What does a trial balance attempt to prove?

• A. That assets exceed liabilities in the ledger.
• B. That the ledger total debits equal total credits after postings.
• C. That total debits equal total credits in the ledger after postings.
• D. That cash balance equals bank statement.

Answer: (C)

In double-entry accounting, every transaction has equal debits and credits, so a trial balance checks whether the ledger is arithmetically balanced after postings by summing all debit balances and all credit balances. When those totals match, it indicates the postings are in balance and ready for financial statement preparation. This is why the best choice states that total debits equal total credits in the ledger after postings. It does not, however, guarantee that there are no errors in the records—errors such as misposted amounts, omissions, or compensating mistakes can still exist. And it’s not about matching cash with the bank statement; that’s a separate bank reconciliation process.