Bac G1 Burkina Faso common mistakes
Bac G1 Burkina Faso · Understand the traps and how to avoid them.
Writing journal entries without respecting the double-entry convention or the SYSCOHADA account-class logic, for example debiting a charge account when the payment is a cash outflow that should credit 521 Banque.
Candidates memorise the wording of the operation and record it as a single line or put both amounts on the same side, because they learned the debit/credit rule abstractly without practising the 'emplois = ressources' check.
What to do instead
Before writing each line, state aloud which account receives value (débit) and which gives it (crédit), then verify that total débits equal total crédits for every entry and that the class number matches the nature of the account (classe 4 for tiers, 5 for trésorerie, 6 for charges, 7 for produits).
Confusing the journal, the grand livre and the balance, and producing a balance that does not balance because the report of the journal to the ledger was skipped or a folio was omitted.
The three documents are taught in the same chapter and candidates treat them as interchangeable summaries rather than as a chain where each one is built from the previous one.
What to do instead
Practise the full chain on one simple month: write the journal chronologically, post each line to the named ledger account with its journal reference, then extract the balance from the ledger balances. If the balance does not balance, the difference divided by 9 reveals a transposition and divided by 2 reveals a wrong side.
In cost accounting, allocating all indirect costs to products using a single global allocation key, or omitting the treatment of centres d'analyse auxiliaires before the principaux.
Candidates jump straight to the cost of the finished product and forget that the method requires a cascade: auxiliary centres are distributed to main centres first, then main centres to products.
What to do instead
Build the table in the imposed order: list charges incorporables, add charges supplétives, subtract non-incorporable charges, then fill the répartition primaire, do the secondary distribution with the chosen unité d'œuvre, and only then compute the coût de production. Check that total costs allocated equal total costs to be allocated.
Mixing up the point mort (break-even point) with the seuil de rentabilité in value, or computing it with the wrong denominator by using the marge sur coût variable rate instead of the result rate.
The formulas are similar and candidates apply them mechanically without checking that the numerator and denominator refer to the same period and the same base, and they forget that the point mort is expressed in time (months or days).
What to do instead
Write the two formulas side by side before computing: seuil de rentabilité = charges fixes / taux de marge sur coût variable, then point mort = seuil / chiffre d'affaires × 12 months. Verify the result by checking that at that turnover the résultat is exactly zero.
Failing to convert units and periods in financial mathematics: applying an annual interest rate to a monthly duration without dividing by 12, or using simple interest where compound interest is required.
Candidates focus on the formula and neglect the time unit, and the exam statements deliberately mix annual rates with monthly or daily durations.
What to do instead
Before substituting numbers, write the rate and the duration in the same unit explicitly (for example i = 0.09/12 per month, n = 8 months) and note whether the operation is short-term (simple interest) or multi-year (compound interest). Re-read the statement to identify the exact date of each cash flow.
Describing the legal form of a business by mixing the rules of the SARL and the SA, for example giving the SA a minimum of two partners or attributing the gérance to a SARL.
The forms are studied as a list of characteristics and candidates retain the numbers without attaching them to the correct form, and Burkinabe practice under the AUSCGIE adds confusion with the SAS and the SUARL.
What to do instead
Build a comparison table with one row per form and columns for number of partners, minimum capital, organs of management and liability, and fill it from the course text. Then answer each question by naming the form first and only afterwards quoting its characteristics.
Answering labour law questions with general principles while ignoring the concrete steps and time limits of the contrat de travail, the période d'essai and the licenciement procedure.
Candidates revise definitions but not procedures, and the examination often asks for the sequence of acts and the competent authority rather than a definition.
What to do instead
For each topic, memorise a numbered procedure (for example: letter of complaint, attempt at conciliation before the labour inspector, then referral to the tribunal du travail) and attach the applicable durations. Rehearse by writing the procedure from memory and checking it against the code du travail.
Confusing chiffre d'affaires, valeur ajoutée and résultat in economics and management answers, or treating the agents économiques and their functions as a memorised list without linking them to the circuit.
The terms appear in both the economics and the management syllabus and candidates reuse the same word for different concepts, producing answers that are internally inconsistent.
What to do instead
Write a short chain for every exercise: production creates valeur ajoutée, valeur ajoutée is distributed as revenus to the agents, revenus become dépenses which form the chiffre d'affaires of the enterprise, and the résultat is what remains after all charges. Use only one term per concept and define it at first use.
In the French expression paper, producing a dissertation or summary that paraphrases the text or lists ideas without a plan, and neglecting the syntactic and spelling accuracy that carries a large share of the marks.
Candidates prepare content but not method, and under time pressure they write everything they know about the theme instead of answering the question asked on the corpus.
What to do instead
Spend ten minutes on a written plan with a thesis, two or three arguments and a conclusion before writing. In the résumé, count the words and keep only the ideas of the author in the same order. Reserve the last ten minutes for a targeted proofreading of agreements, verb endings and accents.
Treating the management case as a descriptive essay, proposing recommendations without diagnosing the situation with the tools of the course (SWOT, functions of management, structures).
Candidates rely on general knowledge and intuition because the case seems open, so the answer lacks the technical vocabulary the corrector expects.
What to do instead
Structure every case answer in three moves: identify the facts and the problem, apply a named tool from the syllabus to analyse it, then give recommendations that follow directly from the analysis and state their expected effect.