The primary purpose of a trial balance is to verify that

• A. All accounts are listed with balances
• B. The cash balance matches the bank statement
• C. Total debits equal total credits after posting and to help identify posting errors
• D. To prepare the income statement directly from the balances

Answer: (C)

In double-entry accounting, every transaction affects at least two accounts with equal debits and credits, so the trial balance serves as a check that all postings are arithmetically correct. By listing every general ledger account and totaling the debits and credits, it shows whether these totals match, helping to identify posting errors or arithmetic mistakes before financial statements are prepared. It’s not about comparing cash to the bank statement (that’s a bank reconciliation) and it doesn’t directly produce the income statement from balances—the income statement is prepared after adjustments and classification from the trial balance.