit: The company made deposits totaling $1,000 that the bank
has not yet recorded.

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Reconciliation Calculation:

 Start with the bank statement balance: $15,000

 Subtract outstanding checks: $15,000 – $1,200 = $13,800
 Add deposits in transit: $13,800 + $1,000 = $14,800

The adjusted bank balance is $14,800, which should now be compared to the company’s
cash account balance after considering any errors or omissions.

Here, when we compare the company’s cash account balance ($14,200) and the adjusted
bank balance ($14,800), we see a difference of $600. Company X can now go back to
their accounts, identify the cause of this difference, and make adjustments accordingly

Bank reconciliation statement (BRS) Format .

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Advantages of Bank Reconciliation
1.Avoiding Mistakes

No matter how reliable the systems are, human errors in the system are always possible.
Your bank might have made an entry error that shows a larger balance in your bank
account than it actually is. However, you can rectify the mistakes with reconciliation by
pointing them out after your reconciliation.

2. Fraud Detection
Bank reconciliation helps you identify fraudulent transactions in your account. When your
records don’t match the bank’s records, you will question this mismatch and its reason. On
the other hand, if you do not monitor your bank account by reconciling it, the fraudulent
transactions may not get your notice. Hence, early identification of fraudulent transactions
may help you recover your money back. And it also prevents any such transaction from
happening again.

3.Tracking Account Fees

Records from the bank will show you all the fees charged to your account. These fee
payments are typically not present in the records of the bank’s customers. Also, you are often
not aware of different kinds of bank charges or taxes present in your account. Reconciliation
helps you verify that all the fees charged by your bank are valid and as per your account
terms. Also, if you keep reconciling your bank accounts regularly, you are more likely to
notice when your bank starts charging you a new fee.

4.Keeps the Account in Good Standing

Bank reconciliation helps keep your bank accounts in good standing. When you accurately
know what you have in your account, you are less likely to overdraw money from that
account. Being busy with their hectic schedules, businessmen usually forget to pay their bills

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in due time. So, to get rid of this, businesses usually opt for automatic deduction of monthly
bills from their bank account. Often these bill payments do not appear in the records of
businessmen. Hence, the chances are that the account either gets in an overdraft or misses a
payment. To avoid such situations, bank account reconciliation is a good option.

5.Receivables Tracking
Many customers prefer to pay their dues by cheque. Since the accounting
department of your business receives a number of cheques every month, they
may forget or misplace some cheques, leaving them uncashed. So, if you don’t
reconcile your bank account regularly, you may not get that amount of money in
your bank account. On the other hand, if you sit to reconcile your bank account,
you will notice the difference between your records and your bank’s record.
Matching the transactions will reveal that your records show payments from
your customers, but your bank’s records do not show any such payment. Hence,
bank account reconciliations confirm all your receipts, helping you to identify
the entries for a receipt that you didn’t deposit.

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Disadvantages of Bank Reconciliation
1.Uncleared Cheques Can Create a Mis-match

In your course of business, it can happen that your creditors do not clear a cheque given to
them. Not clearing a cheque means that the creditors do not present it before the bank for the
payment. Now, when you wrote that cheque in favor of the creditor, you would have reduced
your bank balance with the amount of the cheque. However, the creditor does not present the
cheque to the bank, so your actual bank balance remains higher than what you have in your
records. So, when you will sit for the bank reconciliation process next, you will notice a
difference between the two records. Multiple such instances in a single period can make it
very difficult to reconcile the records as there is not a single figure to look out for in the
records.

2.Changes in Dates Recorded by Banks

It may happen that the dates of transactions recorded by your bank are different than your
dates. E.g., when you write a cheque in favor of a creditor, you will record in it your books on
the date you issued the cheque. However, the creditor may clear that cheque after, say, a
month of you writing that cheque. Also, cheques given to you from your accounts receivable
will be recorded by you on the date you receive the cheque, but the bank may process the
payment after 3 days. Multiple such events can confuse you in reconciling your bank
accounts. Not only this, it opens up the possibility of an unlawful transaction from your
account not getting noticed.

3.Too Many Transactions

A bank reconciliation statement can become a headache if you run a big and booming
business with too many transactions from a single bank account. The reasons are quite clear
; first, too many transactions will create a big list of transactions to be checked. Second, the
more the number of transactions, the greater will be the confusion in matching them. Top it

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with the difference in dates of various transactions between you and your bank- the bank
reconciliation process will become a challenge.

Benefits of preparing a BRS

Accounting errors could lead to circumstances that are more than just embarrassing when the
cheques bounce or companies start getting annoying calls from creditors or suppliers for
payments that are already released.

Bank reconciliations assist you in spotting fraud and reducing the risk of transactions that
could cause penalties and late fees. BRS offers several advantages to a business which
includes:

 Detecting errors: A bank reconciliation helps you in spotting accounting errors

that are common to every business. These mistakes include errors such as addition
and subtraction, missed payments and double payments.

 Tracking Interest and Fee: Banks might add interest payments, fees or penalties
to your account. Monthly bank reconciliation allows you to add or subtract such
amounts in your books

 Detecting Fraud: You may not be able to prevent employees from stealing your
money once, however, you could prevent it in future. Bank reconciliations statement
helps you in detecting and spotting fraudulent transactions. It is advisable to employ
an independent person to perform the reconciliations for preventing the accounting
employee from falsifying your books and reconciliations.

 Tracking Receivables: BRS allows you to confirm all your receipts, assisting you to
avoid awkward situations and also identifying entries for receipts that you didn’t deposit.

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Tips to ensure efficient BRS

1. Firstly, it’s essential to have all the required documentation and information in hand.
That means, if all the required documentation and information are at your disposal
you get a better view of things.

2. Avoiding common errors, such as:

1. An error relating to duplication of entries.

2. Not accounting for a transaction that would cause a difference equal to the
missed amount
3. Errors while entering commas and dots, which cause discrepancies that, could
be of significant value. For instance, instead of entering INR 2,401.30,
entering INR 240.13.
4. Transposition errors while entering figures in the books. For instance, instead
of entering INR 221,200, entering INR 212,200.
3. Banks can make mistakes too: It is possible that your bank might have committed a
mistake. They might debit incorrect amounts from your account or credit deposits that
don’t belong to you. For this reason, in case you find errors for which you don’t find
any explanations, or for which you’re in doubt, the best thing is to consult your bank.

4. Reconciling items: Listing differences and reconciling them and then forgetting it is
possible. In case differences keep on accumulating with no action taken, your bank
reconciliation would become meaningless. It is needed that a constant check is kept
on the reconciled transactions so that they are reflected in the right way in the bank
column of the cash book and in the bank statement.

Difference between cashbook and passbook

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A cash book is a financial record that a business uses to record all cash transactions,
including cash sales, cash purchases, and cash payments. A passbook is a small book that a
bank provides to its customers to record their deposits, withdrawals, and other transactions. In
summary, a cash book is used by businesses to record cash transactions while a passbook is
used by bank customers to record their bank transactions.

Cash Book Passbook

A record of all cash transactions in and out A record of all transactions in a bank account,
of a business, including cash sales, cash including deposits, withdrawals, and transfers. It is
purchases, and cash expenses. It is used for maintained by the bank and can be used for record-
internal record-keeping and financial keeping and reconciling account activity. It shows
analysis and helps to track cash flow and account balance at any given time and can be used to
cash balance at any given time. track bank transactions such as direct deposits or
online payments.

This record is maintained by the business This record is maintained by the bank and can be
and is usually a physical book or ledger accessed either in a physical book or through online
that is used to track cash payments, such as account access. It can be used to track account activity
payments made to suppliers or employees. and balance and helps to ensure that all transactions
are recorded accurately.

Cash book is a vital tool for managing the Passbook is a useful tool for managing personal or
financial health of a business and can be business bank accounts and can be used to monitor
used to make important financial decisions. account activity and ensure that all transactions are
recorded accurately.

It also helps to identify any discrepancies It also helps to identify any discrepancies or errors in
or errors in cash transactions and can be bank transactions and can be used to identify any areas
used to identify any areas of improvement of improvement in bank account management.
in cash management.

It is an important document that is used by It is an important document that is used by auditors,

auditors, tax authorities, and other financial tax authorities, and other financial professionals to
professionals to verify the financial health verify the financial health of an individual or business.
of a business.

It helps to ensure that all cash transactions It helps to ensure that all bank transactions are
are recorded accurately and can be used to recorded accurately and can be used to track account
track cash flow and cash balance at any activity and balance at any given time.
given time.

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