Question

Difficulty: MediumDebtors and Creditors Control Accounts for Missing Figures

Mr. Adebayo, a timber merchant who operates an incomplete records system, extracted the following details regarding his trade creditors for the year ended 31 December 2025:

Transaction DetailsAmount (₦)
Trade creditors balance at 1 January 202564,000
Cheque payments to suppliers310,000
Discount received8,500
Returns outwards12,500
Contra settlement with sales ledger5,000
Trade creditors balance at 31 December 202578,000

What is the total credit purchases for the year?

  1. A
    ₦308,000
  2. B
    ₦333,000
  3. C
    ₦345,000
  4. ₦350,000Answer

Answer

The total credit purchases for the year is ₦350,000.
To find the missing total credit purchases figure, a Purchases Ledger (Creditors) Control Account is reconstructed. All transactions reducing the liability—payments by cheque (₦310,000), discount received (₦8,500), returns outwards (₦12,500), contra settlement (₦5,000), and the closing balance (₦78,000)—are posted to the debit side, giving a sum of ₦414,000. Subtracting the opening balance of ₦64,000 yields credit purchases of ₦350,000.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the items that reduce creditors (Debit entries in the Purchases Ledger Control Account)
Cheque payments (₦310,000) + Discount received (₦8,500) + Returns outwards (₦12,500) + Contra set-off (₦5,000) + Closing balance (₦78,000)
Creditors are liability accounts; items that decrease the liability are recorded on the debit side along with the closing balance.
2
Calculate the total of the debit side of the Purchases Ledger Control Account
310,000+8,500+12,500+5,000+78,000=414,000310,000 + 8,500 + 12,500 + 5,000 + 78,000 = ₦414,000
The control account debit side total must equal the credit side total.
3
Deduct the opening creditors balance from the total debit side to find credit purchases
414,00064,000=350,000₦414,000 - 64,000 = ₦350,000
Credit purchases increase creditors liability and represent the missing credit side entry.

Key Concept

Reconstruction of Purchases Ledger Control Account to calculate missing credit purchases
Rate this question