Accounting for end of period adjustments

What the topic requires

These are the requirements for this topic, paraphrased from the official specification.

• Apply the concepts of consistency, prudence, accruals, materiality, money measurement and business entity.
• Explain the causes of depreciation, distinguish straight line from reducing balance, record depreciation and calculate profit or loss on disposal.
• Explain the provision for irrecoverable debts, distinguish it from an irrecoverable debt and record both.
• Explain and record other receivables and other payables.

How it is examined

This topic is assessed in Paper 2, which lasts 1 hour 15 minutes and carries 50 marks. It builds on topics 1 to 3 as well, so the earlier papers' skills are used here too.

Sources: Pearson Edexcel International GCSE in Accounting (4AC1) specification (FT Sept 2017) (Issue 1, October 2016), pages 7, 25. See all sources.

Slips our teachers see most in this topic

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

• Applying an adjustment in the ledger but not in the statement.
• Using closing balances where opening ones are needed.
• Forgetting to apply the concept the question names.

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

A teacher's note

Topic 5 repeats the Topic 2 recording skills but asks students to apply them inside a full set of statements. Our teachers therefore revise it twice: once as pure ledger work for Paper 1, and again as the final adjustments in a Paper 2 question. Seeing the same idea from both sides makes it stick.

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):

• Depreciation and disposal: Cambridge 4.2 (p. 14); OxfordAQA 3.3 (p. 14).
• Other payables and receivables: Cambridge 4.3 (p. 14); OxfordAQA 3.3 (p. 14).
• Irrecoverable debts: Cambridge 4.4 (p. 15); OxfordAQA 3.3 (p. 14).
• Accounting concepts: Cambridge 7.1 (p. 19); OxfordAQA 3.3 (p. 13).

Keep going

• All Edexcel 4AC1 topics

Official reference: Pearson Edexcel International GCSE in Accounting (4AC1) specification (FT Sept 2017) (Issue 1, October 2016), page 23. See all sources.