A record kept by accountants to record all financial expenditures made by a company. Cash disbursement journals serve a number of functions, such as a source for recording tax write-offs and the categorization of other expenses. This journal essentially functions as a checkbook ledger, for all practical purposes.
Cash disbursement journals may record varying types of expenses by assigning each type of expense a code, or by recording the various expenses in different columns. These journals are used to create annual balance sheets and other financial statements.