PIPFA Foundation cheat sheet

The fundamental accounting equation is Assets = Liabilities + Equity; every transaction preserves this equality.

Double entry: each transaction has equal debits and credits; total debits must equal total credits in every journal entry.

Accrual basis recognizes revenue when earned and expenses when incurred, regardless of cash movement.

Depreciation methods: straight line = (Cost - Residual)/Useful life; reducing balance applies a fixed rate to carrying amount.

Gross profit = Revenue - Cost of Sales; net profit = Gross profit - operating and non-operating expenses + other income.

Current ratio = Current assets / Current liabilities; quick ratio excludes inventory and prepayments from current assets.

Working capital = Current assets - Current liabilities; a negative figure signals short-term liquidity strain.

IFRS framework: recognition requires probable future economic benefit and reliable measurement of cost or value.

Audit assertion categories: occurrence, completeness, accuracy, cut-off, classification, existence, rights, valuation.

Public sector budgeting is typically annual and appropriation-based; spending is limited to amounts authorized by the legislature.

Fund accounting separates resources by purpose or restriction; each fund is a self-balancing set of accounts.

Modified accrual (used in government funds) recognizes revenue when measurable and available, and expenditures when the liability is incurred.

Budgetary control compares budgeted vs actual on a commitment basis; commitments (encumbrances) reserve budget before goods are received.

Public procurement principle: open competitive tendering, transparency, value for money, and documented evaluation criteria.

Fiscal deficit = Total expenditure - Total revenue (excluding borrowing); primary deficit = fiscal deficit - interest payments.

Public debt sustainability is assessed by debt-to-GDP ratio and debt service-to-revenue ratio.

Internal control in government follows segregation of duties: authorization, custody, recording, and reconciliation are separated.

Performance audit examines economy, efficiency, and effectiveness, distinct from financial audit's focus on compliance and fair presentation.

Presentation structure: opening hook, stated purpose, 3-5 key points with evidence, summary, and call to action.

Audience analysis sets vocabulary, depth, and duration; technical depth should match the least expert decision-maker present.

One message per slide; a slide headline should state the conclusion, not merely label the topic.

Data visualization rule: choose chart type by relationship - bar for comparison, line for trend, pie only for parts of a whole (max ~5 slices).

Delivery: speak at roughly 120-150 words per minute; pause after key points instead of filling silence.

Handling questions: repeat the question, answer concisely, and defer unknowns with a committed follow-up date.

Rehearsal timing rule: plan content for 80% of the allotted slot to absorb overruns and questions.

Accessibility: minimum readable font size, high contrast, alt text on figures, and no color-only encoding of meaning.

Written technical reporting follows IMRaD-style logic: context, method, findings, interpretation, recommendation.

Spreadsheet absolute reference ($A$1) locks row and column when copied; relative (A1) shifts; mixed locks one axis.

VLOOKUP(lookup_value, table_array, col_index, FALSE) requires the key in the first column; INDEX-MATCH removes that restriction.

Pivot tables summarize by rows, columns, values, and filters; refresh is required after source data changes.

ACL (Audit Command Language) commands: EXTRACT creates a subset, SUMMARIZE aggregates, SORT orders, JOIN merges tables on a key, STRATIFY samples by strata.

ACL gap detection: use GAPS or AGE to test sequence completeness and identify missing document numbers.

SAP three-tier architecture: presentation, application, and database layers; the GUI is only the presentation tier.

SAP module mapping: FI (financial accounting), CO (controlling), MM (materials management), SD (sales and distribution), HR/HCM (human capital).

SAP segregation of duties is enforced via authorization objects and roles; a user with both create-vendor and pay-vendor rights is a control weakness.

Audit evidence from systems: preserve source extracts with timestamps and record counts to maintain chain of custody.