Which ledgers collectively are considered subsidiary ledgers?

• A. Receivables ledger and Payables ledger
• B. General ledger
• C. Cash book
• D. Trial balance

Answer: (A)

Subsidiary ledgers provide the detailed records that sit beneath the general ledger’s control accounts. They keep track of individual amounts for each customer and each supplier, while the general ledger holds the overall totals through control accounts like Accounts Receivable and Accounts Payable. The detailed balances in these subsidiary ledgers roll up into those control accounts in the general ledger, giving a complete picture with both detail and summary.

So, the collection of ledgers that records each customer’s balances and each supplier’s balances—the receivables ledger and the payables ledger—are the classic examples of subsidiary ledgers. The general ledger is the main ledger, not a subsidiary. The cash book records cash transactions, and the trial balance is a summary of balances from the ledgers, not a subsidiary ledger itself.