Accounting concepts and modern practice

About this topic

The concepts section explains the rules of the game: why we use historic cost, why we are prudent, why the business is separate from its owner. In the syllabus for 2027 to 2029 it gains two new strands: ethical considerations, and technology and sustainability. These turn it from a vocabulary list into a section students can write about.

What students must be able to do

The official syllabus lists a set of skills under each sub-topic. Here is each one in plain English, with a link to our guide.

How it is examined

Both papers are based on all the subject content, so this topic can appear in either. For 2027 to 2029, Paper 1 has 40 multiple-choice questions, all compulsory in 1 hour 30 minutes (40 marks). Paper 2 has five compulsory questions of 20 marks each, based on stimulus material in 1 hour 45 minutes (100 marks).

The question verbs matter too. The syllabus lists command words such as calculate, explain, prepare and evaluate, and the marks on each part of a question tell you how much detail is expected.

Concepts are tested by recognising which one applies to a given treatment. The new 2027 strands are written as understanding statements, so expect short explanatory and advantages and disadvantages answers.

Sources: Cambridge IGCSE Accounting 0452: syllabus for 2027-2029 (Version 1), pages 9, 22. See all sources.

Slips our teachers see most in this topic

These come from marking student work in lessons, not from the board.

• Naming a concept without linking it to the treatment in the question.
• Confusing prudence (do not overstate) with consistency (apply the same method each year).
• Describing technology in general terms rather than the specific accounting benefit or risk.

If these slips look familiar, a teacher can go through your child's answers on accounting concepts and modern practice and fix the habit behind each one. Book a trial class.

What changed between the 2026 and 2027 to 2029 syllabuses

• Accounting concepts: Titled accounting principles in 2026 and accounting concepts in 2027-2029. The ten items listed are the same; matching is written matching or accruals in 2027-2029.
• Ethical considerations: New in the 2027-2029 syllabus. It does not appear in the 2026 syllabus, whose 7.2 covers accounting policies instead.
• Technology and sustainability: New in the 2027-2029 syllabus. The syllabus states that candidates do not need knowledge of, or access to, specific accounting software.

Where this sits on the other boards

Our teachers' map of the same ideas in the other documents (an editorial mapping, with the official reference shown):

• Accounting concepts: Edexcel Topic 1, item 2 and Topic 5, item 1 (p. 13); OxfordAQA 3.3 (p. 13).
• Ethics and technology: Edexcel Topic 1, items 3 and 4 (p. 13); OxfordAQA 3.5 (computers in accounting) (p. 18).

Keep going

• Key terms: Business entity concept, Going concern, Prudence concept, Matching concept, Materiality concept, Consistency concept, Duality concept, Realisation concept, Money measurement concept, Historical cost concept
• All Cambridge 0452 and 0985 topics

Official reference: Cambridge IGCSE Accounting 0452: syllabus for 2027-2029 (Version 1), page 19; Cambridge IGCSE Accounting 0452: syllabus for examination in 2026 (Version 2, December 2025), page 18. See all sources.