=20. How Operated.= Accounts in the private ledger must not conflict with accounts in general or personal ledgers, and the fact that private accounts are kept should not interfere with the balance of the general books. To insure against any such conflict, a private ledger controlling account is kept in the general ledger. In the general cash book, and sometimes in the journal, debit and credit columns headed _Private Ledger_ are provided. All entries affecting private ledger accounts are extended in these columns, but no particulars are recorded. At the end of the month, the totals of these columns are posted to a private ledger account in the general ledger. This controlling account then appears in the general ledger trial balance, and must agree with the balance of accounts in the private ledger. With the private ledger a private journal is used, in which entries affecting private ledger accounts are made, with explanations in detail. As an example of the use of the private ledger we will suppose that a payment of $500.00 is to be made to a certain party, and it is desired to keep that transaction private. The bookkeeper is instructed to draw a check for the amount, to be charged to private ledger account. He enters the check in the general cash book, debiting private ledger and crediting cash or bank. The entry is posted from the general cash book to the private journal, where full particulars are recorded, from which it is posted to the private ledger. In the case referred to, the amount of the check is debited to the proper nominal account, and credited to a general ledger account. The general ledger account in the private ledger is a controlling account which agrees with the private ledger account in the general ledger. Only entries affecting general ledger accounts are posted to this account. Entries involving changes in private ledger accounts only, are made in the private journal direct. Some concerns keep the controlling accounts with the sales and purchase ledgers in the private ledger. At the end of the month, total debits and credits to accounts in these ledgers are entered in the private journal. These totals are obtained from the general cash book, sales book, purchase book, and any other books from which postings are regularly made. [Illustration: Fig. 22. Cash Book with Columns for Private Ledger Accounts] When a private ledger is kept, it precludes the possibility of forced balances in the general ledger trial balance, since the balances of the private ledger accounts must agree with the private ledger controlling account in the general ledger, and if sales and purchase ledger controlling accounts are kept in the private ledger, these must balance with the personal accounts in those ledgers. The use of a private ledger not only acts as a check on trial balance errors, but simplifies the trial balance by making possible a proof of ledgers in sections.