Bac Série G2 Bénin common mistakes
Bac Série G2 Bénin · Understand the traps and how to avoid them.
In the journal, the candidate records an entry with only one line (for example debiting a purchase without crediting the supplier account), or records the same transaction twice because it was already noted in the cash book.
The candidate memorises the 'débit = emploi, crédit = ressource' formula but never checks the double-entry equilibrium before moving to the next line, and does not keep a running list of source documents already processed.
What to do instead
Before writing, name the two accounts affected and their nature (asset, liability, charge, product). After each entry, verify total debits equal total credits on that line. Tick off each source document on a prepared list (facture n°, pièce de caisse n°) so no document is booked twice.
The candidate posts entries to the grand-livre and then prepares a balance where total debits and total credits differ, and simply adjusts one figure to force equality.
The candidate treats the balance as a formality to be filled rather than a control tool, and lacks a systematic method for locating errors under time pressure.
What to do instead
Use a fixed error-hunting sequence: recompute each ledger account balance, check the report of the journal to the ledger, then look for a transposition or a figure half the discrepancy (a debit posted as a credit gives a gap of twice the amount). Never force the total; write the discrepancy and the search path in the working papers.
At year-end the candidate records depreciation, accruals and provisions directly in the journal without any adjusting-entry table, and forgets to reverse the previous year's prepaid charges.
The candidate confuses routine booking with the travaux d'inventaire, which require a separate schedule prepared before any entry is made.
What to do instead
Build an adjusting-entry worksheet with columns: account, nature of adjustment, amount, debit, credit, and whether it reverses next year. Work through a checklist (amortissements, dépréciations, charges constatées d'avance, produits à recevoir, stocks) and verify each item appears once in the worksheet before posting.
In cost accounting, the candidate allocates all indirect costs to products in proportion to turnover, or leaves the administrative overhead unallocated, then presents a unit cost that ignores the production volume actually sold.
The candidate does not distinguish direct costs from indirect costs, nor fixed from variable costs, and skips the intermediate calculation of the cost of goods produced before the cost of goods sold.
What to do instead
Follow the standard chain explicitly: purchase cost, production cost of goods completed, cost of goods sold, then administrative and selling costs. Choose and state the allocation key (machine hours, labour hours, material cost) for each indirect cost centre, and show the reconciliation between total costs and the sum of unit costs times quantities.
For a compound interest or annuity problem, the candidate applies the simple-interest formula or uses the annuity table for the wrong number of periods, for example counting the first payment as period zero.
The candidate reads the question quickly and matches keywords ('intérêts', 'versements') to a formula without drawing the time line or identifying the valuation date.
What to do instead
Always draw a time line, mark the valuation date (today, date of the last payment, date of the loan), and write the formula with its symbols before substituting numbers. Check the order of magnitude with simple interest, and verify that the number of periods equals the number of payments.
In a loan amortisation problem, the candidate computes the constant annuity correctly but then builds the amortisation schedule with interest calculated on the original principal every year instead of the remaining balance.
The candidate treats the annuity as a fixed total and does not re-derive the interest for each period from the outstanding capital.
What to do instead
Build the schedule row by row: interest = opening balance times the periodic rate; principal repaid = annuity minus interest; closing balance = opening balance minus principal repaid. Check that the final balance is zero and that total repayments equal the loan plus total interest.
In a probability question, the candidate adds the probabilities of two events that can occur together, or uses the multiplication rule for events that are not independent.
The candidate has memorised 'and means multiply, or means add' without checking whether the events are mutually exclusive or independent, and does not define the sample space.
What to do instead
Write the sample space and the events explicitly before calculating. Test mutual exclusivity (can both happen?) before adding, and test independence (does one change the probability of the other?) before multiplying. For conditional situations use P(A and B) = P(A) times P(B given A) and state the condition.
The candidate answers an economics question on money creation or monetary policy by listing definitions only, without linking the central bank's instrument to its effect on credit and on the money supply.
The candidate revises definitions in isolation and never practises the causal chain from instrument to balance sheet to economic effect.
What to do instead
For each mechanism, practise writing a three-step chain: instrument (for example reserve requirements or refinancing rate), immediate effect on bank liquidity and credit capacity, then effect on money supply, prices and activity. Use a concrete numerical example of the money multiplier to anchor the reasoning.
In a law question, the candidate gives the rule of law without identifying the applicable source or jurisdiction, and concludes without applying the facts of the case.
The candidate reproduces course definitions and has not practised the qualification of facts, which is the step that determines which rule applies.
What to do instead
Use a fixed structure: facts, problem, rule (with its source: code, contract, collective agreement), application to the facts, conclusion. Begin by qualifying the situation (contract of employment or contract for services, commercial act or civil act) because the qualification selects the rule.
In a payroll or stock-management exercise, the candidate computes gross pay but omits employer contributions, or calculates the economic order quantity without checking the assumptions and the units used.
The candidate treats the exercise as an arithmetic drill and does not read the data table carefully, mixing monthly and annual figures or units in francs and thousands of francs.
What to do instead
Before calculating, list the given data with its unit and period, and state the formula to be used. For payroll, work down the payslip in order (gross, employee contributions, net to pay, employer contributions, total cost). For stocks, verify the demand period matches the holding-cost period, and interpret the result in units and in days of stock.