ACCOUNTING
SCQF LEVEL 5 - National 5
Accountants help organisations to succeed. They develop effective accounting procedures and provide financial and cost information to management.
This subject has a large practice component. You will learn from real-life situations that develop your skills. You can then apply your skills in an assignment that communicates financial and management information to people who are interested in an organisation’s performance.
The course can be combined with Business Management.
QUALIFICATION
National 5
DURATION
1 Year full time/
5 periods per week
COURSEWORK
Assignment done on IT (50 marks) – 2 hours. Completed before the main exam diet.
EXAM
Question Paper (130 marks) – 2 hours.
COST
None
TEACHERS
Mrs Henderson
Miss McGregor
WHY TAKE THIS COURSE?
This course provides a range of skills which are useful for all people in the world of work. It is designed to enable you to gain skills and knowledge such as handling and analysing information, problem solving and decision making. Even if you are not planning a career in this field, the course can improve your personal effectiveness by developing your ability to think logically and work accurately.
If you choose this course, you should have a liking for numbers, as the work involves calculations and logical thinking. Most jobs nowadays involve “money” aspects whether physically counting it or having to work to a budget. Many pupils never consider Accounting but once they try it, it often opens up career opportunities never considered before.
wHAT WILL YOU EXPERIENCE?
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A blend of classroom approaches including practical, theoretical and ICT-based learning; whole class learning work and peer learning
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Active and open-ended learning activities such as problem-based scenarios and presentation tasks
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Use of real-life contexts and experiences familiar and relevant to young people – local business scenarios; real-life situations for applying skills to course work
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Process, prepare and present accounting information for use in decision making
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Integration of knowledge of financial, management & analysing financial statements using ICT
Financial Accounting . . .
Prepare
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Business Documents
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Ledger Entries including Correction of Errors
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Financial Statements of a Sole Trader
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Analysis of Financial Statements
Management Accounting . . .
Prepare
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Inventory Valuation record cards
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Labour and Wages Calculations
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Overhead Analyses
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Job Cost Statements
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Break Even Analysis
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Decision Making Statement based on Key/Limiting Factors
Sills Developed in National 5 Accounting:
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Numeracy: carry out numerical calculations; gather financial information from a range of sources and present in accounting statements, tables or graphs to aid interpretation or decision making; interpret and extract information from tables, charts, graphs or diagrams to make informed decisions.
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Employability, Enterprise and Citizenship: demonstrate understanding of how businesses work; autonomy/initiative through personal research; develop skills to enter world of work; improve ICT skills; work with others; meet deadlines.
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Thinking Skills: using accounting concepts, theories and vocabulary in scenarios, real-life examples; sharing/explaining information and its importance; using information to solve problems; plan, organise and complete tasks; produce financial information.
KEY FACTS
Everything you need to know before selecting this course
entry requirements
Success in completing S3 Accounting
OR
At the discretion of the Principal Teacher of BEIT and/or BEIT Faculty Teaching staff who will consider your ability in Business Management and/or Maths.
A number of candidates do choose National 5 Accounting, never having studied the subject before and they often have success at this level. Those candidates would have the option of studying standalone units in Financial Accounting and Management Accounting and complete internal unit assessments, should the whole National 5 course prove to be a challenge.
what will you get?
National 5
The course is graded:
A: Band 1, Band 2
B: Band 3, Band 4
C: Band 5, Band 6
D: Band 7
If, instead, you successfully complete the Standalone Units your certificate will show unit passes in Financial and/or Management Accounting.
progress
Everything you need to know about future pathways from this course
EMPLOYMENT
Careers using Accounting:
Accountancy
Banking
Law
Investment Analysis
Stockbroking
Tax Advice
Credit Control
Management
Insurance
Bookkeeping
Financial Advice
Local Government Finance
Accountants are key contributors to the success of businesses by providing key financial and management accounting information for effective decision making in an organisation so that they can achieve their aims.
Even though you are not planning a career in accounting, the course will develop skills that can help you manage your personal finances or enable you to understand finances in your future employment or your own business.
my world of work
This link will take you to an excellent resource on MyWOW which looks at potential career routes when you select a combination of subjects.
STUDENT STORIES
Information from pupils who have studied this course as to how they feel it was.
Hannah - S4
I chose Accounting because I am considering Accounting as a possible job in the future, but I also wanted to keep my options open for future careers. I enjoy it because I like working with numbers and doing work that involves thinking logically. I am happy with my choice of National 5 Accounting because it is a useful subject to have for anyone considering a business or financial route in the future. The support given to everyone in the class is excellent.
Cole - S4
I chose Accounts because I was good at it in third year and I wanted to reapply my Accounting skills. I think I made the right decision because it has helped my understanding of the subject more and has tested me to my full ability. This year has been fun but challenging and I would advise people to take this subject next year.
Erin - S4
I chose Accounting as I thought it would be handy for the future, and it has with my parents when they started their own business. I can relate what I do in class at home. I did it in S3 which came in handy for this year as I have grown my own knowledge in Accounting.
