ACCA Certified Accounting Technician CAT

ACCA Certified Accounting Technician (CAT)

Code: 70001

Department: Business And Management

Short Description: This is a nationally recognised professional accounting qualification which is accredited by the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA).

What's it all about? Paper 3
This paper will develop knowledge and understanding of the techniques used to maintain accounting records and prepare final accounts of unincorporated entities.

Units include:

• Basic bookkeeping
• Accounting standards, principles and policies
• Fixed assets and depreciation
• Control accounts
• Reconciliations and errors
• Adjustments to the trial balance
• Final accounts

Paper 4
This paper will develop knowledge and understanding of how organisations record, analyse and report current and future costs and revenue data for use within the organisation.

Units include:

• Management information
• Cost classification and cost behaviour
• Elements of cost
• Marginal costing and absorption costing
• Product and service costs, estimating costs and revenues

Paper 5
This paper will develop knowledge and understanding of the role of a manager in an effective, efficient, safe and secure accounting environment. This includes the co-ordination of work, activities, the maintenance of an effective accounting system, people management, personal effectiveness and health and safety and security issues within the workplace.

Units include:

• The business and accounting environment
• Effective management of business and accounting systems
• Management theory, principles and techniques
• Individual effectiveness at work
• Health, safety and security in the working environment

Paper 6
This paper will help you to understand and apply the techniques used to prepare year-end financial statements of partnerships and limited companies which comply with legislation and accounting standards, and to interpret financial statements and the relationships between their elements using ratio analysis.

Units include:

• General framework
• Preparing financial statements
• Cashflow statements
• Interpretation of financial statements
• Consolidated accounts

Paper 7
This paper will develop knowledge and understanding of the application of management accounting techniques to support the management processes of planning, decision making, control and performance measurement.

Units include:

• Principles of cost accounting
• Collection of information
• Analysis of information
• Forecasting
• Variance analysis
• Budgetary planning
• Budgetary control
• Performance measurement
• Decision-making
• Cost Management

Paper 8
This paper will develop knowledge and understanding of the audit process from the planning stage through to the reporting stage and the techniques used in the conduct of internal and external audits.

Units include:

• The Business environment
• The audit framework
• Audit personnel
• Audit planning
• Accounting systems and controls
• Audit evidence and sampling
• Audit completion
• Audit report

Paper 9
This paper will develop the ability to prepare computations of tax liability for both individual's computations and business residents in the UK for the purposes of income tax, corporation tax, capital gains tax and value added tax. In addition, to develop knowledge and understanding of the manner in which dealings must be conducted with the Inland Revenue and Customs & Excise, including knowledge of the statutory timescales for the submission of claims and returns and the due dates for the payment of tax liabilities.

Units include:

• Adjusting profit/loss computations for trades and professions
• National insurance contributions
• Income from employment
• Property and investment income
• Income tax computations
• Chargeable gain computations (individuals and companies)Administration of income tax and capital gains tax
• Corporation tax computations
• Administration of corporation tax
• Value added tax (VAT)
  

Paper 10
This paper will develop knowledge and understanding of the way organisations finance their operations, plan and control cash flows, optimise their use of working capital and allocate resources to capital expenditure projects.

Units include:

• Cash receipts and payments
• Cash balances
• Working capital management
• Credit granting
• Debt collection
• Sources of finance
• Capital investments

How will I be assessed? Paper 3
The examination is a 2-hour paper. It can be taken as a written paper or as a computer based exam. The questions in the computer based exam are objective test questions - multiple choice, number entry and multiple response. The written exam consists of two sections with 20 compulsory multiple choice questions in section A and four compulsory questions (Question one will comprise of short form questions) in Section B.

Paper 4
Paper 4 is a 2-hour paper. It can be taken as a written paper or a computer based examination. The questions in the computer based examination are objective test questions - multiple choice, number entry and multiple response. The written examination consists of two sections - Section A has 20 compulsory multiple choice questions and Section B has four compulsory questions.

Paper 5
The paper is constructed in such a way that it provides a broad assessment of the main issues involved in managing systems and people. In general terms, the paper is divided into five parts: The business and accounting environment, Effective management of business and accounting systems, Management theory, principles and techniques, Individual effectiveness at work, Health, safety and security in the working environment. The examination is a two-hour written paper of 5 compulsory questions, a question will normally be set in each of the five syllabus.

Papers 6, 7, 8
These examinations are 3-hour written papers. The paper consists of 4 compulsory questions.

Paper 9
Paper 9 is a 3-hour written paper. The examination will be predominantly computational and will comprise of 4 compulsory questions, which add up to a total of 100 marks.

Paper 10
The examination is a 3-hour written paper. One case study and three calculation and essay questions. The case study will always consist of a mixture of calculation and written elements, and may cover more than part of the syllabus. The case study will always include one or more key areas of the syllabus, may also include areas that are not highlighted as key. The shorter questions may include scenarios that are simpler than those given in the case study question.