Ledger adjustment

A ledger adjustment corrects how a transaction is recorded while preserving what originally happened. It may reverse a duplicate charge, move an amount between accounts, correct a coding error, recognize an approved credit, or repair an allocation. The adjustment should be additive: the original entry remains visible and the correction links back to it.

An adjustment is not the same as editing a displayed balance. A balance is the calculated result of transactions; changing it directly breaks the explanation. The record should identify the affected entry, amount, effective period, reason code, source evidence, preparer, approver when required, and downstream reports that need to be regenerated.

Timing matters. If a prior month has already been closed or reported, the correction policy should say whether to reopen that period or post a current-period adjustment with a clear reference. The choice depends on materiality, accounting policy, owner reporting, and professional advice. Quietly backdating an entry can make previously issued reports irreproducible.

Frequent adjustments are a control signal, not merely cleanup volume. Repeated rent corrections may indicate a broken renewal workflow; repeated deposit reclassifications may reveal a mapping defect. Review adjustment patterns and repair upstream causes while keeping an immutable sequence of original entry, reversal, corrected entry, approval, and outcome.