Multiple choice: 1. Journalizing does not include A. Debiting account(s) that are affected. B. Crediting account(s) that are affected. C. Posting the debits and credits to the accounts. D. Entering the date. 2. Corrections in accounts should be made by A. Correction fluid. B. Neat erasure. C. The ruling method. D. A permanent marker.
The Correct Answer and Explanation is:
Correct answers
C. Posting the debits and credits to the accounts
C. The ruling method
Detailed explanation (≈ 325 words)
1. What “journalizing” really covers
Journalizing is the first formal step in the accounting cycle after a transaction is analyzed. In a general journal each entry is recorded chronologically to create a permanent, time–stamped history of the business’s economic events. A complete journal entry normally contains (a) the date of the transaction, (b) the debit account(s) and amount(s), (c) the credit account(s) and amount(s), and (d) a brief narration or explanation. Notice that all of these elements occur inside the journal itself. After the entry has been journalized, the information is later posted to the individual ledger accounts so that balances can be updated and a trial balance prepared. Because posting happens in a separate record—the ledger—it is not considered part of the journalizing function. Therefore option C (“Posting the debits and credits to the accounts”) is the one activity that does not belong in the journalizing process, while the other three options—debiting, crediting, and dating—are integral to it.
2. How errors should be corrected in accounting records
Once information is written in a journal or ledger, it becomes part of the legal, auditable record of the entity. Altering that record with correction fluid, erasing, or aggressive over‑writing violates both the principle of audit trail integrity and most national statutes or professional codes of ethics that demand records be complete and unaltered. The accepted fix is the ruling (or line‑through) method: draw a single line through the erroneous figure so that it remains readable, write the correct amount or text just above it, and add an explanatory notation (often initialed and dated). This technique keeps the original entry visible for reviewers while clearly signaling that an error has been discovered and rectified. Under computerized systems the same idea is implemented with system‑generated “correcting entries” that leave the original transaction intact and create a new reversing or adjusting line. Because the ruling method uniquely balances transparency, legality, and practical ease, professional guides—such as the AICPA’s documentation standards and most textbook treatments of bookkeeping—identify it as the proper way to correct mistakes. Hence option C is the only choice that meets accepted accounting practice, while options A, B, and D all undermine record reliability.