How to teach yourself an accounting topic you missed

Sooner or later, most students need to learn an accounting topic they missed. Perhaps you were away, the lesson went too fast, or the topic was covered so briefly that it never landed.

A gap matters in a subject as cumulative as accounting, because later topics build on earlier ones. The good news is that teaching yourself a topic is a skill, and there is a reliable method.

Face the gap early

Deal with the gap instead of hoping it goes away. Adjustments assume you can already do double entry, and financial statements assume you understand the accounts that feed them.

A gap tends to grow, because it undermines everything built on top. A student who quietly avoids one topic often finds three later topics hard for reasons they cannot name.

Facing it early also makes it smaller. A missed topic caught soon is an afternoon’s work. The same topic left until it has tangled everything downstream is a much bigger job.

Find the foundation it builds on

Before you learn the missed topic, work out what it rests on. Almost every topic assumes an earlier idea, and if that is shaky, the new one will not make sense. For example, learning the provision for doubtful debts is pointless until you are solid on how an ordinary expense and its account behave.

Spend a few minutes identifying the prerequisites and checking that you have them. If the foundation is unsteady, repair it first. It is almost always quicker to go back one step and build up than to struggle on without the groundwork. This is the step self-teaching students skip most, and it is why so much self-study fails.

Get a clear explanation, then restate it

Once the foundation is in place, find a clear explanation of the new topic in a well-written textbook section or a reliable revision guide. Read it carefully, but do not stop there, because reading gives only recognition. The test of understanding is whether you can restate it in your own words without looking.

Close the book and explain the topic to yourself, aloud or on paper, as if teaching someone else. When your explanation stalls or turns vague, you have found the part you did not understand. Go back to the source for that piece.

Work through examples yourself

Accounting is learned by doing. Work through examples yourself instead of reading solutions. Start with a fully worked example, but use it actively.

Attempt each step before you see how it was done. Cover the solution and redo it from a blank page. Understand why each step is taken.

Then try unworked practice questions from nothing. Begin with straightforward ones to build the basic method.

Move to harder ones with an extra adjustment or an awkward figure. A topic you can only handle in its simplest form is not yet learned.

Test yourself

Because you are your own teacher, you must also be your own examiner, and a strict one. Studying alone, it is easy to convince yourself you have learned something you have only recognised.

After a gap of a few days, attempt fresh questions from a blank page, with explanations and examples put away. Mark yourself against a reliable solution.

Testing straight after studying only checks short-term memory. The gap checks whether the topic has taken hold.

If you pass the delayed test, the topic is yours. If not, you have learned exactly what still needs work. Go back to that part, not the whole topic.

Know when to ask for help

Some topics have a subtle point that re-reading on your own will not make clear. If you have found the foundation, read a clear explanation, worked examples and still cannot get a step to make sense, ask someone instead of grinding on.

A single well-aimed explanation of the exact blocking point can save hours of frustration. The goal is to close the gap efficiently, by whatever mix of self-study and help works.

If your child has fallen behind on a topic, one of our teachers can pinpoint the missing foundation and work through examples with them. They will check understanding one to one. Book a trial class to get started.