record of a business entity's accounts. The general ledger contains the accounts that make up the entity's financial statements. Separate accounts exist for individual assets, liabilities, stockholders' equity, revenue, and expenses. In some cases, control accounts summarize detail appearing in a SUBSIDIARY LEDGER (e.g., individual customer accounts tying into the accounts receivable account). A trial balance is prepared of the general ledger accounts at the end of the accounting period to assure that total debits equal total credits. The general ledger may be in bound or loose-leaf form, magnetic tape, in computer memory, or other form.