Book a Trial Class

Blog & guides

IGCSE Accounting guides for students and parents

A student concentrating on an accounting exercise at a study desk

Plain-English explainers, revision methods and advice for parents, written by our experienced accounting teachers.

Understanding IGCSE Accounting

Accounting in everyday life: the ideas you already use

See how everyday accounting ideas already shape family life, from budgeting and recording to profit versus cash and what you own against what you owe.

Read more
Understanding IGCSE Accounting

Accounting vs bookkeeping: what's the difference?

Bookkeeping and accounting are often used interchangeably, but they're not the same. Here is how they differ and how they fit together.

Read more
Boards & pathways

Accounting vs finance as a career

Accounting and finance are related but distinct career paths. Here is how they differ in what you do day to day, and how IGCSE Accounting fits both.

Read more
Studying & revision

Active recall for accounting: why doing beats re-reading

Re-reading notes feels productive but barely moves accounting marks. Here's how to use active recall and spaced practice to revise IGCSE Accounting effectively.

Read more
Understanding IGCSE Accounting

Bad debts vs doubtful debts: writing off vs allowing for a loss

Students treat bad and doubtful debts as one idea. In fact one writes off a loss that has already happened; the other only allows for one that might.

Read more
Studying & revision

Building a personal accounting question bank

A personal question bank turns scattered accounting practice into a system. Learn to collect, organise by topic and difficulty, and re-attempt your errors.

Read more
Studying & revision

How to build a revision timetable for IGCSE Accounting

A simple, realistic way to plan IGCSE Accounting revision in the weeks before the exam, with topic rotation, timed practice and review, without burning out.

Read more
Understanding IGCSE Accounting

Capital and revenue receipts explained

Money coming in is not all the same. Selling a non-current asset or raising a loan is a capital receipt; sales and rent received are revenue receipts.

Read more
Understanding IGCSE Accounting

Capital vs revenue expenditure explained

Whether spending is capital or revenue decides which statement it lands in. Here is how to tell the two apart in IGCSE Accounting, and why it matters.

Read more
Boards & pathways

Where IGCSE Accounting can lead: careers and next steps

IGCSE Accounting is a first step towards several study routes and careers. See what builds on it, from A Level to professional qualifications.

Read more
Understanding IGCSE Accounting

Cash vs profit: why profitable firms run out of money

Profit and cash are not the same. Learn the difference, and why a profitable business can still be unable to pay its bills.

Read more
Exam technique

Common mistakes in bank reconciliation (and how to avoid them)

Bank reconciliation is a reliable source of marks if you follow the method. Here are the errors we see most often in IGCSE Accounting and how to fix them.

Read more
Exam technique

Common mistakes in control accounts

Control accounts test whether the ledger totals agree. Here are the errors we see most often in IGCSE Accounting control-account questions and how to avoid them.

Read more
Exam technique

Common mistakes in depreciation questions (and how to avoid them)

Depreciation costs students easy marks every session. Here are the errors we see most often in IGCSE Accounting depreciation questions, and how to stop making them.

Read more
Exam technique

Common mistakes in income statements

The income statement is core to IGCSE Accounting, but small errors cost marks. Here are the slips we see most often in income statement questions and how to avoid them.

Read more
Exam technique

Common mistakes in incomplete records

Incomplete records ask you to rebuild missing figures from partial information. Here are the errors we see most in IGCSE Accounting and how to avoid them.

Read more
Exam technique

Common mistakes in manufacturing accounts

Manufacturing accounts split costs into prime cost and overheads to find the cost of production. Here are the errors we see most in IGCSE Accounting and how to avoid them.

Read more
Exam technique

Common mistakes in partnership accounts

Partnership accounts add appropriation, capital and current accounts to the basics. Here are the errors we see most in IGCSE Accounting partnership questions and how to avoid them.

Read more
Exam technique

Common mistakes in the statement of financial position

The statement of financial position must balance and be classified correctly. Here are the errors we see most in IGCSE Accounting and how to avoid them.

Read more
Exam technique

Common mistakes with accruals and prepayments

Accruals and prepayments follow the matching concept, but students often adjust the wrong way. Here are the errors we see most in IGCSE Accounting and how to avoid them.

Read more
Exam technique

Common mistakes with the trial balance

A trial balance that agrees is not proof the books are correct. Here are the errors students make with trial balances in IGCSE Accounting, and how to avoid them.

Read more
Understanding IGCSE Accounting

Current versus non-current: why we split assets and liabilities by time

Understand why we classify assets and liabilities as current or non-current by their time horizon, and why this split matters to readers of the accounts.

Read more
Understanding IGCSE Accounting

Discount allowed vs discount received: which one is income?

To the seller, a cash discount is discount allowed. To the buyer, it is discount received. See why one amount is both an expense and income.

Read more
Understanding IGCSE Accounting

Errors a trial balance cannot detect

A balanced trial balance is not proof the books are right. Learn the six kinds of error, from omission and commission to principle and original entry.

Read more
Understanding IGCSE Accounting

Your sale is someone else's purchase

Every credit dealing is written twice, once in each trader's books. See how a sale becomes a purchase, returns mirror returns, and discounts flip sides.

Read more
Understanding IGCSE Accounting

Expenditure, expense and payment are not the same

Expenditure is any spending, an expense is the slice charged to one period's profit, and a payment is cash leaving the business. Why the three differ.

Read more
Boards & pathways

From IGCSE to A Level Accounting: what changes and how to prepare

How A Level Accounting builds on IGCSE, what gets harder, and how to make the move smoother. A guide for students thinking about the next step.

Read more
Understanding IGCSE Accounting

Gross profit versus profit for the year

An income statement gives two profit figures. Here is what each one measures, why the distinction matters, and how you travel from one to the other.

Read more
Understanding IGCSE Accounting

How a bank overdraft is shown in the accounts

A bank balance can flip from asset to liability. We explain why an overdraft is a credit balance in the cash book and a current liability on the SOFP.

Read more
Understanding IGCSE Accounting

How a manufacturing account fits together

Follow the flow from raw materials to gross profit: direct costs, prime cost, factory overheads, work in progress and the three inventories explained.

Read more
Understanding IGCSE Accounting

How a sole trader becomes a partnership

When a sole trader takes on a partner, the accounts change shape: a conceptual look at capital and current accounts, sharing profit and goodwill.

Read more
Understanding IGCSE Accounting

How accounting handles lost, stolen or destroyed inventory

Stock lost to fire, theft or spoilage is taken out of goods available for sale and recognised as a loss, separate from how surviving inventory is valued.

Read more
Boards & pathways

How accounting helps a small business owner

Accounting is not just for exams. It is how owners understand and run their businesses. See how the ideas you learn apply to a real small business.

Read more
Understanding IGCSE Accounting

How accounting records a loan

A bank loan touches the accounts in several places. A conceptual walk-through of the cash, the liability, the interest and how repayment unwinds it.

Read more
Understanding IGCSE Accounting

How accounting treats goods a business gives away free

Free samples and donated stock leave purchases to become an advertising or donation expense, not drawings, so gross profit and profit stay honest.

Read more
Understanding IGCSE Accounting

How accounting treats goods the owner takes for personal use

Goods an owner takes for personal use are lifted out of purchases and shown as drawings at cost, so gross profit reflects only what was sold.

Read more
Understanding IGCSE Accounting

How limited companies differ from sole traders

Limited companies bring shares, reserves and an appropriation of profit. Here is how their accounts differ from a sole trader's in IGCSE Accounting, and why.

Read more
Understanding IGCSE Accounting

How provisions apply the prudence concept

Provisions look like charging profit for money not yet spent. Seen as prudence in action, recognising likely losses early, they finally make sense.

Read more
Understanding IGCSE Accounting

Sales tax: why it is never the business's money

Sales tax charged on sales and reclaimed on purchases only flows through a business, sitting as a liability or an asset and never as income or expense.

Read more
Understanding IGCSE Accounting

How subscriptions in arrears and in advance work

In a club, subscriptions in arrears are still owed while those in advance are paid early; adjusting for both keeps income in the year it belongs to.

Read more
Understanding IGCSE Accounting

How technology is changing accounting: what shifts and what stays

Understand the general ways software, automation, cloud and data are reshaping accounting, and why understanding the figures still matters as much as ever.

Read more
Understanding IGCSE Accounting

How the financial statements connect: seeing the business as one whole

See how the income statement, statement of financial position and the accounting equation link together into one connected picture of a single business.

Read more
Boards & pathways

Cambridge, Edexcel or OxfordAQA: how the IGCSE Accounting boards differ

The three IGCSE / International GCSE Accounting boards sat in Malaysia are Cambridge, Pearson Edexcel and OxfordAQA. Here is what actually differs between them.

Read more
Studying & revision

How to learn from worked examples effectively

A worked example read passively teaches little. Learn to attempt first, cover and redo, and understand every step so worked solutions build real skill.

Read more
Studying & revision

How to make your own accounting formula and ratio sheet

A one-page formula and ratio sheet is a powerful revision tool, but only if you build it yourself. Here's how to make one and then wean off it.

Read more
Studying & revision

How to mark your own accounting practice work

A tick or a score tells you little. Learn how to mark your own accounting practice, diagnosing the error type, keeping an error log and re-attempting.

Read more
Studying & revision

How to recover after a disappointing accounting test

A poor accounting test result is useful information, not a verdict. Learn how to analyse what went wrong, close the gaps and rebuild confidence calmly.

Read more
Studying & revision

How to revise IGCSE Accounting: a weekly method that works

A practical weekly revision method for IGCSE Accounting: practise statements, keep an error log and use active recall instead of re-reading notes.

Read more
Studying & revision

How to teach yourself an accounting topic you missed

Missed an accounting topic at school? Learn a reliable method to self-study it: find the foundation, work examples, test yourself and know when to get help.

Read more
Studying & revision

How to use IGCSE Accounting past papers effectively

Past papers are the best revision resource in accounting if you use them well. Here is how to practise with them, mark them and turn mistakes into marks.

Read more
Studying & revision

Interleaving accounting topics: why mixing beats blocking in revision

Practising one topic at a time feels neat but hides a key skill. Learn how interleaving accounting topics trains you to pick the right method under pressure.

Read more
Boards & pathways

Is accounting a good career choice?

Thinking about accounting as a career? Here is a clear look at what it offers, who it suits, and how to decide, without hype or fabricated promises.

Read more
Parents' corner

Managing exam stress in the run-up to IGCSE Accounting

Practical, calm ways for students to manage stress before an IGCSE Accounting exam, from sleep and planning to turning anxiety into preparation.

Read more
Understanding IGCSE Accounting

Markup vs margin: why 25% on cost is not 25% on sales

Markup measures gross profit against cost; margin measures it against selling price. The same profit seen from two bases, and why the percentages differ.

Read more
Studying & revision

Memory tricks for debit and credit rules

Acronyms like DEAD CLIC and a few simple associations can lock the debit and credit rules into memory. Here is what they mean and why they stick so well.

Read more
Parents' corner

Motivating a teenager through IGCSE exam season

Practical, calm strategies for parents to keep a teenager motivated and steady through IGCSE Accounting exam season, without adding pressure.

Read more
Understanding IGCSE Accounting

Old names and new names in IGCSE Accounting

A translation guide pairing older accounting words in past papers and textbooks, such as stock, debtors and balance sheet, with the current syllabus terms.

Read more
Understanding IGCSE Accounting

Ordinary shares vs preference shares: two ways to own a company

Both are shares in a limited company, yet ordinary shares carry a variable dividend and the votes, while preference shares take a fixed slice paid first.

Read more
Parents' corner

How private candidates sit IGCSE Accounting in Malaysia

A practical overview for homeschoolers and private candidates on sitting IGCSE / International GCSE Accounting in Malaysia through the British Council, and how to prepare.

Read more
Understanding IGCSE Accounting

Reading a set of accounts for the first time

A set of accounts can look daunting at first. A gentle guide to what the main figures mean and how the statements fit together for a reader.

Read more
Understanding IGCSE Accounting

Real, personal and nominal accounts

Every ledger account is a real, personal or nominal account. This is what each family records and why the ledger is sorted into these three types.

Read more
Understanding IGCSE Accounting

Receipts and payments vs income and expenditure accounts

A receipts and payments account summarises a club's cash, while an income and expenditure account measures its surplus on the accruals basis. See how they differ.

Read more
Understanding IGCSE Accounting

Shares vs debentures: owning a company vs lending to it

A shareholder owns part of a company and receives dividends; a debenture holder lends to it and receives interest. Why the two sit on opposite sides.

Read more
Studying & revision

Spaced practice for IGCSE Accounting: why spreading revision beats cramming

Cramming accounting in one long session feels thorough but fades fast. Here's how to space your practice over time so methods actually stick before the exam.

Read more
Studying & revision

Studying accounting with a friend or group

A study partner can sharpen your accounting revision or waste your time. Learn to quiz, explain aloud and mark each other's work, and dodge the pitfalls.

Read more
Understanding IGCSE Accounting

The accounting concepts and why they matter

The accounting concepts are not a glossary to recite. See how business entity, prudence, accruals, duality and the rest quietly shape every entry you make.

Read more
Understanding IGCSE Accounting

The accounting cycle: from a single transaction to the statements

Follow one transaction through the accounting cycle: source document, book of prime entry, ledger, trial balance and finally the financial statements.

Read more
Understanding IGCSE Accounting

The accounting equation explained (with a simple example)

Assets = Capital + Liabilities is the foundation of the whole subject. A clear, worked explanation of the accounting equation and why it always balances.

Read more
Studying & revision

The best way to take accounting notes

Accounting is a doing subject, so passive notes rarely help. Learn to build worked pro-formas, method summaries and your own examples instead of copying.

Read more
Understanding IGCSE Accounting

The consistency concept explained

Consistency asks a business to apply the same accounting methods year after year, so a change in profit reflects real trading and not a switch of policy.

Read more
Understanding IGCSE Accounting

The difference between a bank loan and a bank overdraft

A bank loan and an overdraft are both borrowing, but differ in nature and term, and in where each one sits on the statement of financial position.

Read more
Understanding IGCSE Accounting

The difference between a debtor and a creditor

Debtors owe the business money and creditors are owed by it. Here is what each term means, why students mix them up, and how to keep them apart.

Read more
Understanding IGCSE Accounting

Liability or expense? The difference students keep missing

A liability is what a business owes; an expense is what a period cost. See why they differ and how one unpaid bill can quietly create both at once.

Read more
Understanding IGCSE Accounting

Partnership capital account vs current account

A partnership gives each partner a fixed capital account and a fluctuating current account. Why the stake is split in two, and what each one records.

Read more
Understanding IGCSE Accounting

The difference between a provision and a reserve

A classic IGCSE Accounting confusion cleared up: why a provision is an estimated cost charged against profit, while a reserve is an appropriation of profit.

Read more
Understanding IGCSE Accounting

The difference between a provision and an accrual

Both are costs recognised before they are paid, yet an accrual is a cost already incurred while a provision estimates a probable future one. Here is why.

Read more
Understanding IGCSE Accounting

The difference between a receipt and an invoice

An invoice requests payment before money changes hands, while a receipt confirms it afterwards, so each source document plays a different role in the records.

Read more
Understanding IGCSE Accounting

Rights issue vs bonus issue of shares

A rights issue brings fresh cash into a company from its owners, while a bonus issue only turns reserves into shares. See why that gap matters.

Read more
Understanding IGCSE Accounting

The difference between a standing order and a direct debit

A standing order and a direct debit both pay automatically from a bank account. They differ in who fixes the amount and how each shows in the cash book.

Read more
Understanding IGCSE Accounting

The difference between an accountant and an auditor

An accountant prepares and records financial information; an auditor independently checks it. Here is why keeping the two roles separate is what builds trust.

Read more
Understanding IGCSE Accounting

The difference between an expense and a loss

An expense is a cost paid to earn revenue; a loss is value lost for no return. Both reduce profit, yet accounting classifies them quite differently.

Read more
Understanding IGCSE Accounting

The difference between an invoice and a statement of account

An invoice bills one transaction. A statement only recaps invoices, credit notes and payments already recorded, so it is not a fresh demand to pay every line.

Read more
Understanding IGCSE Accounting

Authorised, issued and paid-up share capital

Authorised, issued and paid-up share capital measure a company's shares from three distances. See what each layer means and why the figures usually differ.

Read more
Understanding IGCSE Accounting

Depreciation vs a fall in market value

Depreciation spreads an asset's cost over its useful life. A fall in market value is an outside event. That is why net book value rarely equals a sale price.

Read more
Understanding IGCSE Accounting

Financial versus management accounting: two branches, two audiences

Understand accounting's two branches: financial accounting reports past results to outsiders, while management accounting guides insiders' future decisions.

Read more
Understanding IGCSE Accounting

The difference between profit and profitability

Profit is an absolute amount; profitability is how efficiently that profit is earned relative to sales or capital. Why a big business can be less profitable.

Read more
Understanding IGCSE Accounting

The difference between single entry and double entry

Single entry records a transaction once; double entry records it twice. See what single-entry keeping means, why small firms use it, and what it misses.

Read more
Understanding IGCSE Accounting

The difference between trade and cash discounts

Trade and cash discounts sound alike but are treated very differently in the accounts. Here is what each one is and why accounting records them apart.

Read more
Studying & revision

The illusion of understanding in accounting

Watching a teacher solve an accounting problem feels like understanding, but that fluency can deceive. Here is why the illusion forms and how to see past it.

Read more
Understanding IGCSE Accounting

The many meanings of 'capital' in accounting

Capital is accounting's most overloaded word. See how owner's capital, working capital, capital employed, capital expenditure and share capital differ.

Read more
Understanding IGCSE Accounting

The matching concept explained

The matching concept sets a period's costs against the revenue they helped to earn, and it is where accruals, prepayments and depreciation come from.

Read more
Understanding IGCSE Accounting

The materiality concept explained

Materiality lets accountants simplify or ignore trivial amounts that could never sway a reader's decision, and why that convenience hides nothing that counts.

Read more
Understanding IGCSE Accounting

The realisation concept explained

Realisation recognises revenue when a sale is complete, not when cash arrives. Here is what that means and why the timing matters so much.

Read more
Understanding IGCSE Accounting

The story of double entry: a 500-year-old idea you use today

Double entry bookkeeping has barely changed in 500 years. A short, engaging history of the idea at the heart of IGCSE Accounting, and why it endures.

Read more
Understanding IGCSE Accounting

The two meanings of 'credit' in accounting

In accounting, 'credit' has two unrelated meanings: buying on credit and the credit side of a ledger account. Here is why they are not the same idea.

Read more
Understanding IGCSE Accounting

The two meanings of 'provision' in accounting

One word, two unrelated tools: a provision for depreciation builds up against cost, while a provision for doubtful debts is re-set against receivables.

Read more
Understanding IGCSE Accounting

The two meanings of 'revenue' in accounting

'Revenue' does two jobs in accounting: the sales at the top of the income statement, and the routine, recurring kind that contrasts with capital.

Read more
Studying & revision

Attempting questions before the lesson

Trying an accounting question before you have been taught the topic feels backwards, yet a wrong first guess primes the mind to learn the lesson far better.

Read more
Understanding IGCSE Accounting

Understanding liquidity and solvency

Liquidity is a business's short-term ability to pay debts as they fall due; solvency is its longer-term ability to meet all obligations. Why both matter.

Read more
Understanding IGCSE Accounting

Understanding returns inwards and outwards

Returns inwards reduce sales and returns outwards reduce purchases. Here is what each one means and why they sit on opposite sides of the accounts.

Read more
Understanding IGCSE Accounting

Understanding the imprest system

The imprest system keeps petty cash under control with one simple idea. Here is the logic of the fixed float and why it gives a business tight control.

Read more
Studying & revision

Using flashcards for accounting definitions and rules

Accounting has definitions and rules you must know cold. Here's how to use flashcards well: good card wording, digital or paper, and spacing the reviews.

Read more
Understanding IGCSE Accounting

What a contra entry is

A contra entry moves money within a business's own accounts. Here is what it means, why no outside party is involved, and how set-offs work.

Read more
Understanding IGCSE Accounting

What a control account is for

Control accounts do a job many students never quite grasp. Here is the purpose behind them and why businesses rely on them to keep their ledgers honest.

Read more
Understanding IGCSE Accounting

What a credit note is

A credit note is the source document for returns and allowances. Here is what it records, how it differs from an invoice, and why it matters.

Read more
Understanding IGCSE Accounting

What a debit or credit balance actually tells you

The rule 'debit means asset, credit means liability' breaks down fast. We explain why a balance's meaning depends entirely on the account it sits in.

Read more
Understanding IGCSE Accounting

What a statement of affairs is

A statement of affairs estimates a business owner's capital when no double-entry records exist. See what it is and how it differs from a balance sheet.

Read more
Understanding IGCSE Accounting

What a suspense account is

A suspense account is a temporary holding account for a trial-balance difference. Here is what it really is, why it exists, and why it should end at zero.

Read more
Understanding IGCSE Accounting

What accountants mean by net

The word net hides five different subtractions. See why net profit, net assets, net book value, net realisable value and net sales share only a word.

Read more
Understanding IGCSE Accounting

What an accumulated fund is

The accumulated fund is a non-profit club's version of capital: the members' collective stake, equal to its assets minus its liabilities on the club's books.

Read more
Understanding IGCSE Accounting

What an audit is

An audit is an independent check of financial statements. Here is what it means, why organisations are audited, and how it relates to trust in accounts.

Read more
Boards & pathways

What does an accountant actually do?

Beyond the stereotype of number-crunching: a realistic look at what accountants really do day to day, and the different kinds of accounting work.

Read more
Boards & pathways

What forensic accountants do: following the money

Forensic accountants use accounting to investigate fraud and settle legal disputes. It is an investigative career, distinct from accountant and auditor.

Read more
Understanding IGCSE Accounting

What goods on sale or return mean for the seller

Goods on sale or return are not sold until the customer accepts them, so they stay in the seller's inventory and no revenue is recognised until then.

Read more
Understanding IGCSE Accounting

What goodwill really is

Goodwill is one of the harder ideas in IGCSE Accounting. Here is what it means, when it is recorded, and why it appears when a partnership changes.

Read more
Understanding IGCSE Accounting

What is capital and how it changes

Capital is the owner's stake in a business. Here is what it really represents, and how profit, drawings and capital introduced change it over time.

Read more
Understanding IGCSE Accounting

What is IGCSE Accounting? A parent's plain-English guide

What IGCSE Accounting is, what your child will actually learn, and whether it suits them. Written for parents, not accountants.

Read more
Understanding IGCSE Accounting

What limited liability actually means

Limited liability caps what a shareholder can lose at the amount they put in. See why that follows from the company being a separate legal person.

Read more
Understanding IGCSE Accounting

What makes financial information useful

Accounts are only worth reading when useful. What relevance, reliability, comparability and understandability mean, and why readers depend on them.

Read more
Understanding IGCSE Accounting

What net book value really means

Net book value is one of the most misread figures in accounting. Here is what carrying amount represents, what it does not, and why it falls over time.

Read more
Understanding IGCSE Accounting

What retained earnings are

Retained earnings are the accumulated profits a company has kept in the business rather than paid out. See why they belong to shareholders.

Read more
Understanding IGCSE Accounting

What subsidiary ledgers are for: keeping the main ledger clear

Understand the purpose of the sales, purchases and nominal ledgers, and why keeping personal accounts separate keeps the records clear and workable.

Read more
Understanding IGCSE Accounting

What the accounting period means

Understand why a business's ongoing life is divided into accounting periods to measure performance, and how periodicity links to matching and the statements.

Read more
Understanding IGCSE Accounting

What the general journal is actually for

The general journal is the home for one-off entries no day book can hold: opening balances, corrections, credit asset purchases and year-end adjustments.

Read more
Understanding IGCSE Accounting

What the going concern assumption means

Going concern is the assumption that a business will keep operating for the foreseeable future. Here is what it means and how it shapes a set of accounts.

Read more
Understanding IGCSE Accounting

What working capital tells you about a business

Understand what working capital really means: how current assets and current liabilities reveal a business's short-term health, liquidity and breathing room.

Read more
Understanding IGCSE Accounting

When a business asset is also used privately

A car, phone or premises used for both work and home has to be split. Only the business share is an expense, and the private share becomes drawings.

Read more
Understanding IGCSE Accounting

When a customer pays a debt you had already written off

When a written-off customer pays, the money is fresh income of the year it arrives, not a reversal that reopens a loss taken in an earlier period.

Read more
Understanding IGCSE Accounting

What happens when a customer's cheque bounces

When a customer's cheque is dishonoured the recorded receipt is reversed, the money never truly arrived, and the debt revives so the customer owes once again.

Read more
Understanding IGCSE Accounting

When the same item is inventory or a non-current asset

The same car can be inventory for one business and a non-current asset for another. See why classification depends on purpose, resale or use, not the thing.

Read more
Understanding IGCSE Accounting

Which figures in the accounts are facts or judgements

Cash and invoiced amounts are settled facts, but depreciation, doubtful-debt provisions and net realisable value are judgements. Why accounts are never exact.

Read more
Understanding IGCSE Accounting

Share capital and the share price

A company's share price can double or halve, yet its share capital never budges, because shares are recorded at nominal value, not market value.

Read more
Understanding IGCSE Accounting

Why a partnership prepares an appropriation account

Once a partnership finds its profit, an appropriation account shares it out. Why this extra step exists and how salaries, interest and the ratio fit in.

Read more
Understanding IGCSE Accounting

Why a service business has no trading account

A service business sells time, not goods, so it has no purchases, inventory or cost of sales. Here is why its income statement carries no gross-profit line.

Read more
Understanding IGCSE Accounting

Why accounting is called the language of business

Accounting is often called the language of business. Here is what that phrase really means and how a shared language lets different readers understand a firm.

Read more
Understanding IGCSE Accounting

Why an owner's loan to the business is not capital

An owner's loan to their own business is a repayable liability, not capital. See how the entity concept explains the difference.

Read more
Understanding IGCSE Accounting

Why assets are shown at cost, not today's value

Why the accounts pin an asset to what was paid for it rather than today's value, and the reliability-versus-relevance trade-off behind that choice.

Read more
Understanding IGCSE Accounting

Why equipment is not a purchase

In accounting, 'Purchases' means only goods bought for resale, so buying a non-current asset or paying an expense is never recorded as a purchase.

Read more
Understanding IGCSE Accounting

Why carriage inwards and outwards are treated differently

Carriage inwards and outwards are both delivery costs, yet sit in different places in the accounts. Here is the reasoning and why it affects gross profit.

Read more
Understanding IGCSE Accounting

Why closing inventory appears in two statements

One closing inventory figure lowers cost of sales and stands as a current asset. See how a single double entry places it in both financial statements at once.

Read more
Understanding IGCSE Accounting

Why depreciation is not a cash flow

Depreciation lowers profit yet no money leaves the business. Learn why it is a non-cash charge that spreads the cost of an asset already paid for.

Read more
Understanding IGCSE Accounting

Why dividends are paid out of profit, not capital

A company rewards shareholders from profit it has earned, never from the capital put in. See what that rule protects and why the two pools stay apart.

Read more
Understanding IGCSE Accounting

Why does a debit increase an asset? Double entry, finally explained

The rule that debits increase assets but decrease liabilities confuses almost every beginner. Here's an intuition that makes double entry click, and stick.

Read more
Understanding IGCSE Accounting

Why drawings are not an expense

Drawings reduce capital, not profit. Understanding why is one of the clearest ways to grasp the business entity concept in IGCSE Accounting.

Read more
Understanding IGCSE Accounting

Why honesty and ethics matter in accounting

Accounting depends on honesty. Here is why integrity and accuracy are central, what misleading accounts cause, and how the concepts support trust.

Read more
Understanding IGCSE Accounting

Why interest on a loan is an expense but repaying it is not

A single loan payment splits in two: why the interest reduces profit as a real cost while repaying the principal only settles a liability.

Read more
Understanding IGCSE Accounting

Why inventory isn't reduced every time you make a sale

IGCSE uses the periodic inventory system: stock is counted once at year end to derive cost of sales, instead of being reduced after every single sale.

Read more
Understanding IGCSE Accounting

Why inventory is valued at the lower of cost and NRV

Inventory is valued at the lower of cost and net realisable value. Here is what that rule means, why prudence requires it, and how to apply it in IGCSE Accounting.

Read more
Understanding IGCSE Accounting

Why only the change in the provision affects profit

Many students charge the whole provision to profit each year. In fact only the year-on-year movement is charged or written back; the balance stays put.

Read more
Understanding IGCSE Accounting

Why some accounting entries have no invoice behind them

Most entries begin with an invoice or receipt, yet period-end adjustments such as depreciation and accruals come from judgement and the matching concept.

Read more
Understanding IGCSE Accounting

Why some valuable assets are not in the accounts

A strong brand, loyal customers and skilled staff can be a business's greatest assets, yet the money measurement concept keeps them off the accounts.

Read more
Understanding IGCSE Accounting

Why the business is separate from its owner

The business entity concept treats a firm as separate from its owner. See why personal money stays out of the accounts and why capital is what the firm owes back.

Read more
Understanding IGCSE Accounting

Why the cash book is both a book of prime entry and a ledger

The cash book plays two roles at once: it records money transactions first, like a day book, and it is the cash and bank ledger account itself.

Read more
Understanding IGCSE Accounting

Why we balance off a ledger account

A ledger account is just two columns of entries until we balance it off. We explain what that step achieves and what the brought-down figure really means.

Read more
Understanding IGCSE Accounting

Why we depreciate non-current assets: the idea behind the entry

Understand the reasoning behind depreciation: spreading an asset's cost over its useful life, the matching concept, prudence, and why it is not a cash fund.

Read more
Understanding IGCSE Accounting

Why we use books of prime entry: sorting transactions before the ledger

Understand why businesses record transactions in books of prime entry before the ledger, and how grouping similar entries keeps the records orderly.

Read more
Parents' corner

Should my child start IGCSE Accounting in Year 9 or Year 10?

Decide whether to begin IGCSE Accounting support in Year 9 or wait until Year 10. See the trade-offs and how to tell which is right for your child.

Read more

Ready to book a trial class?

If this article raised a question about your own child, a trial class lets a teacher answer it live. One-to-one and online, from RM75/hr.

Book a Trial Class

One-hour paid trial · Same-day reply

Lessons from RM75/hr One-hour paid trial · Same-day reply
Book a Trial Class