Certificate of Accounting

Unit 1 – Provide financial and business performance information

• Client expectations, goals and objectives
• Client information forms (CIF)
• Small, medium and large businesses
• Company officers and board of management
• Financial institutions
• Inline management
• Partnerships and incorporated
• External reports
• Unincorporated organisations
• Shareholders and sole traders
• Objectives, consistency and efficiency
• Financial plan
• Legal and financial requirements
• Reconciling depreciation and GST
• Business structure
• Adjustment of borrowings
• Asset liquidation
• Funding alternatives
• Accounts receivable management
• Business plans
• Long and short term financial requirements
• Suitable business structure
• Working capital needs
• Cash flow forecasting (CFF)
• Budgeting
• Revenue controls and expense controls
• Inventory management
• Net present values(NPV)
• CEO’s and FO’s
• Organisational policy
• Reconciling and financial statements
• Profitability, efficiency and stability
• BAS requirements
• PAYG obligations
• Compliance
• Presentation of financial information
• Debtor fault
• Corporations law
• Taxation legislation

Unit 2 – Prepare tax documentation for individuals

• Consult with client
• Determine tax documentation preparation requirements
• Compliance requirements
• Tax invoices
• Adjustment notes, credit notes and receipts
• Tax obligations
• The business unit
• Classification of income
• Allowable and general deductions
• Market value and asset value
• Net realisable amounts
• Calculation based on gross margins
• Retail inventory method
• Calculating depreciation
• Prime cost methods
• Financial and system discrepancies
• Accrual and cash accounting
• Prepaid income
• Prepaid expenses
• Income statements
• Calculating clients tax obligations
• Annual PAYG instalment notice
• Income tax lodgement
• Tax tables
• Medicare levy surcharge
• Health rebates
• Seniors tax offsets
• Calculating capital gains tax or losses
• GST and fringe benefits tax (FBT)
• Benefits and allowances
• Medical expenses tax offset
• Superannuation
• Family tax benefit A and B
• Tax free income
• Specialist advice
• Integrity and privacy legislation
• Obtain client signature, authorisation and endorsement
• Tax file numbers
• Who needs to lodge a tax return
• Submitting documentation to the ATO
• Statement of changes in equity
• Inventory usage reports
• Ordering supplies
• Tax practitioners Board (TPB)
• Tax agent services
• ATO reviews and audits
• ATO expectations

Unit 3 – Manage budgets and forecasts

• Budget objectives
• Sales and expenditure budgets
• Master budgets
• Cash budgets
• Production budgets
• Labour budgets
• Overhead budgets
• Budgeted state of financial performance
• Financial and capital budgets
• Cash flow budgets and controls
• Reporting expenditure
• Capital budgets
• Accruals
• Rolling forecasts
• Variable expenditure
• Contribution margin
• Breakeven point analysis
• Highlighting milestones
• Forecasting data
• Qualitative forecasting
• Budget assumptions and parameters
• SWOT analysis
• Estimates of cash flow, costs and revenues
• Cash receipts forecast
• Financial risks and protection strategies
• Budget formats
• Calculating GST
• Statement of financial position
• Completing reports
• Comparing projections with market growth and development
• Not for profit (NFP projects)
• Budget variances and variance reporting
• Budget audits

Unit 4 – Prepare financial reports for corporate entities

• Code, classify and check data
• Raw data and knowledge
• Extracting data from established systems
• Data coding
• Accrual accounting
• The principle of double entry
• The balance sheet
• Accurate account keeping
• The Australian Accounting Standards Board (AASB)
• Codes of conduct and license requirements
• Data conversion
• Data consolidation process
• Data reconciliation
• Transferring data to computerised systems
• Shrink wrapped software
• Entering data
• Valuing assets and inventory
• Calculating and recording depreciation
• Perpetual or periodic recording systems
• Cost method
• Net realisable value
• Calculations based on gross margins
• Retail method
• The cash system
• Records management (Australian standard)
• Tax invoices
• Purchase orders
• Non-cash transactions
• Taxation reporting requirements
• Adjustments
• Input tax events
• Lodgement schedules
• Filing systems
• FBT tax returns
• PAYG withholding annual reports
• Superannuation guarantee levy
• Processing and organising data
• Data formats (charts and tables)
• Presenting information
• Delegated authorities
• Lodging annual reports with ASIC
• Conflict of interest
• Confidentiality
• Structure and format of reports
• Laws and regulations
• Effective internal controls
• Reporting against budgets
• Analysing results against budgets
• Examination of the figures
• Penalties
• The accounting cycle
• Profit and loss reports
• Statement of retained earnings
• Statement of assets and liabilities
• Review statements for errors
• Journals
• Cash flow statements
• Preparing a cash flow projection (4 steps)
• Chart of accounts
• Activity statements
• Annual GST information report
• Transactions not reported in total sales

Unit 5 – Implement and maintain internal control procedures

• Corporate governance and ethical requirements
• Partnerships, corporations, and companies
• Principles of corporate governance
• Legislation
• Delegated authorities
• Key principles in a corporate governance statement
• Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA)
• Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC)
• Financial services reform legislation
• Australian Securities Exchange (ASX)
• 10 corporate governance principles
• Mandatory requirements and audits
• Australian Taxation Office (ATO)
• Asset registers
• Depreciation
• Professional associations
• Law and ethics
• Internal control procedures
• Three parts of the revenue statement
• Safeguarding and insurance assets
• Risk management
• Data protection and security
• Reliability and efficiency of financial reporting
• Produce, review and distribute reports
• Mandatory reporting
• Implementing corporate governance
• Internal vs external stakeholders
• Consulting with stakeholder groups
• Consultation steps
• Stakeholder engagement
• Detail and document internal control procedures
• Application of corporate governance
• Annual audited financial reports
• Taxation reporting deadlines
• Activity statements
• Annual GST report
• Transaction and auditable trails
• Integrity and ethical behaviour
• Variations in compliance
• The role of auditors
• Ignorance or misinterpretation of governance requirements
• Modifying internal control procedures

Unit 6 – Provide management accounting information

• Systems to generate operating and cost data
• Entering cash transactions
• General ledger and journals
• Systems to generate operating and cost data
• The cash system
• Accrual accounting
• Checking source documents
• Chart of accounts
• Double entry accounting
• Account systems
• Systems to generate operating and cost data
• Back up schedules
• Portability
• Code, classify and check data
• Developing and using data
• Accuracy and reliability of data
• Source documents
• Cost data
• Cost behaviour characteristics
• Differences between actual and applied overheads
• Job costing and assigning costs
• Manufacturing costs (materials and labour)
• Service costs
• Double entry accounting
• T accounts
• Invoicing
• Reconciliation procedures
• Non-cash transactions
• Balance sheets and profit and loss accounts
• Interpreting cost
• Financial cost analysis
• Cash flow statements and budgets
• Operating activities
• Costing information
• Cost budget and materials usage
• Labour usage budget
• Manufacturing overheads
• Cost centres
• Cost analysis and reporting
• Break even analysis
• Budget structure and format
• Job cost reports
• Service cost analysis
• Full cost accounting
• Variances again budget
• Zero-based budgeting
• Activity-based budgeting
• Budget variances and analysis
• Accurate reporting requirements
• Trail balance
• Depreciation and diminishing value
• Prime cost method
• Variance analysis
• Sales mix variance
• Perpetual inventory systems

Unit 7 – Work effectively in the accounting and bookkeeping industry

• Determine business needs and expectations
• Active listening
• Asking questions
• Interview techniques
• Code of ethics
• Code of professional conduct
• ATO office reports
• Software requirements
• Legislative and industry requirements
• Policies and procedures
• Industry codes of practice
• Flow charts
• Life cycle model
• Review and adapt systems
• Determine tasks to be done
• The consultation process
• Group decision making
• Objectives and strategies
• Time management
• Urgency of tasks
• Feedback to team members
• Identify areas for improvement
• Development opportunities
• Adapting to changes in technology
• Training needs analysis (TNA)
• Professional development needs
• Staff reviews

Unit 8 – Report on financial activity

• Property register
• Fixed asset register (FAR)
• Calculate depreciation
• Asset and liability valuations
• Financial and system discrepancies
• Tax liabilities
• Prepare a trial balance
• Adjust accounts for prepayments or accruals
• Adjust expense account and revenue accounts
• Common balance day adjustments
• General ledger adjustments
• Reverse adjusting entries
• Review data for errors and compliance
• Prepare revenue statement
• Prepare a balance sheet
• Post revenue and expenses to general ledger
• Closing entries
• Correct or refer errors
• Correct an incorrect posting
• Reverse and re-enter the transaction
• Double-entry and accrual principles
• Accounting systems
• Debit and credit rules
• The accounting equation
• Accrual accounting
• Legislation, regulations and standards
• Code of practice
• The Australian Taxation Office (ATO)
• Five basic bookkeeping principles
• The bookkeeping cycle
• Financial forecasting and analysis
• Ethical requirements