Qualifications in this group provide a number of Core Essential Skills that are ideally suited to supporting your application to become a Registered Graduate Accounting Technician. These qualifications provide the foundation of skills that you will need in order to progress to the next Professional Level.
Graduate Accounting Technicians (GAT) will typically be regarded as competently qualified to manage a set of accounting books up to and including Trial Balance. They may well be employed in various sized organisations as junior accountants, and find themselves in charge of small sections of accounting clerks in medium to large companies, or they may be self-employed book-keepers preparing the basic accounts for very small businesses and other self-employed persons.

Level Descriptor

Achievement at this level reflects the ability to identify and use relevant understanding, methods and skills to address problems that are well defined but complex and non-routine. It includes taking responsibility for overall courses of action as well as exercising autonomy and judgement within fairly broad parameters. It also reflects understanding of different perspectives or approaches within an area of study or work.

The table below describes the Qualifications available at this Level:

Learning Outcome

To demonstrate an understanding of the maintenance of a full set of accounts for a body, whether corporate or non-corporate. To show a full understanding of techniques of maintaining and controlling all financial books from which a trial balance can be prepared, and from this to be able to prepare trading and profit and loss accounts and balance sheet. The Learner will also be able to show an understanding of the basic principles of taxation including sales taxes.

Double Entry Bookkeeping:
1. The accounting equation and the balance sheet
2. The double entry system for assets, liabilities and capital
3. The asset of stock
4. The effect of profit or loss on capital and the double entry system for expenses and revenues
5. Balancing off accounts
6. The trial balance

Financial Statements of Sole Traders:
1. Trading and profit and loss accounts
2. Balance sheets
3. Accounting concepts

Books of Original Entry:
1. Books of original entry and ledgers
2. The banking system
3. Cash books
4. The sales day book and the sales ledger
5. The purchase day book and the purchase ledger
6. The returns day book
7. The journal
8. The analytical petty cash book and the imprest system
9. Value added tax
10. Columnar day books
11. Employee's pay
12. Computers and accounting
13. Computerised accounting systems

Adjustments for Financial statements:
1. Capital expenditure and revenue expenditure
2. Bad debts, provisions for doubtful debts, and provisions for discounts on debtors
3. Depreciation of fixed assets
4. Double entry records for depreciation
5. Accruals and prepayments
6. Stock valuation
7. Bank reconciliations
8. Control accounts
9. Errors and suspense accounts

Special Accounting Procedures:
1. Accounting ratios
2. Single entry and incomplete records
3. Receipts and payments accounts and income and expenditure accounts
4. Manufacturing accounts
5. Departmental accounts
6. Cash flow statements
7. Joint venture accounts

Partnership Accounts and Company Accounts
1. Partnership accounts
2. Goodwill
3. Revaluation of partnership assets
4. Partnership dissolution
5. Financial statements of corporations

Learning Outcome

To demonstrate an understanding of the reasons for maintaining management accounting systems and financial control. The Learner will be able to demonstrate sound knowledge of the selection of appropriate management accounting systems and their application to a particular business situation.

Introduction to Management Accounting:
1. Accounting
2. Cost Units
3. Classification of Costs

Cost Behaviour:
1. Analysis of Costs
2. Cost Estimation (Prediction)

Overhead Costs:
1. Overheads
2. Accounting for Overheads
3. Allocation and Apportionment
4. Absorption
5. Under and Over Absorption

Marginal Costing & Absorption Costing:
1. Marginal Costing
2. Marginal Absorption Costing Compared

Accounting & Control of Materials:
1. Purchasing of Materials
2. Cost Collection
3. Costing Material Issues
4. Checking the Level of Stock
5. Materials Classification and Coding

Stock Control:
1. Investment in Stock
2. Practical Stock Control Systems
3. Re-Order Level System Control Levels
4. Theoretical Stock Control - Economic Order Quantity (EOQ)

Accounting & Control of Labour:
1. Labour Documentation
2. Payroll
3. Remuneration Methods
4. Incentive Schemes
5. Labour Cost Accounting
6. Labour Cost Control Reports

Relevant Cost Concepts:
1. The Decision Making Process
2. Relevant Costs
3. Decision Making with Relevant Costs

Cost Volume Profit Analysis:
1. The Contribution Concept
2. Cost-Volume-Profit (CVP) Analysis
3. Break Even Charts
4. Assumptions and Limitations of CVP Analysis

Limiting Factor Analysis:
1. Decision Making Objectives
2. Single Scarce Resource Problems
3. Demand Constraints
4. Applying Limiting Factor Analysis to Make or Buy Decisions

Budget Theory & Functional Budget Preparation:
1. Budget Theory
2. Budget Preparation
3. Functional Budgets
4. Budgeted Profit and Loss Account

Cash Budgets and IT:
1. Cash Budgets
2. The Master Budget
3. IT and Budgeting

Flexible Budgets:
1. Reporting Actual against Budget
2. Flexible Budgets
3. Budget Variance

Standard Costs:
1. Standard Costs
2. Types of Standards
3. Preparation of Standard Costs

Variance Analysis:
1. Basic Cost Variance Analysis
2. Direct Material Cost Variances
3. Raw Materials Stocks
4. Direct Labour Cost Variances
5. Overhead Variances
6. Variable Overhead Variances
7. Fixed Overhead Variances
8. Non-Production Overheads
9. Total Sales Margin Variance
10. Reconciliation of Budget and Actual Results
11. Causes of Variances

Job and Batch Costing:
1. Product Costing Methods
2. Job Costing
3. Batch Costing

Contract and Service Costing:
1. Basic Contract Costing
2. Attributable Profit on Uncompleted Contracts
3. Service Costing Methods
4. Service Cost Accounting Statements
5. Comparison of Manufacturing and Service Costing

Process Costing:
1. Continuous Production
2. Process Costing Losses
3. Abnormal Losses and Gains
4. Partially Processed Units
5. Opening Work-In-Process
6. Losses in Process
7. Joint Products and by-Products

Cost Bookkeeping:
1. Methods
2. Integrated Accounting Systems
3. Integrated Accounting Using Standard Costs
4. Interlocking Accounting System

Learning Outcome

To demonstrate an understanding of analytical techniques and mathematical skills, and an ability to interpret statistical and mathematical information for management decisions. To ascertain knowledge of business mathematics, descriptive statistics, decision analysis, forecasting and related techniques.

Basics:
1. Basic Mathematics
2. Fractions
3. Powers and Roots
4. Log Tables
5. Scientific Calculator
6. Mental Arithmetic

Percentages, Ratios and Proportions:
1. Percentages
2. Ratios
3. Proportions
4. The whole and the Part

Accuracy:
1. Rounding
2. Significant Figures
3. Accuracy and Approximation
4. Errors

Algebra:
1. Algebra and Formulae
2. Equations
3. Simultaneous Equations
4. Linear Equations and Graphs
5. Quadratic Equations
6. Graphs of the Quadratic Function

Financial Mathematics:
1. Sequence and Series
2. Arithmetical Progressions
3. Geometrical Progressions
4. Simple and Compound Interest
5. Present Values and Discounting
6. Project Appraisal

Data Collection:
1. Data and Information
2. Population and Sample
3. Statistics
4. Nature of Statistical Data
5. Tabulation of Data
6. Frequency Distribution

Presentation of Data:
1. Diagrammatic Representation of Data
2. Graphical Representation of Data
3. Histograms and Ogives
4. Data in Business Reports

Averages:
1. Averages
2. Arithmetic Mean
3. Median
4. Mode

Variation:
1. Measuring Dispersion
2. Range
3. Semi-Interquartile Range
4. Standard Deviation
5. Symmetry and Skewness

Index Numbers:
1. Index Numbers
2. Simple Indices
3. Weighted Indices
4. Chain Base Index Numbers
5. Index Numbers and Inflation

Probability:
1. Probability
2. Laws of Probability
3. Conditional Probability

Expected Value and Decisions:
1. Expected Value (EV)
2. Decision Analysis

Normal Distribution:
1. Properties of Normal Distribution
2. Combined Normal Distributions

Correlation and Regression:
1. Scatter Diagrams
2. Regression
3. Correlation
4. Rank Correlation
5. Forecasting

Time Series:
1. Time Series
2. Analysis of Time Series

Learning Outcome

To demonstrate an understanding of the market environment, financial environment, government policy and international trade, the principles of economics and their application to economic policies and the business environment.

Economic Concepts and Economic Growth:
1. Defining Economics
2. Opportunity Cost
3. The Nature of Profit
4. Rational Economic Behaviour
5. Three Basic Economic Problems
6. Alternative Economic Systems
7. Economic Growth
8. Welfare Economics

Demand and Supply:
1. Demand and its Determinants
2. Demand and Price
3. Supply and its Determinants
4. Supply and Price
5. Demand, Supply and the Determination of Price
6. Shifting the Demand Curve; Moving along the Demand Curve

Elasticity:
1. Calculating Price Elasticity of Demand
2. Using Price Elasticity of Demand Descriptively
3. Factors Affecting Price Elasticity of Demand
4. Price Elasticity of Supply
5. Factors Affecting Price Elasticity of Supply
6. Practical Uses of Price Elasticity
7. Income Elasticity of Demand
8. Cross Elasticity of Demand

Labour:
1. Population Size and Demographic Trends
2. Demand for Labour
3. The Supply of Labour
4. Wage Determination
5. Labour Productivity and the Role of Capital Technology
6. Trade Unions

Costs, Revenue and Profit:
1. The Short Run and Long Run
2. Short-Run Costs
3. Revenue
4. Profit Maximising Conditions

Production, Finance and Marketing:
1. Long-Run Costs
2. Means and Motives for Growth
3. Industry: the Three Classes of Production
4. Specialisation
5. The Law of Comparative Advantage
6. Financial Needs of Business
7. Business Motivation
8. Financial Objectives in Public Corporations

Forms of Market Structure:
1. Business Structure in a Mixed Economy
2. Public Structures in a Mixed Economy
3. Forms of Market Structure and Competition
4. A Perfectly Competitive Market
5. Analysis
6. The Demand Curve of the Individual Firm
7. The Effect of Changing Demand on the Firm's Supply Decisions in the Short Run
8. The Supply Curves of the Firm and the Market in Perfect Competition in the Short Run
9. The Effect of Changing Demand on the Market in the Long Run
10. The Market's Long-Run Supply Curve
11. Desirability of Perfect Competition

Imperfect Markets:
1. Imperfect Markets
2. Monopoly: Output, Prices and Efficiency
3. Barriers to Entry
4. Monopoly and Perfect Competition Compared
5. Price Discrimination
6. Public Policy Towards Competition and Business Behaviour
7. Monopolistic Competition: Output, Prices and Efficiency
8. Oligopoly: Output, Prices and Efficiency

Private and Public Sectors:
1. The Private and Public Sectors
2. Arguments for and Against Privatisation
3. The Location of Industry

National Income:
1. National Income and its Calculation
2. Firms and Households
3. Leakage and Injections
4. Output, Income and Expenditure
5. Ways of Measuring National Income
6. Interpretation of National Income
7. The Standard of Living - Difficulty of Interpretation

Keynesian Theory:
1. Keynesians and the Monetarists
2. Consumption
3. Savings
4. The Keynesian Theory of Investment
5. The Accelerator
6. Equilibrium
7. Demand Management
8. The Multiplier
9. The Paradox of Thrift
10. Trade Cycles

Government Policy Objectives:
1. Government Macroeconomic Policy
2. Unemployment
3. Measuring Unemployment
4. Causes of Unemployment
5. Remedies for Unemployment
6. Unemployment and the Future
7. Inflation
8. Sources of Inflation
9. Inflation and Unemployment
10. Economic Growth
11. Causes of Growth
12. Balance of Payments

Money and the Financial Environment:
1. The Qualities of Money
2. Financial Intermediaries
3. Commercial Banks and the Creation of Money
4. Control of the Money Supply
5. Central Banking - The Bank of England "Model"
6. Capital Adequacy
7. Offshore Banking

Money and Interest Rates:
1. The Demand for Money - Keynesian View
2. The Supply of Money
3. Interest Rates and Liquidity Preference
4. The Classical View of Interest Rates
5. The Pattern of Interest Rates
6. Benchmark Interest Rates
7. The Term Structure of Interest Rates - Yield Curves

Financial Markets:
1. Capital Markets
2. The Stock Exchange
3. The Alternative Investment Market
4. Institutional Investors
5. The Venture Capital Market
6. Capital Market Instruments
7. Share Price Indices
8. The Money Markets
9. Money Market Instruments

Fiscal and Monetary Policy:
1. Government Fiscal Policy
2. Public Sector Net Cash Requirements (PSNCR)
3. Policy Implications of the Keynesian Model
4. Taxation and Expenditure Measures
5. The Principles of Taxation
6. Direct and Indirect Taxation
7. Subsidies
8. Monetary Policy
9. The Quantity Theory of Money
10. Monetarism

International Trade:
1. The Value of International Trade and Services
2. Attributes of the International business Environment
3. Reasons for International Trading
4. Alternative Methods of Foreign Market Entry
5. Problems Associated with International Activities
6. The Benefits of Trade
7. The Law of Comparative Advantage
8. Protectionism

Balance of Payments and Exchange Rates:
1. Trade and the Balance of Payments
2. Flows of Goods, Services and Capital
3. Terms of Trade
4. The Foreign Exchange Market
5. European Developments
6. International Institutions