AAT POBC study plan
AAT POBC · Give each week a clear focus.
8 weeks · About 6 hours per week
Control accounts and the trial balance
Construct a receivables ledger control account and a payables ledger control account from a given list of opening balances, credit sales, receipts, contra entries and closing figures
Reconcile a control account balance to the total of the individual ledger balances and explain the reasons for any difference
Prepare a trial balance from a list of ledger balances, placing each balance on its correct debit or credit side
Diagnose the possible causes of a trial balance that fails to agree and state the correcting action for each
Your checkpoint
A timed 45-minute set of 15 control account and trial balance questions, marked and reviewed, scored at 75% or better
Correction of errors and suspense accounts
Classify errors into errors of principle, omission, commission, original entry, reversal of entries and compensating errors
Determine for each error type whether the trial balance will still agree and justify the conclusion
Open a suspense account, post the difference into it and clear it once the underlying errors are corrected
Journalise corrections, including entries that must pass through the suspense account, and restate the affected account balances
Your checkpoint
A fully corrected 10-error scenario showing every journal entry, the restated balances and a suspense account reduced to nil, with no reference to notes
Reconciling bank statements
Update a cash book for items appearing only on the bank statement, then carry the revised balance into the reconciliation
Prepare a bank reconciliation statement starting from either the bank statement balance or the cash book balance
Treat unpresented cheques, uncredited lodgements, bank charges, standing orders, direct debits and dishonoured cheques correctly
Explain how a bank overdraft is presented and how errors in either record are handled in the reconciliation
Your checkpoint
Three complete bank reconciliations produced from scratch in under 30 minutes each, all balancing on the first attempt
Preparing the petty cash book
Vet petty cash vouchers and decide whether a payment may properly be made from the imprest
Record receipts and payments in an analysed petty cash book using correct analysis columns and nominal ledger codes
Restore the imprest and record the reimbursement in both the petty cash book and the cash book
Reconcile the petty cash book balance to the physical cash held and to the imprest figure
Your checkpoint
A full month's analysed petty cash book with imprest reimbursement and a cash-count reconciliation, checked line by line against a model answer
Payment methods and controls
Compare cash, cheque, BACS, CHAPS, Faster Payments, direct debit, standing order and card payments on speed, cost, reversibility and risk
Match each payment method to the internal control that best mitigates its principal risk
Describe the authorisation, segregation of duties and bank mandate controls expected over receipts and payments
Identify weaknesses in a described payments process and recommend a specific, workable improvement for each
Your checkpoint
A one-page comparison grid covering eight payment methods with risk, control and typical business use, plus 15 scenario questions answered at 80% or better
Control accounts and the trial balance & Correction of errors and suspense accounts
Re-work every control account and suspense account question previously answered incorrectly until each is right unaided
Complete a combined exercise in which an error is detected through the trial balance, corrected via the suspense account and the control account is restated
Compile a personal error log naming the error types most often missed and the rule that resolves each one
Recite the standard layouts of the control accounts and the suspense account from memory
Your checkpoint
A timed 60-minute section test on Domains 4 and 5 scored at 80% or better, supported by a completed error log
Reconciling bank statements & Preparing the petty cash book & Payment methods and controls
Complete two full bank reconciliations that include an overdraft balance and an error in the cash book
Rebuild a petty cash book from raw vouchers where the imprest is topped up mid-month
Answer 15 payment method and internal control questions under timed conditions without notes
Explain in writing why each adjustment in a reconciliation is made, not just how to make it
Your checkpoint
A closed-book timed section test covering Domains 2, 3 and 1, scored at 80% or better with written explanations for every adjustment
Payment methods and controls & Reconciling bank statements & Preparing the petty cash book & Control accounts and the trial balance & Correction of errors and suspense accounts
Sit two full-length mock exams under strict exam conditions with no notes
Re-work every incorrect answer to the correct answer unaided and record the reason for the original mistake
Reproduce from memory the layouts of the control accounts, bank reconciliation statement, analysed petty cash book and suspense account
Rank the five domains by current confidence and list the three weakest topics to revisit on the day before the exam
Your checkpoint
Two completed mock exams with written review notes, scoring at or above the pass mark on both
Milestones
Week 2: Clear a suspense account to nil from a 10-error scenario, unaided and with correct journals throughout
Week 4: Score 75% or better on a 20-question timed test covering control accounts, suspense accounts, bank reconciliation and petty cash
Week 6: Score 80% or better on the timed Domains 4 and 5 section test, with an error log listing recurring mistakes
Week 8: Achieve the pass mark or better on both full-length mocks, with every wrong answer re-worked correctly