be perfect simplicity to hopeless confusion, when the ac- 3. It makes the understanding of the entries and the explanation of them to other persons much easier than the use of the cash book, journal, and ledger, because all the transactions of a period are before one's eyes at a glance, with their effect on the ledger accounts, the condition of all of which can be readily grasped without the turning of pages. The next chapter presents a set of transactions of a typical administratorship carried through the synoptic. § 585. The Realization Account No matter what style of books is adopted, there should be kept as a subsidiary record a list of the inventory items with the appraised value of each. Maintaining general ledger accounts with each group of inventory assets (see § 578) will not serve the purpose, because the schedule required for the final accounting must, to be complete, show the realization on each sale. (See § 555.) Even if this were not so, it is necessary to keep this record in some form for convenient reference as to what is unsold and to facilitate an audit of the accounts, whether by an interested person or a professional accountant. This detail of the realization on the assets is most easily shown by a schedule in six columns (see Form 27), the first containing the value of each asset (including cash) as appraised in the inventory; the second showing the amount of cash realized from each asset; the third, the difference between the first and second if the amount in the second column opposite the item is lower than the amount in the first (see § 603, "Loss on Realization"); the fourth, that difference when the amount in the second column opposite the item is higher than that in the first (see § 603, “Gain on Realization"); and the Caldicott, Executorship Accounts. fifth, the appraised value of assets distributed without realization or of deferred expenses charged against income. (See § 608.) When it is desired to close the books it is necessary to carry over to the sixth column the appraised value of all the assets which have not been disposed of. The total of this column, plus the totals of the second, third, and fifth, minus the total of the fourth, must equal the total of the first, if no error has been made in recording or adding. The Realization account thus prepared has been spoken of above as a "subsidiary" record. It is subsidiary to the Inventory account on the general ledger. This means that the difference between the total debits and the total credits in the Realization account must always equal the balance in the Inventory account. In other words, the sum of the totals of the entries made in the first and fourth columns at any date, minus the sum of the totals of the second, third, and fifth, would be the total of the sixth if it were filled in, and also the balance in the Inventory account on the general ledger or synoptic at the same date, since that is the appraised value of the unsold assets on that date. Some accountants have felt that the keeping of the Realization account in addition to the careful record of the synoptic or other set of books involves unnecessary duplication. It is doubtful if this is true. The Realization account shows at a glance the assets which have and have not been disposed of, two things which the executor would otherwise have to search out frequently unless he checked a copy of the inventory as he disposed of the assets, a method which would easily lead to errors because of the lack of a reconciliation with the general books. The keeping of the Realization account has the further advantage that the most difficult schedules of the final accounting are thereby prepared, whereas otherwise the information for those schedules would have to be separately secured at the time of closing. The Realization account is a schedule show ing the amount realized on each of a list of assets; the general books are a financial history. § 586. Assets Not in Inventory It is rarely possible at the beginning of an administration to discover all the property of the decedent. Very often there are accruals of various sorts which are unknown to the executor until he begins to collect the assets. Sometimes an entire bank deposit will be unknown at the time the inventory is prepared. Such after-discovered assets may be handled in the same manner as inventoried assets, and in fact are most advantageously handled by an extension of the same form. (See end of Form 27.) For after-discovered assets the amount shown in the first column is the amount realized upon a sale, if the asset is sold, or, in other cases, the fair market value. There will thus be no gain or loss on the realization of after-discovered assets except in cases of theft, fire, etc., because the valuations at which they are to be charged in are not entered until they are disposed of and the charging-out values determined. Each such asset should be listed for memorandum purposes as soon as discovered, although the value will probably not be added until later. If the asset is not disposed of before the books are closed, the procedure outlined in § 627 should be followed. § 587. The Check Books The check stubs should show the number of each check, its date, the name of the payee, the description or the nature of such payment, and the amount, as for instance: "No. 1, April 25, 1900, Smith and Jones, Undertakers, bill dated March 25, $175." By thus depositing all moneys belonging to the estate in the bank account of the estate and by making all payments on account of the estate by checks on the same bank ac- § 588. Diary The representative should record in a diary the details of all important events, so that he will always have at hand memoranda from which he can refresh his memory when necessary. The notations in this book should be cross-referenced to entries on the books of account and to the folios of other estate files or public documents. By this practice much time will be saved in locating the records which have to do with the notations. Examples of the information which should appear in the diary are: 1. Date of reading of will. 2. Steps taken by personal representative before formal appointment. 3. Date of employment of counsel and reasons for choice, with notations as to agreement for compensation. 4. Efforts to locate heirs or proper distributees. 5. Efforts to collect assets. 6. Details of conversations with attorneys, inheritance tax officers, etc. 7. Dates of signing of various court orders, such as that requiring advertising for claims. It is a good practice to paste in the diary printed copies of all notices, advertisements, and announcements incident to the probate and subsequent procedure. § 589. Other Books Innumerable other records might be suggested. Memoranda should be kept showing when interest, rents, etc., both Gottsberger, Accountant's Guide. receivable and payable, are due. Larger estates require the use of investment record books, notes payable registers, etc. As none of these are in any way peculiar to estate accounting they will not be discussed in detail, although a few forms of additional records are described in § 697. The fiduciary who is handling an estate whose affairs are so complicated as to necessitate the use of such records as these, would do well either to make sure that he has a competent bookkeeper or to arrange for the services of public accountants along one of the lines suggested in § 559. REVIEW QUESTIONS 1. Is the choice of forms used in probate accounting of vital importance? What is the object of the books that are kept? 2. Why is double entry superior to single entry? 3. Describe the form of book recommended in this work. What are three of the many names given it? 4. Describe how the double-entry principle is utilized in the synoptic? 5. Give the three advantages of the synoptic. 6. What is the object of a realization account? How are six columns used to keep this account? How do they balance when correctly kept? To what is the realization account subsidiary? What are the advantages of the realization account? 7. How may assets not in inventory be shown in the realization account? 8. How should check stubs be kept? 9. Why should a diary be kept? What should be recorded in the diary? 10. What other records may be kept? |