DIRECTIONS FOR CLOSING A SET OF BOOKS. 757 



2nd. Make a statement of all the Resources and Liabilities of the firm, 

 (See 20 and 21.) Make this statement in the form of the Trial Balance 

 illustrated in paragraphs 810 and 812, entering the Resources in the debit 

 column and the Liabilities in the credit. Include the private accounts of 

 each of the partners in this statement, the same as any personal accounts. 



3rd. Find the difference between the sum total of the Liabilities and 

 the sum total of the Resources, and this difference will be the present 

 gross worth ofthejirm. 



4th. Find the net worth of the firm at commencement of business (the 

 sum total of all the partners' original investments), then, find the differ- 

 ence between the now present gross worth and the then present net worth of 

 same which difference will be the net business gain or net business loss 

 for the firm if worth more now than then, of course a gain ; and if worth 

 less now than then, a loss. 



5th. If a net business gain, credit each partner's Stock account fur his 

 share of such gain ; if a net business loss, debit each partner's Stock ac- 

 count for his share of such loss. 



Gth. Close each Partner's Private account and carry the balance of 

 same to their respective Stock accounts. If the debit side of a Private 

 account be the larger, the difference between the two sides is carried to 

 the debit side of the Stock account; if the credit side be the larger, the 

 difference between the two sides is carried to the credit side of the Stock 

 account. 



7th. the difference between the two sides of the respective Stock 

 accounts is now found, which difference is the present net worth of each 

 and this is the object in view in closing the books to find the present 

 luorth of each of the partners. This concludes the closing of the bo> 



S.%.Y /,' -There are some firms that keep their books by Single 



Entry and allow the same to run several years without closing them, 

 cither nut wanting to take the trouble to find out how much lost or gained 

 by clo-i: . or worse still, not knowing the proceedings for doin^ 



so, and they thus allow them to run from year to year, until finally, t 

 "death in the family," or one of the members of the lirm wish, 

 withdraw, and then it becomes necessary to close the books to find the 

 worth f each ; which closing is done according to instructions 

 j^iv. n in this article. 



In making a statement of the Resources and Liabilities, the Private ac- 

 counts ,,f all the members must be included, in order to ascertain the 



I of tie- firm ; and afterwards, the-e Pri- 

 vate account- must tinally bo closed and carried into the ve Stock 



