The ultimate objective of the final accounting procedure is the preparation of a Balance Sheet. A Balance Sheet is not an account forming part of the double-entry system; it is a statement prepared from the accounts. The object of the Balance Sheet is to show the financial position of a business or venture at a particular point of time. The financial position is demonstrated by a statement of assets and liabilities, including also the funds to which the net capital of the business has been allocated.

The Balance Sheet is drawn up from the capital accounts in the ledger after the profit or loss has been arrived at by transferring the balances on the revenue accounts to a summary account such as the conventional Trading and Profit and Loss Account. The balance of profit not withdrawn from the business is part of the capital of the business, and thus the profit and Loss Account (or its extension in the form of an appropriation account) becomes a capital account. The balance on this account must, therefore, appear on the Balance Sheet.