Final answer:
The journal entries required to update ledger accounts at the end of an accounting period are adjusting entries. These include allocations of income and expenses to their respective periods and are crucial for accurate financial statements.
Step-by-step explanation:
The journal entries that are required to update specific ledger accounts to reflect correct balances at the end of an accounting period are a. Adjusting entries. Adjusting entries are made at the end of an accounting period to allocate income and expenses to the period in which they actually occurred. The purpose of these entries is to bring the books in compliance with the accrual basis of accounting.
Adjusting entries can include end-of-period allocations of revenues and expenses such as depreciation, rent, insurance, and salaries, as well as prepayments and adjustments for accrued items. These entries are essential for ensuring that the financial statements reflect the true financial position and results of operations for a given accounting period.
Closing entries are different; they are made at the end of an accounting period to transfer the balances of temporary accounts to permanent accounts. Reversing entries are optional and are made at the beginning of the new accounting period to reverse certain adjusting entries from the end of the previous period. General entries, or general journal entries, is a term that refers to the typical postings made to ledger accounts as part of daily transactions, but it is not specific to end-of-period adjustments.