Accounting procedures

About this topic

These are the year-end adjustments that turn raw ledger balances into fair figures. Students decide what is an asset and what is an expense. They spread the cost of assets over their lives, match expenses and income to the right period, recognise customers who will not pay, and value closing inventory.

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.

These adjustments feed straight into the income statement and statement of financial position questions in Paper 2. Many of the marks in section 5 therefore depend on getting section 4 right. Paper 1 can test definitions and quick calculations.

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.

• Charging a full year of depreciation on an asset bought late in the year without checking the stated policy.
• Adding an accrual to the expense but forgetting to show it as a current liability.
• Valuing inventory at selling price instead of the lower of cost and net realisable value.

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

What changed between the 2026 and 2027 to 2029 syllabuses

• Depreciation and disposal of non-current assets: The 2027-2029 syllabus states the three ledger accounts (non-current asset, provision for depreciation, disposal) explicitly. It also adds choosing appropriate methods for different assets, and names calculating profit or loss on disposal. The 2026 syllabus covered disposals with disposal accounts.
• Other payables and other receivables: The 2027-2029 syllabus names the matching or accruals concept in the objectives. The recording tasks are unchanged.
• Irrecoverable debts and allowance for irrecoverable debts: The 2027-2029 syllabus uses the terms allowance for irrecoverable debts and irrecoverable debts recovered. The 2026 syllabus titles the topic irrecoverable debts and provision for doubtful debts, and speaks of recovery of debts written off.
• Valuation of inventory: The 2026 syllabus refers to preparing simple inventory valuation statements; the 2027-2029 syllabus refers to calculating the value of inventory.

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):

• Capital and revenue expenditure: Edexcel Topic 2, item 4 (p. 15); OxfordAQA 3.3 (p. 14).
• Depreciation and disposal: Edexcel Topic 2, item 5 and Topic 5, item 2 (p. 15); OxfordAQA 3.3 (p. 14).
• Other payables and receivables: Edexcel Topic 2, item 7 and Topic 5, item 4 (p. 16); OxfordAQA 3.3 (p. 14).
• Irrecoverable debts: Edexcel Topic 2, item 6 and Topic 5, item 3 (p. 16); OxfordAQA 3.3 (p. 14).

Keep going

• Key terms: Capital expenditure, Revenue expenditure, Depreciation, Straight-line method, Reducing balance method, Disposal of a non-current asset, Provision for depreciation, Carrying amount, Accrual, Prepayment
• Skills: How to calculate depreciation (straight-line method), How to calculate depreciation (reducing balance method), How to calculate profit or loss on disposal, How to record accruals and prepayments, How to adjust for accrued and prepaid income, How to write off an irrecoverable debt, How to record a provision for doubtful debts, How to value closing inventory
• Layouts: Disposal of a non-current asset account format, Provision for depreciation account format, Provision for doubtful debts account format, Trading account (cost of sales) format
• Worked examples: income statement, depreciation, accruals and prepayments, provision for doubtful debts
• Practice: capital and revenue expenditure, depreciation, accruals and prepayments, provision for doubtful debts practice, income statement
• All Cambridge 0452 and 0985 topics

Official reference: Cambridge IGCSE Accounting 0452: syllabus for 2027-2029 (Version 1), page 14; Cambridge IGCSE Accounting 0452: syllabus for examination in 2026 (Version 2, December 2025), page 13. See all sources.