CSEC POA study plan

Define the accounting cycle and list its eight stages in order, explaining the purpose of each stage.

Classify ten given accounts as assets, liabilities, capital, income, or expenses, and state the normal balance and debit/credit effect for each.

Apply the double-entry rule to record fifteen transactions in T-accounts, ensuring debits equal credits for each entry.

Prepare a simple trial balance from a list of ledger balances and identify any imbalance.

Distinguish between books of original entry and ledger accounts, and state the source document that triggers each book.

Record ten credit transactions in the sales, purchases, returns, and general journals, then post every journal entry to the relevant ledger accounts.

Prepare a sales ledger and a purchases ledger from a list of credit transactions, and extract the total receivables and payables.

Explain how the cash book serves as both a book of original entry and a ledger account, and record five cash and bank transactions in a three-column cash book.

Identify and correct six types of errors using journal entries, distinguishing errors that affect the trial balance from those that do not.

Prepare a corrected trial balance from an unbalanced trial balance by locating and adjusting at least three errors.

Construct a sales ledger control account and a purchases ledger control account from a list of opening balances, credit sales, receipts, returns, and discounts, and reconcile each control account balance to the underlying ledger.

Explain the purpose of control accounts and list three reasons why a control account balance may differ from the sum of individual ledger balances.

Prepare an income statement for a sole trader from a trial balance, applying the accruals basis to five adjustments (accrued expenses, prepaid expenses, accrued income, depreciation, and closing inventory).

Prepare a statement of financial position that classifies assets and liabilities as current or non-current and shows capital reconciled through the accounting equation.

Calculate and interpret three profitability ratios (gross margin, net margin, return on capital employed) from a set of final accounts.

Explain the effect of each year-end adjustment on profit and on the statement of financial position.

Draft a partnership appropriation account and current accounts for two partners, including interest on capital, partner salaries, interest on drawings, and profit-sharing ratios.

Record the admission of a new partner and the revaluation of assets in the partnership accounts, showing the effect on each partner's capital.

Prepare the capital and current accounts for a partnership from a trial balance with three adjustments.

Distinguish between a partnership and a limited company by listing three accounting differences in capital structure and profit distribution.

Prepare a receipts and payments account and an income and expenditure account for a club or non-profit organisation from a list of cash transactions and adjustments.

Reconcile the excess of income over expenditure to the change in the accumulated fund, showing the treatment of subscriptions in arrears and in advance.

Prepare the subscription account and the trading account for a club that runs a small shop.

Explain why a receipts and payments account is not the same as an income and expenditure account, using two examples.

Record the issue of shares at par and at a premium, and show the effect on share capital and share premium accounts.

Prepare an income statement and statement of financial position for a limited company, including corporation tax, dividends, and retained earnings.

Distinguish between authorised, issued, and called-up share capital and explain the treatment of a bonus issue.

Calculate earnings per share and dividend cover from a set of company final accounts.

Complete a timed 90-minute mock examination covering all five domains, with at least one question from each domain.

Mark your mock against a marking scheme you write yourself, and list every lost mark by domain.

Re-work the three questions with the lowest scores until you can produce a fully correct answer without notes.

Build a one-page formula and rule sheet covering the accounting equation, control account formats, and company/partnership ratios.