Principles of Accounting

Learn how reliable financial records are prepared and used. You will move from individual transactions to ledgers, reconciliations and financial statements. Practice develops accuracy, clear working and interpretation using trading and service organisations familiar to Southern African learners.

Pathway subject

Learning outcomes

• Record transactions through a complete accounting cycle.
• Prepare reconciliations and financial statements from given records.
• Interpret accounting information and explain errors or adjustments.

Main topics

• Source documents and the accounting cycle
• Subsidiary books, ledgers and double entry
• Trial balance, errors and reconciliations
• Adjustments and end-of-period statements
• Accounts for different business organisations
• Ratios, incomplete records and ethical record keeping

Practical task

Prepare a complete set of records for a fictional small business, including source documents, ledgers and final statements.

Assessment

Bookkeeping exercises, reconciliation and adjustment problems, statement preparation and interpretation questions.