AAT ITBK study guide
AAT ITBK · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.
The AAT Level 2 Certificate in Bookkeeping - often referenced by its unit name, Introduction to Bookkeeping (ITBK) - is one of three short bookkeeping qualifications offered by AAT, the Association of Accounting Technicians. AAT describes it as the qualification for students who want "skills and essential knowledge up to trial balance standard", which places it between the entry-level Level 1 Award and the experienced-practitioner Level 3 Certificate. The AAT ITBK study guide has 4 sections and about 1,646 words.
01Fundamentals of Double-Entry Bookkeeping
Double-entry bookkeeping records the two effects that every transaction has on a business. Each effect is entered in a separate account, one as a debit (left-hand side of the T-account) and one as a credit (right-hand side).
321 words, about 2 min02Business documents, coding and books of prime entry
A credit transaction generates a sequence of documents. A quotation offers a price before any deal is agreed; a purchase order is the buyer's request to buy; a delivery note travels with the goods; a goods received note (GRN) is the buyer's internal record of what actually arrived; the invoice is the seller's request for payment and the document that triggers the ledger entries.
677 words, about 3 min03Banking Systems and Bank Reconciliation
A standing order is an instruction from the payer to their bank to pay a fixed amount regularly; a direct debit is an authority given to the payee to collect varying amounts. BACS handles bulk payments on a three-day cycle, Faster Payments are near-instant, and CHAPS is used for same-day high-value transfers.
336 words, about 2 min04The Trial Balance and the Accounting Equation
A trial balance lists every ledger balance at a chosen date in a debit column and a credit column. If the double entry has been arithmetically correct, the two columns agree.
312 words, about 2 min