AQ2016 - AAT Level 3 Advanced Diploma in Accounting (AQ2016)

This unit is the first of two Advanced level financial accounting units. It develops Foundation level skills, incorporating Advanced Bookkeeping and managing records for non-current assets, in preparation for producing final accounts for unincorporated organisations. The purpose of this unit is to build on skills and knowledge learned in the Foundation level accounting units and to develop bookkeeping skills, taken to an initial trial balance. This is valuable progress for the student, both in terms of moving towards preparing final accounts and also in terms of offering employers more technical skills at this stage.

This Advanced level unit is about preparing final accounts for sole traders and partnerships, and helping students to become aware of alternative business organisation structures. This purpose of this unit is to provide the background knowledge and skills that a student needs in order to be capable of drafting accounts for sole traders and partnerships, and it provides the background knowledge of the regulations governing company accounts.

Management Accounting: Costing provides students with the knowledge and skills needed to understand the role of cost and management accounting in an organisation, and how organisations use such information to aid management decision making. This unit takes students from Elements of Costing at Foundation level and gets them ready to prepare organisational budgets and report on performance at Professional level.

This Advanced level unit is about indirect tax: specifically, the tax that is referred to in the UK and throughout this unit as value added tax (VAT). The unit is designed to develop students’ skills in preparing and submitting returns to the relevant tax authority in situations where the transactions that have to be included are relatively routine. However, some non-routine issues are also included in this unit. This unit provides students with the knowledge and skills that they need to keep their employers and clients compliant with the laws and practices that apply to the indirect taxation of sales and purchases.

This Advanced level unit is about using spreadsheets to accurately enter, analyse and present information so that informed accountancy judgements can be made. The features of spreadsheets which allow data to be verified and protected are also covered.

Accounting technicians need to use spreadsheets as it is important that financial information is accurately analysed and presented in an unambiguous way.

Spreadsheets are widely used within industry, commerce and practice, and a variety of spreadsheet packages are available specifically to assist with accounting roles (routine and one-off): Features of spreadsheet packages allow calculations, manipulation of data, analysis, budgeting, preparing financial statements, reporting, forecasting and decision making.

This unit is about professional ethics in an accounting environment. It seeks to ensure that students have an excellent understanding of why accountants need to act ethically, of the principles of ethical working, of what is meant by ethical behaviour at work, and of when and how to take action in relation to unethical behaviour and illegal acts. This unit supports students in:

– working within the ethical code applicable to accountants and accounting technicians

– ensuring that the public has a good level of confidence in accounting practices or functions

– protecting their own and their organisation’s professional reputation and legal liability

– upholding principles of sustainability.