Korea Computerized Accounting Level 2 common mistakes
Korea Computerized Accounting Level 2 · Understand the traps and how to avoid them.
Entering the opening balances before the chart of accounts and subsidiary master data are finalized, then re-creating accounts to fix a mismatch and wiping the opening trial balance.
Candidates treat the setup screen as a data-entry form and start typing balances as soon as the company information is saved, not realizing that account codes are the key that links opening balances, vouchers and reports; changing a code later orphans the balance rows.
What to do instead
Follow a fixed order: company information → fiscal year and period settings → chart of accounts (codes, names, debit/credit nature) → customer/vendor/item master → opening balances → opening trial balance check. Lock the chart of accounts before entering balances, and if a code must change, use the system's account-modification function rather than deleting and re-creating.
Recording VAT-inclusive amounts as the supply value and the input/output tax, so the voucher debits the expense or inventory at the gross amount and the VAT return does not tie to the ledger.
Candidates read the tax invoice total (합계금액) and key it into the supply-value field, because the invoice layout puts the total prominently and the supply value and tax are broken out separately; the system then computes tax on top of a gross figure.
What to do instead
For every taxable transaction, split the invoice into 공급가액 (supply value) and 부가세 (VAT) before entry, and enter them in separate fields. Memorize the check: supply value × 10% = VAT, and supply value + VAT = invoice total. Reconcile the VAT return's taxable base to the revenue/expense accounts net of VAT at period end.
Posting a transaction to the wrong side of the account because the candidate reasons from the business event rather than from the account's debit/credit nature, e.g. debiting a liability when cash is paid to settle a payable.
Candidates memorize journal patterns for textbook examples but do not internalize the rule that assets and expenses increase on the debit side while liabilities, equity and revenue increase on the credit side; under time pressure they copy the pattern from a similar-looking transaction.
What to do instead
Before each entry, state the two accounts affected and their nature, then apply the increase/decrease rule mechanically. After entry, run the transaction through the accounting equation (assets = liabilities + equity) to confirm the balance still holds, and use the system's debit/credit imbalance warning rather than overriding it.
Treating a purchase of equipment as an immediate expense, or expensing a prepayment, so the balance sheet and the period's profit are both misstated.
The cash outflow feels like an expense, and candidates do not distinguish capital expenditure from revenue expenditure or recognize when an item must be carried as an asset and depreciated or amortized over periods.
What to do instead
Classify every purchase before entry: does it give benefit beyond the current period and meet the asset recognition criteria? If yes, debit the asset account and depreciate; if it is a prepayment, debit prepaid expense and release it to expense as consumed. Check that the entry does not change equity except through profit or loss.
Mixing manufacturing cost accounts with period expenses, e.g. charging factory depreciation or indirect labor directly to selling and administrative expense, so the cost of goods manufactured is understated.
Candidates learn cost accounting as a separate topic and do not connect it to the financial accounting voucher flow; when a transaction arrives they pick the expense account that sounds closest rather than the cost element account.
What to do instead
Map each transaction to a cost element first (material, labor, expense), then to the cost object (direct or indirect), and only then to the account. Factory-related indirect costs go to manufacturing overhead and are allocated to products; selling and administrative costs stay as period expenses and never enter product cost.
Allocating overhead using a single arbitrary basis for every cost pool, or forgetting to allocate at all and leaving a residual balance in the overhead account at period end.
Candidates memorize 'allocate overhead' but not the logic of choosing an allocation base that has a causal link to the cost; they also do not know the overhead account must be cleared to work in process, finished goods and cost of goods sold.
What to do instead
For each overhead pool, identify the driver (machine hours, direct labor hours, direct labor cost, floor area) and apply that rate; compute the predetermined rate as budgeted overhead divided by budgeted base. At period end, close any under- or over-applied overhead and confirm the overhead account balance is zero.
Preparing the trial balance and then the financial statements without verifying that the subsidiary ledgers (receivables, payables, inventory) agree with the general ledger control accounts.
The trial balance can balance even when a transaction was posted to the wrong customer or the wrong account within the same side, so candidates assume a balanced trial balance means the books are correct.
What to do instead
Before reporting, reconcile each control account to its subsidiary ledger total and investigate any difference. Treat a balanced trial balance as a necessary but not sufficient check; also scan for unusual balances (negative inventory, credit balances in asset accounts) that signal misposting.
Closing the period and generating statements before all adjusting entries are entered, so accrued expenses, prepaid items, depreciation and inventory adjustments are missing from the reported profit.
Candidates equate 'all transactions entered' with 'books complete' and click period close to see the reports, not realizing that closing locks the period and adjustments must be posted first.
What to do instead
Work a fixed closing checklist: accruals, prepayments, depreciation, bad debt allowance, inventory count adjustment, VAT reconciliation. Post all adjusting vouchers, re-run the adjusted trial balance, and only then close the period. If the period is already closed, use the system's reopening procedure rather than back-dating entries into the next period.
Confusing withholding income tax obligations with the corporate tax return, e.g. omitting withholding on payments to freelancers or reporting wage income under the wrong withholding category.
Candidates study income tax and corporate tax as isolated rules and do not build a map of who withholds what, when it is paid, and which year-end return applies to which income type.
What to do instead
Build a withholding matrix: employment income, business income, other income, interest and dividends, each with its own rate, payment deadline and filing form. Separate this from the corporate tax cycle (interim prepayment, year-end settlement, return filing). Verify each payment against the matrix before submitting.
Relying on the software's automatic voucher generation without checking the resulting entry, so a misconfigured auto-entry rule silently posts wrong accounts for every subsequent transaction.
Candidates trust that the system 'knows' the correct accounts, but automatic entries follow whatever mapping was set in the setup screen; a wrong mapping propagates to all transactions of that type and is hard to spot in a single voucher.
What to do instead
After setup, test each automatic entry type with one sample transaction and inspect the generated debit and credit accounts. Periodically review the auto-entry mapping table, and when a report looks wrong, trace back to the mapping before correcting individual vouchers.