Final answer:
A company with 12,247 customers will maintain a single consolidated accounts receivable (A/R) account on the balance sheet, aggregating all amounts owed by these customers, while tracking individual customer details in a subsidiary ledger.
Step-by-step explanation:
A company maintaining an accounts receivable ledger typically has one consolidated A/R account on their balance sheet. This account reflects the total amount credit extended to customers. In practice, the details of individual transactions are tracked in a subsidiary ledger, where each customer has their own individual account. However, these individual accounts are not separate on the balance sheet; rather, they are aggregated into the single A/R account that represents the total money owed to the company by all of its customers.
Regardless of the number of customers whether 12,247 or any other number the company still maintains a single A/R account for the purposes of financial reporting. This streamlines the company's financial statements and simplifies the process of analyzing accounts receivable as a whole. The subsidiary ledger is the tool used for managing the details of each customer's credit. It is important to maintain accurate records in both the subsidiary ledger and the consolidated A/R account to ensure that the company’s financial data is correct and useful for decision-making purposes.