Routine Checking

(a) Routine Checking — Definition, Scope, Objectives, Advantages, Limitations

Definition. Routine Checking is the day-to-day, mechanical checking of the books of

account that are maintained by the business — verifying casting (totalling), carry-forwards

(page-to-page and ledger-to-ledger), posting from the subsidiary books to the ledger, and

balancing of accounts. It is essentially a check of the ROUTINE, CLERICAL accuracy of the books

as they are written up, performed on an ongoing basis rather than as a special, separate

exercise.

Scope of Routine Checking. Routine checking typically covers:

1. Checking of casting — verifying that the totals of subsidiary books (Cash Book, Sales Book, Purchases Book, etc.) and ledger accounts have been correctly added up.
2. Checking of carry-forwards — verifying that a total carried forward from one page to the next, or from one book to another, has been correctly and completely transferred.
3. Checking of postings — verifying that every entry in a subsidiary book (or the journal) has been correctly posted to the correct account, on the correct side, and for the correct amount, in the ledger.
4. Checking of balancing — verifying that ledger accounts have been correctly balanced (debit total minus credit total, or vice versa, correctly computed and carried down).
5. Marking the checked figures with tick marks (a distinctive symbol used consistently through the audit, so a reviewer can see exactly what has already been verified) as each item is checked.

Objectives of Routine Checking:

1. To ensure the basic arithmetical accuracy of the books of account.
2. To detect clerical errors — errors of casting, carry-forward, posting, and balancing — that could otherwise distort the final accounts.
3. To act as a foundation for the rest of the audit — an auditor cannot meaningfully verify the SUBSTANCE of transactions if the basic arithmetic underlying the books is itself unreliable.
4. To provide a deterrent against casual carelessness in maintaining the books, since staff know the routine mechanical accuracy of their work will be checked.

Advantages of Routine Checking:

1. Simple and mechanical — it can often be delegated to junior audit staff, since it mainly requires care and attention rather than deep judgment.
2. Detects clerical errors reliably, since every relevant figure is actually checked, not merely sampled.
3. Builds a solid foundation for the rest of the audit — once the basic arithmetic of the books is confirmed sound, the auditor can turn attention to the substance of transactions with more confidence.
4. Discourages carelessness among the staff who maintain the books.

Limitations of Routine Checking:

1. Time-consuming and costly, especially for a business with a very large volume of transactions — checking every single casting/posting/carry-forward across thousands of entries is a genuinely heavy workload.
2. Purely mechanical — does not examine the SUBSTANCE of a transaction. Routine checking confirms that ₹10,000 was correctly added and correctly posted; it does NOT tell the auditor …