WACE Accounting Finance ATAR study guide
WACE Accounting Finance ATAR · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.
The WACE Accounting and Finance ATAR is a Western Australian senior-secondary course examined by the School Curriculum and Standards Authority (SCSA). It suits students who want a university pathway into commerce, business, or accounting, and who are willing to work carefully with numbers and written explanation. The WACE Accounting Finance ATAR study guide has 6 sections and about 1,793 words.
01Recording, Processing and Reporting Financial Information
Candidates must be able to move confidently through the full cycle: source documents, journals, ledgers, trial balance, adjusting entries, adjusted trial balance, and finally the income statement, balance sheet and cash flow statement. Know the accounting equation and how each transaction preserves it, the rules of double entry (debits increase assets and expenses; credits increase liabilities, equity and revenue), the distinction between capital and revenue expenditure, and the purpose of control accounts and bank reconciliations.
317 words, about 2 min02Cost Concepts, Costing Methods and Budgeting
Candidates must classify costs by behaviour (fixed, variable, mixed, step-fixed), by traceability (direct versus indirect/overhead), and by function (product versus period). Know prime cost, conversion cost, contribution margin and the high-low method for splitting mixed costs.
315 words, about 2 min03Financial Statement Analysis and Interpretation
Candidates must compute and interpret profitability ratios (gross profit margin, net profit margin, return on assets, return on equity), liquidity ratios (current, quick, cash), efficiency ratios (inventory turnover, receivables collection, payables payment, asset turnover) and gearing ratios (debt-to-equity, interest cover). Know the DuPont decomposition linking margin, turnover and leverage to return on equity.
279 words, about 1 min04Sources of Finance, Capital Structure and Investment Appraisal
Know internal versus external, short versus long term, and debt versus equity finance. Compare ordinary shares, preference shares, debentures, unsecured notes, leases, retained earnings, bank overdrafts and trade credit on cost, risk, control, flexibility and security.
313 words, about 2 min05Financial Institutions, Markets and the Regulatory Environment
Candidates should distinguish authorised deposit-taking institutions, non-bank lenders, insurers, superannuation funds and investment banks, and explain their roles in channelling savings to borrowers. Understand primary versus secondary markets, money versus capital markets, and the roles of the Australian Securities Exchange, the Reserve Bank of Australia and the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority.
298 words, about 1 min06Personal Finance, Consumer and Business Decision-Making, and Ethics
Candidates must apply the planning process: set goals, gather data, analyse, recommend and review. Understand budgeting, emergency funds, the time value of money, compound interest, risk tolerance, diversification, insurance and superannuation including concessional contributions and the effect of fees over time.
271 words, about 1 min