BGCSE Bookkeeping & Accounts study plan
BGCSE Bookkeeping & Accounts · Give each week a clear focus.
8 weeks · About 6 hours per week
Accounting concepts, principles and the accounting equation & Double-entry bookkeeping and the books of original entry
State the accounting equation and classify twenty given items as assets, liabilities or capital, recalculating the equation after each change.
Apply the accruals, consistency, prudence, going concern and business entity concepts to explain why ten stated transactions are recorded as they are.
Identify the source document, book of original entry and ledger destination for fifteen transaction types.
Post fifteen transactions to T-accounts using debit and credit rules, keeping debits and credits balanced in each entry.
Your checkpoint
A one-page transaction table covering 20 transactions showing source document, book of original entry, debit account, credit account and the effect on the accounting equation.
Double-entry bookkeeping and the books of original entry & Ledger accounts, trial balance and correction of errors
Write up the sales, purchases, returns, cash book and general journal for a month of trading from a list of 25 transactions.
Post every book of original entry to the nominal ledger and extract a trial balance that balances.
Balance off each ledger account and bring down the opening balances for the next period.
Prepare a petty cash book using the imprest system and restore the imprest to its agreed float.
Your checkpoint
A complete set of books for one month: five books of original entry, a posted nominal ledger, a petty cash book and a balanced trial balance.
Ledger accounts, trial balance and correction of errors & Bank reconciliation and control accounts
Classify ten errors as errors of principle, omission, commission, original entry, reversal, or compensating errors, and state whether each affects the trial balance.
Journalise and post corrections for errors using a suspense account, then close the suspense account to nil.
Prepare a bank reconciliation from a cash book and bank statement, adjusting for unpresented cheques, uncredited lodgements, bank charges, standing orders and dishonoured cheques.
Prepare sales and purchases ledger control accounts and reconcile the balances to the individual ledger totals.
Your checkpoint
A corrections worksheet with journal entries and suspense account, plus a bank reconciliation statement and both control accounts that each reconcile to their supporting lists.
Depreciation, accruals, prepayments and adjustments & Preparation of financial statements for sole traders
Calculate depreciation using straight-line and reducing-balance methods and record the entries for a disposal, including profit or loss on disposal.
Adjust ten accrual and prepayment items at year end and show their effect on the income statement and statement of financial position.
Prepare an income statement for a sole trader from a trial balance with at least five year-end adjustments.
Prepare a statement of financial position for the same sole trader, presenting non-current assets at net book value and separating current assets and current liabilities.
Your checkpoint
A full set of sole trader financial statements from a trial balance containing adjustments for depreciation, disposal, accruals, prepayments and closing inventory, with all figures agreeing to a workings sheet.
Preparation of financial statements for sole traders & Partnership accounts and accounting for non-profit organisations
Prepare a manufacturing or trading account section, calculating cost of goods sold and gross profit from opening and closing inventory, purchases and returns.
Draft partnership appropriation accounts showing interest on capital, partner salaries, interest on drawings and the residual profit share.
Prepare partners' current and capital accounts and present them correctly in the partnership statement of financial position.
Explain the entries needed on admission of a partner for goodwill and revaluation, without calculating a full admission.
Your checkpoint
A partnership income statement, appropriation account, partners' current and capital accounts, and statement of financial position for a two-partner firm.
Partnership accounts and accounting for non-profit organisations & Company accounts, capital structure and finance
Prepare a receipts and payments account from a club's records and convert it into an income and expenditure account on the accruals basis.
Reconcile a club's accumulated fund by adjusting for surplus or deficit, subscriptions in arrears and in advance, and depreciation of club assets.
Record the issue of shares at par and at a premium, showing share capital, share premium and the relevant entries in the statement of financial position.
Distinguish debentures from shares and explain, in writing, the effect of each on gearing and on the owners' claim on the company.
Your checkpoint
A non-profit organisation's income and expenditure account and statement of financial position, plus a company's statement of financial position after a share issue at a premium and a debenture issue.
Interpretation and analysis of financial statements & Company accounts, capital structure and finance
Compute gross profit margin, net profit margin, return on capital employed, current ratio, quick ratio, inventory turnover and receivables collection period from given statements.
Interpret each computed ratio in two or three sentences, naming a plausible cause and one limitation of the ratio.
Compare two years of figures for one business and write a short report identifying the two most significant changes with supporting figures.
Explain why a profitable business can still face a cash shortage, using figures from a worked example.
Your checkpoint
A ratio analysis report of about 400 words comparing two years for one business, with a table of eight ratios, computed workings and evidence-based conclusions.
Accounting concepts, principles and the accounting equation & Double-entry bookkeeping and the books of original entry & Ledger accounts, trial balance and correction of errors & Bank reconciliation and control accounts & Depreciation, accruals, prepayments and adjustments & Preparation of financial statements for sole traders & Partnership accounts and accounting for non-profit organisations & Company accounts, capital structure and finance & Interpretation and analysis of financial statements
Complete two full-length timed practice papers under exam conditions and mark them against the mark scheme.
List every question type answered incorrectly and rework each one until it is fully correct.
Recite the double-entry rules, the accounting equation and the layout of each financial statement from memory without notes.
Build a one-page revision sheet of formulas, statement layouts and common adjustment entries.
Your checkpoint
Two marked practice papers with a written error log and a completed one-page revision sheet covering all nine domains.
Milestones
Week 2: Post 25 transactions from source documents to a balanced trial balance with no help from notes, scoring at least 80% on a self-marked check.
Week 4: Produce sole trader financial statements from a trial balance with five adjustments, with every figure traceable to a working and the statement of financial position balancing.
Week 6: Prepare a partnership appropriation account and a club income and expenditure account unaided, each scoring at least 75% against the mark scheme.
Week 8: Score at least 70% on both timed practice papers, with no repeated error type appearing in the error log from the first paper to the second.