AS Level: financial accounting for sole traders + intro to cost and management accounting. A Level extends to partnerships, limited companies, cash flow statements, ratio analysis and decision-making.
| Topic | Sub-Topic | Confidence (1–5) | Last Reviewed | Next Review |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AS1. Sources and recording of data (AS) | Source documents and books of prime entry | |||
| 1. Sources and recording of data (AS) | Double-entry bookkeeping and ledger accounts | |||
| 1. Sources and recording of data (AS) | Trial balance, journals and correction of errors | |||
| 1. Sources and recording of data (AS) | Bank reconciliation statements | |||
| 1. Sources and recording of data (AS) | Control accounts (receivables and payables) | |||
| AS2. Final accounts of sole traders (AS) | Statement of profit or loss and statement of financial position | |||
| 2. Final accounts of sole traders (AS) | Adjustments: accruals, prepayments and inventory valuation | |||
| 2. Final accounts of sole traders (AS) | Depreciation (straight-line and reducing balance) | |||
| 2. Final accounts of sole traders (AS) | Bad debts and provision for doubtful debts | |||
| 2. Final accounts of sole traders (AS) | Capital and revenue expenditure | |||
| AS3. Cost and management accounting (AS) | Costing principles: fixed, variable, direct, indirect costs | |||
| 3. Cost and management accounting (AS) | Marginal vs absorption costing | |||
| 3. Cost and management accounting (AS) | Break-even analysis (margin of safety, contribution) | |||
| 3. Cost and management accounting (AS) | Introduction to budgeting | |||
| ↓ A Level content begins. Papers 3 & 4 build on AS Level material. AS content is assumed knowledge. | ||||
| A Level4. Partnerships and limited companies (A Level) | Partnership accounts: appropriation, current and capital accounts | |||
| 4. Partnerships and limited companies (A Level) | Changes in partnership (admission, retirement, dissolution) | |||
| 4. Partnerships and limited companies (A Level) | Limited company accounts: shares, debentures, reserves | |||
| 4. Partnerships and limited companies (A Level) | Published financial statements (IAS 1 layout) | |||
| A Level5. Cash flow and ratio analysis (A Level) | Cash flow statements (IAS 7) and reconciliation | |||
| 5. Cash flow and ratio analysis (A Level) | Profitability ratios (gross margin, net margin, ROCE) | |||
| 5. Cash flow and ratio analysis (A Level) | Liquidity ratios (current, acid test) | |||
| 5. Cash flow and ratio analysis (A Level) | Efficiency and gearing ratios | |||
| 5. Cash flow and ratio analysis (A Level) | Interpretation, limitations and stakeholder use | |||
| A Level6. Advanced costing and decision-making (A Level) | Activity-based costing (ABC) | |||
| 6. Advanced costing and decision-making (A Level) | Standard costing and variance analysis | |||
| 6. Advanced costing and decision-making (A Level) | Investment appraisal: payback, ARR, NPV, IRR | |||
| 6. Advanced costing and decision-making (A Level) | Make-or-buy and limiting factor decisions | |||
| A Level7. International accounting standards and ethics | Key IAS standards: IAS 1, 2, 7, 16, 36, 38 | |||
| 7. International accounting standards and ethics | Concepts: prudence, going concern, consistency, matching | |||
| 7. International accounting standards and ethics | Ethical issues in accounting | |||
| 7. International accounting standards and ethics | Limitations of historical-cost accounting | |||
Use with our Past Paper Finder for Cambridge A Level Accounting 9304 past papers.
Quick answers about this free revision checklist, how to use it for exam prep, and how it relates to the official syllabus.
This revision checklist mirrors the official Cambridge A Level Accounting 9304 syllabus for the 2026 examination series. Every topic and sub-topic on the page is taken from the published syllabus document, so working through the list in order gives you full coverage of what your exam can assess. It is aligned to the AS & A Level tier expectations. For the authoritative version, always cross-check with the latest syllabus PDF on your exam board's website before your final revision push.
The number of top-level topic groups varies by subject, but you can see the exact count on this page — each major heading in the checklist corresponds to one syllabus topic group, and each row below it is a syllabus-level sub-topic. Use the confidence column (1–5) to flag which sub-topics need more work, and re-score yourself weekly to track real progress instead of guessing.
12–16 weeks of focused revision, working through one topic group per week with weekly past-paper practice, is a realistic target for most A Level students. Use this checklist to plan your weeks: filter by topics you have rated 1–3 and spend your first revision block there. Subjects with heavy practical or extended-writing components (e.g. sciences, English) need more past-paper time in the final block than the topic-by-topic phase.
Revise in roughly the order the syllabus lists the topics — exam boards build later topics on earlier ones, so taking them in syllabus order avoids gaps. Once you have rated every topic, switch to weakest-first: filter the checklist by confidence ≤ 2 and prioritise those topics in your next study block. This is more effective than re-revising topics you already score 4–5 on.
You can find past papers and mark schemes via Tutopiya's Past Paper Finder and on your exam board's official site. Once you have rated each sub-topic on this checklist, attempt past-paper questions on your weakest topics first — practising under timed conditions is the single best predictor of exam performance, more so than re-reading notes.
Use the Download CSV or Print PDF button at the bottom of the checklist. CSV opens in Excel, Numbers or Google Sheets so you can sort by confidence and re-arrange revision order. The PDF is print-ready for offline use. A free Tutopiya account is required for download — this also unlocks the matching topic resources, notes and worked examples on the Learning Portal.
Yes, the checklist itself is free — you can view, score and re-score every topic on this page without an account. The CSV / PDF downloads and access to matching Tutopiya Learning Portal resources require a free account. There is no payment required at any point; teachers and parents can also use this checklist freely with their students.
Yes. The topics and sub-topics on this page are drawn from the current 2026 Cambridge A Level Accounting 9304 specification published by Cambridge. Exam boards occasionally tweak weighting or assessment structure mid-cycle, so do a quick sanity-check against the official syllabus PDF when you start your revision and again 4 weeks before the exam.