Rounding

Rounding in Financial Statements

To make things easier on the eye, figures in financial statements are rounded to the nearest dollar. Instead of displaying $267.39, they will show $267, for example.

Because of this, the rounded figures may not add up to the displayed total. The cents are just hidden, not ignored.

Example:

Your Statements are showing the following:

Expenses:

 Wages                                          $ 56,379       (actual:$56,379.49)

 Office Expenses                          $   1,533        (actual:$1,533.35)

Total                                              $ 57,913       (actual:$57,912.84)

The rounded wages and office expenses only add up to $57,912, not the $57,913 shown. However, all individual figures are clearly stated correctly rounded.

Some people find this undermines the credibility of the financial statements, or object for other reasons. The choices are:

1.) Display cents for all figures.

2.) Display one of the figures rounded incorrectly (for example, $1,534 for office expenses) to make them add up to the desired total.

3.) Accept as is.