Yomi BlackAccounting is examined at international depth, with syllabuses written to be taught over two years and examined in components. That is the sentence to hold onto, because the same subject examined by a different body at a different depth needs a different plan, and candidates who carry preparation across from one to the other lose marks they did not need to lose.
- Subject
- Accounting
- Examined by
- Cambridge
- Format here
- Multiple components per subject, with practicals examined as separate papers in the sciences
- Depth
- International depth, with syllabuses written to be taught over two years and examined in components
- What the grade does
- A grade read by admissions officers worldwide without translation
- Papers
- Objective and a theory-and-practice paper.
- Required for
- Accounting, banking and finance, business administration, economics and actuarial science
How Cambridge examines this subject
The format is multiple components per subject, with practicals examined as separate papers in the sciences, and it is marked against published assessment objectives, with grade thresholds set after each series.
This is the certificate you sit when the destination is outside Nigeria, and the portability is what you are paying for.
What makes it hard
It is a format subject. A candidate who understands the transaction but presents the statement wrongly loses more marks than one who presents it correctly with a small error.
Set that against how this examination works. The syllabus assumes teaching most Nigerian schools do not provide, particularly in the sciences, which is why entering privately is difficult here.
Where marks are lost in this subject
- Presentation. Marks are attached to the correct format of each statement, not only to the numbers.
- Leaving out the workings, which are separately credited.
- Arithmetic slips that carry through the whole statement.
Learn the statement formats until you can draw them blank. Then fill them in.
Turning it into a plan
- Get the current syllabus from Cambridge and check the year range on the cover.
- Write one line per topic area, with a box beside it.
- Work a past paper in this examination’s format, multiple components per subject, and tag every question back to a line.
- Mark the lines your teaching has never covered. Those are the priority.
- Re-weight towards the component carrying the most marks. Two series a year, June and November, with a formal enquiry-about-results process afterwards.
What a good grade here is worth
In this examination the grade is a grade read by admissions officers worldwide without translation. Accounting is required for accounting, banking and finance, business administration, economics and actuarial science, and course requirements are checked subject by subject, so a strong overall result with a weak grade here is a disqualification for the course that names it rather than a near miss.
Accounting: common questions
What is it required for?
Accounting, banking and finance, business administration, economics and actuarial science.
How many papers are there?
Objective and a theory-and-practice paper.
What makes it hard?
It is a format subject. A candidate who understands the transaction but presents the statement wrongly loses more marks than one who presents it correctly with a small error.
What is the most common way candidates lose marks?
Presentation. Marks are attached to the correct format of each statement, not only to the numbers.
Where do I get the official syllabus?
From Cambridge, on its own site, free. Check the year range on the cover before you use it.
Has the syllabus changed?
Syllabuses are revised on published cycles and old ones stay online after they expire. If the copy you are holding has no year range, you do not know what you are holding.
How do I turn it into revision?
One line per topic area with a box beside it, then tick the lines off against past papers rather than against your notes. The lines that stay blank are the finding.
Is Accounting compulsory?
No. It is a business subject, chosen as one of your electives, and you should choose it because a course you want names it.
What the subject covers
Use these topic areas as the frame for your own checklist, then verify the detail against the syllabus Cambridge publishes itself, because depth and emphasis shift between curriculum cycles even when the headings do not.
- The accounting equation and double entry.
- Books of original entry and ledgers.
- The trial balance and correction of errors.
- Final accounts for sole traders.
- Partnership, company and not-for-profit accounts.
- Depreciation, provisions and adjustments.
- Manufacturing and departmental accounts.
The paper structure, and how to weight your time
Objective and a theory-and-practice paper.
Split your preparation roughly in the proportion the components are weighted. Candidates habitually over-prepare the part they enjoy and meet the other part for the first time in the hall.
Sources
- Cambridge Assessment International Education. www.cambridgeinternational.org