Trying to consolidate learning

davemartini

Hi there, this is my first post. I was just curious if anybody could give me any tips how to better understand the whole of the financial section of AAT at intermediate level? I acknowledge this is a broad question so I'll provide some more background that might help! I am half way through the course and struggled to grasp double entry book-keeping. I can understand pretty much every accounting concept I've covered but I seem to falter a bit when thinking in terms of T accounts and double entry. In my job, I do year end accounts prep for Sole Trader and Partnership companies. I struggle to see the parallells between what I'm doing day to day to the handwritten double entry book-keeping. I'm hoping for someone who might be able to offer some guidance on how to challenge this sort of an issue. Are there any chapters in the BPP books that will help particularly, or any previous threads, etc. Im in dire need of some help as I am grasping everything else fine, I feel as though I just need more confidence with this! Thank you for your time!

Dave

peugeot

Hi Dave,

A lot of what happens in practice appears to be very different from what you do in your normal studies, but the principles are very much the same! Accountants that I have trained often ask "why are there so many accounting standards and how can we possibly apply them all?" The answer is you do it without even thinking about it!! For example, the trainees I deal with know to record deposits received as a liability. Little do they realise that by doing this, they are applying the provisions of IAS 18 (Revenue) and the provisions in the ASB's Statement of Principles (UK GAAP). Even recording a fixed (non-current) asset at cost is applying the provisions of FRS 15 and IAS 16.

When you undertake 'control accounts' in practice or post the bank reconciliation to your accounts production system you are essentially doing the same thing as (say) a sales ledger control account or bank reconciliation which you would do in your studies. The same principles are involved, it is mainly the layouts that are different.

The majority of what you learn during your studies and apply in your job will become much clearer with practise. Double entry is renowned for being a monster to grasp with students (indeed when I first started I struggled to grasp the concept), but it does all register in time.

Kind regards
Steve

davemartini

Thank you Steve, for your sage advice. I acknowledge that there are similarities between what I'm doing and the more I'm doing it, the more I'm grasping it. I guess it is just going to take practice. You are absolutely spot on about the lay-outs, as I feel that is probably what is prohibiting me from feeling as comfortable as I should with the concepts. Thanks, again.