By Cyril KimbiAccounting is the most mechanical subject on a GCE timetable, and that is good news: mechanical subjects are learnable by drill. Candidates fail it not because the concepts are hard but because they never made the double entry automatic, so every question becomes a fresh puzzle under a clock.
Make double entry automatic first
Not understood — automatic. You should be able to state the two entries for any transaction without pausing.
The rule to internalise: debit what comes in, credit what goes out; debit expenses and losses, credit income and gains; debit the receiver, credit the giver. Then drill it on fifty transactions until the hesitation disappears.
Test yourself the hard way. Given only “paid rent by cheque”, write both entries. Given “the owner took goods for personal use”, write both. If you have to reason it out each time, you are not ready for a timed paper where thirty of these sit inside one question.
The sequence the paper follows
| Stage | What it produces | Where marks are lost |
|---|---|---|
| Source documents and day books | Records of transactions | Posting to the wrong side |
| Ledger accounts | Balances | Balancing off incorrectly |
| Trial balance | A check on arithmetic | Assuming it proves correctness |
| Adjustments | Accruals, prepayments, depreciation, bad debts | Adjusting one side only |
| Final accounts | Trading, profit and loss, balance sheet | Format and headings |
One conceptual point examiners test directly: a trial balance that balances does not prove the books are correct. A transaction omitted entirely, posted to the wrong account, or reversed on both sides still balances. Know the error types by name — omission, commission, principle, original entry, reversal, compensating.
Adjustments: where the marks actually go
This is the highest-value revision target in the subject. Adjustments appear on almost every final-accounts question and they are where the grade is decided.
The failure is nearly always the same: candidates adjust the profit and loss account and forget the balance sheet, or the reverse. Every adjustment has two effects.
- Accrued expense — add to the expense; show as a current liability.
- Prepaid expense — deduct from the expense; show as a current asset.
- Depreciation — charge to profit and loss; deduct accumulated depreciation from the asset.
- Bad debts — charge to profit and loss; reduce debtors.
- Provision for doubtful debts — charge only the increase; deduct the provision from debtors.
- Closing stock — appears in the trading account and as a current asset.
Learn them as pairs. Write each on a card with both effects and drill until you cannot produce one without the other.
Format is marked
Accounting answers earn marks for presentation independently of the arithmetic, which makes format one of the cheapest marks available.
- Head every statement properly — the name of the business, the statement, and the period or date. “For the year ended” and “as at” are not interchangeable.
- Use the correct column structure, and keep the columns aligned.
- Label every figure. A number with no description cannot be credited.
- Show your workings beside or below the statement. Method marks are frequently awarded when a final figure is wrong.
- Rule off and total where the format requires it.
Candidates in a hurry abandon format first. It is the wrong thing to abandon, because it is the part that scores without requiring you to be right.
Ratios
Ratio questions are two-part and candidates answer one part. Calculate the ratio — showing the formula — then interpret it. The interpretation is a separate mark and is usually the larger one.
“The current ratio is 1.4:1” earns the calculation. “The current ratio is 1.4:1, meaning the business has 1.4 francs of current assets for every franc of current liabilities — adequate, though below the 2:1 often regarded as comfortable, so short-term liquidity is tight” earns both.
A revision routine
- Week one: double entry only. Fifty transactions a day until automatic. Nothing else.
- Weeks two to four: ledger to trial balance, then adjustments drilled as pairs.
- Weeks five onward: full final-accounts questions, timed, marked strictly against the scheme.
- Log the recurring losses. In Accounting the list is almost always short — one or two adjustments and a format habit.
- Final month: speed. Complete papers under time. No new topics.
This is a subject where practice returns more than reading by a wide margin. An hour producing a set of final accounts is worth several hours studying the theory of them.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need to be good at mathematics?
No. The arithmetic is addition, subtraction and percentages. What is required is accuracy and order.
Why does my trial balance not balance?
Usually a single-sided entry, a transposed figure, or an addition error. Check the difference: if it divides by nine, suspect a transposition.
Which topic is most examined?
Final accounts with adjustments. It carries the largest single block of marks on most papers.
Do I lose marks for poor layout?
Yes. Format and headings carry marks in their own right.
Is it worth showing workings?
Always. Method marks are awarded for correct working even when the final figure is wrong.
