Bac G2 Burkina Faso common mistakes
Bac G2 Burkina Faso · Understand the traps and how to avoid them.
In journal entries, the candidate debits and credits the same account (for example debiting and crediting 411 Client) or writes the amount twice on the same side, so the entry balances arithmetically but records no real flow.
The candidate memorises the name of the account involved in the operation but not its nature (asset, liability, expense, income), and applies the debit/credit rule mechanically without checking which side the account normally carries.
What to do instead
Before writing any figure, state aloud the nature of each account and its normal balance side, then apply the rule that an increase in an asset or expense is a debit and an increase in a liability, equity or income is a credit. Finish by verifying that the two accounts are different and that the total debits equal the total credits.
When preparing the balance sheet, the candidate puts the result of the year (profit or loss) on the wrong side or omits it entirely, so the balance sheet does not balance and the candidate forces a plug figure into a suspense account.
The candidate treats the balance sheet as a simple copy of the trial balance and forgets that the net result of the income statement must be carried into equity, and confuses the sign of a loss with that of a profit.
What to do instead
Always build the income statement first, calculate the net result, then insert it in equity on the liability side: a profit increases equity, a loss reduces it (negative figure). Recheck that total assets equal total liabilities plus equity before closing the exercise.
In cost accounting, the candidate calculates the unit cost of a product by dividing total costs by total quantities without separating direct costs from indirect costs, and without allocating indirect costs using a stated allocation key.
The candidate reduces cost accounting to a single division and has not internalised the logic of cost centres and allocation keys, often because the exercise gives several products and the candidate wants a quick answer.
What to do instead
Follow a fixed three-step routine: list direct costs per product, group indirect costs by cost centre, then allocate them with an explicit key (labour hours, machine hours, material consumption). Show the allocation table before computing the unit cost, and check that the sum of allocated costs equals the total indirect costs.
In break-even analysis, the candidate mixes up the break-even point in value and in volume, or uses the margin on variable cost as if it were the gross margin, producing a figure with the wrong unit.
The formulas look similar and the candidate applies them from memory without checking what the numerator and denominator represent, and without reading whether the question asks for a quantity or an amount.
What to do instead
Write the formula with its units before substituting: break-even in value equals fixed costs divided by the contribution margin ratio; break-even in volume equals fixed costs divided by the unit contribution margin. State the unit of the final answer explicitly and verify it is plausible relative to the firm's capacity.
In compound interest and annuity calculations, the candidate applies simple interest when the period exceeds one year, or forgets to convert the nominal rate and the duration to the same period before using a table or a formula.
The candidate relies on a single memorised formula and does not check the time horizon or the periodicity of the rate, and often copies a table factor without verifying the column heading.
What to do instead
Before computing, write down the rate per period and the number of periods side by side and convert one to match the other (for example a monthly rate with a number of months). Identify whether the problem involves a single capital, a series of constant payments or a repayment schedule, then choose the matching formula and verify the order of magnitude of the result.
In statistics, the candidate computes a mean or a standard deviation on grouped data using class centres without weighting by frequencies, or confuses the median class with the median value.
The candidate has learned the formulas for raw data and transfers them to grouped data, and does not distinguish position parameters from measures of dispersion.
What to do instead
For grouped data, always build the table with class centres and frequencies, weight each centre by its frequency for the mean, and use the cumulative frequencies to locate the median class before interpolating. State clearly which parameter is being calculated and check that the median lies inside the class identified.
In monetary economics, the candidate describes the money supply as simply the notes and coins in circulation and ignores scriptural money and the role of commercial banks in credit creation.
The candidate reasons from everyday experience of cash and has not consolidated the distinction between central bank money and bank money, nor the mechanism of the money multiplier.
What to do instead
Learn the monetary aggregates as a hierarchy (currency in circulation, then sight deposits, then broader aggregates) and be able to explain in a few sentences how a bank loan creates a deposit. Practise a short written answer linking creation of money, reserve requirements and central bank refinancing.
In business law, the candidate answers a case with general moral considerations instead of qualifying the facts legally, citing no article and no condition of validity of the act concerned.
The candidate has memorised definitions but not the method of legal reasoning, and does not structure the answer around facts, legal issue, rule and conclusion.
What to do instead
Use a fixed structure: state the material facts, formulate the legal question, recall the applicable rule and its conditions, apply it to the facts, then conclude. Even when the exact article number is uncertain, name the rule and its conditions precisely rather than arguing on fairness.
In taxation, the candidate computes VAT or withholding tax on the wrong base, for example applying VAT to a price already inclusive of tax, or forgetting to deduct deductible VAT before calculating the tax payable.
The candidate confuses the taxable base with the amount actually paid by the customer, and does not distinguish collected tax from deductible tax.
What to do instead
Always identify the taxable base first and state whether the amount given is tax-exclusive or tax-inclusive. Compute collected VAT on sales, deductible VAT on purchases, then the difference. Cross-check by recomputing the tax-inclusive price from the tax-exclusive price and confirming it matches the invoice.
In the spreadsheet part, the candidate types calculated results as fixed numbers instead of formulas, or writes a formula with relative references that break when copied down the column, so the table silently gives wrong totals.
The candidate is focused on making the display look right rather than on building a model, and has not understood the difference between relative and absolute references.
What to do instead
Enter every derived value as a formula referencing the source cells, use absolute references for fixed parameters, and test by changing one input to see whether all dependent cells update correctly. Verify totals with an independent check such as a sum of the column compared with a manual estimate.
In the written expression paper, the candidate produces a long unstructured text with no introduction, no announced plan and no conclusion, and uses spoken-register vocabulary and abbreviations throughout.
The candidate writes as they speak and manages time poorly, spending too long on the first part and leaving no time to plan or reread.
What to do instead
Allocate five minutes to plan a two- or three-part outline before writing, use explicit connectors between parts, and reserve five minutes at the end to reread for register, agreement and spelling. Replace colloquial turns of phrase with standard written French and avoid abbreviations except in clearly technical contexts.