AAT Level 4 INAC study plan

Map the components of an internal accounting system (source documents through to final accounts) and label where each control point sits

Explain the purpose and limitations of internal controls using the five components of a control framework in your own words

Identify five common fraud and error risks in a sales and purchase cycle and match each to a specific preventive control

Draft a short segregation-of-duties note for a small finance team of four staff

Design a simple coding structure for a chart of accounts that supports departmental reporting

Distinguish between capital and revenue expenditure and classify 15 given items correctly

Describe how to test a control using walk-through, observation and sample testing, and state what evidence each produces

Draft a control weakness finding in a standard format: condition, criteria, effect, recommendation

Calculate and interpret contribution, break-even point and margin of safety for a multi-product scenario

Prepare a marginal costing profit statement and reconcile it to an absorption costing profit statement

Explain why profits differ between the two methods and quantify the difference from closing inventory

Identify relevant and irrelevant costs in three short decision scenarios (make or buy, accept or reject, discontinue)

Prepare a cash budget for four months from given receipts and payments data, including lagged debtor and creditor collections

Explain the difference between profit and cash flow using a specific example from your own budget

Calculate and interpret variances for material, labour and overhead, splitting each into price and usage or efficiency elements

Identify two possible causes and two responsible managers for each variance type

Prepare a statement of financial position and statement of profit or loss from an extended trial balance

Make year-end adjustments for depreciation, accruals, prepayments, irrecoverable debts and closing inventory and show their double entry

Calculate five key ratios covering profitability, liquidity, efficiency and gearing from a set of published-style accounts

Interpret the ratios by comparing two years and writing a short commentary on the trend

Prepare a consolidated statement of financial position for a parent and one subsidiary, including goodwill and non-controlling interest

Adjust for intra-group balances and unrealised profit in inventory in a consolidation

Explain the purpose of consolidated accounts and the concept of control

Critically assess the limitations of ratio analysis when comparing companies across different sectors

Compute trading profit and adjusted taxable total profits for a company, adding back disallowable expenditure and deducting capital allowances

Calculate capital allowances on a main pool and special rate pool, including the annual investment allowance and any first-year allowance

Compute corporation tax payable including marginal relief where relevant, and state the due date and payment dates

Identify when a company must register for VAT and compute the VAT payable or repayable on a given set of transactions

Complete two full-length timed mock exams under exam conditions and mark them against the published mark allocation

Rank your weakest three syllabus areas by marks lost and re-work every question in those areas from first principles

Build a one-page formula and rule sheet for each domain and test yourself on it without notes

Rehearse exam technique: allocating time per mark, showing workings and answering the verb actually asked