So far you have learnt how to record transactions in the accounting books by means of debit and credit entries. At the end of each accounting period the figures in each account are examined in order to summarise the situation they present. This will often, but not always, be a year if you are calculating profit. It will be at least once a month if you want to see what is happening with respect to particular accounts. Probably the most obvious reason for this is to find out how much our customers owe us for goods we have sold to them. In most businesses this.