Functional Definition A message used to exchange entreprise related balances between the enterprise and whoever may use them for the purpose of accounting, auditing, cost accounting, consolidation, financial analysis, etc.

Field of Application The Balance message may be used for both national and international applications. It is based on universal practice related to administration, commerce and transport, and is not dependent on the type of business or industry.

Principles The accounting and auditing partners of an enterprise require accounting information, most of which is of a common nature. In order, therefore, to cope with the practice, an enterprise (parent company, subsidiary, division, etc.), a service bureau, a chartered accountant or an auditor - referred to as a sender - may transmit balances to the various parties involved - known as recipients - such as another enterprise (parent company, subsidiary, division, etc.), another service bureau, another chartered accountant or another auditor. The trial balance is based on the accounting entries reflecting the activity of the enterprise and the chart of accounts. It enables the preparation of the financial statements. The term balance is taken to mean an accounting document that for a given period, consists of a list of all accounts from the same accounting system. Each account indicates debit or credit total amounts in local and foreign currencies. The balance can be transmitted at a given moment for control purposes. The message BALANC contains information concerning a balance for a given period. The frequency of this message ranges from daily to annually.

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