Accountant nose
The accountant's nose (the synonymous terms accountant's knee and vacant line are rarely used) is a blocking line that is used to fill free spaces in T- accounts so that nothing can be added afterwards.
It consists of a short horizontal line, on the right in the first row and on the left in the last row of the free space, and a diagonal line that connects the inner ends of the horizontal lines. When handwritten, the line is usually Z-shaped, from which the common name bookkeeper nose results.
If one side of the T-account has fewer positions than the other, there is free space after balancing , which the accountant's nose prevents from being filled later. It "blocks" the blank lines of an account sheet in order to satisfy the legal requirement that accounting records cannot be changed:
“An entry or a record may not be changed in such a way that the original content can no longer be determined. Such changes may not be made, the nature of which leaves it uncertain whether they were made originally or later. "
There is no need for an accountant's nose in electronic accounting systems. Write protection for locked accounts takes over their function here.
Individual proof
- ↑ Gabler Wirtschaftslexikon: Online entry (Gabler Verlag)