It is a practical subject that requires understanding of accounting concepts and continuous revision in order to do well.
One of my biggest pieces of advice for students is to try not to anticipate what will be on the exam paper. There is no sequence that can be followed or used to predict what will come up. Treat each type of account as if it is expected to come up and try not to take shortcuts.
I would strongly recommend choosing to do question one – final accounts, for 120 marks – instead of choosing to do two 60 mark questions. With the final accounts question, you are guaranteed that one of only three questions will come up, with all three being very similar with just slight differences in workings and layouts. You are also guaranteed that no theory (which can be unpredictable and hard to score marks in) will be asked, something that is not the case with question 2, 3 and 4.
With regard to study, accounting is not a subject that the “night before job” will work on. Set a target to study one topic every week, completing various exam paper questions on that topic throughout this time. Eventually it will all become routine with workings and layouts becoming second nature.
Past exam papers and marking schemes are crucial tools in getting a high grade in accounting. By June, you should realistically have every Leaving Cert exam paper completed from the last 10 years. 95 per cent of the accounting exams will have always come up in previous years.
Finally, on the day, you need to relax. Under exam pressure you can make mistakes you would not make under normal conditions. Make sure to read every question and working carefully, double-check calculations and, if an account does not work out, leave it and move on. It is most likely an addition error, meaning you will only lose 1-2 marks, if any.
Remember, you can still get an A1 with none of your accounts balancing.
Mary Campbell
Medicine
University College Dublin