Which document provides the source data for financial statements (the primary ledger reference)?

Which document provides the source data for financial statements (the primary ledger reference)?

• A. Trial balance
• B. General ledger postings
• C. Summary of accounts in the general ledger
• D. Balance sheet

Answer: (C)

The summary of accounts in the general ledger provides the consolidated balances for every account, and those ending balances are exactly what you pull to prepare financial statements. It acts as the primary reference because it shows the complete, up-to-date picture of assets, liabilities, equity, revenues, and expenses in one place, forming the backbone of the balance sheet and income statement.

The trial balance is a helpful check that the ledger’s debits and credits balance, but it’s a step in the process, not the final source document used to assemble the statements. General ledger postings are the individual journal entries feeding the ledger, not a consolidated source for statements. The balance sheet itself is the financial statement, not the source document.