AAT Advanced Diploma in Accounting

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. The bookkeeping skills that students have acquired at an earlier stage will be reinforced and developed in this unit.

Learning outcomes

• Apply the principles of advanced double-entry bookkeeping.
• Implement procedures for the acquisition and disposal of non-current assets.
• Prepare and record depreciation calculations.
• Record period end adjustments.
• Produce and extend the trial balance.

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. A successful student will be able to complete tasks while being aware of potential ethical issues and know how to report information effectively.

The student should become an accomplished member of the accounting team who is able to work with little supervision and who can see a financial picture of the organisation as a whole.

Learning outcomes

• Distinguish between the financial recording and reporting requirements of different types of organisation.
• Explain the need for final accounts and the accounting and ethical principles underlying their preparation.
• Prepare accounting records from incomplete information.
• Produce accounts for sole traders.
• Produce accounts for partnerships.
• Recognise the key differences between preparing accounts for a limited company and a sole trader.

This unit 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.

It takes students from Elements of Costing at Foundation level and gets them ready to prepare organisational budgets and report on performance at Professional level.

Learning outcomes

• Understand the purpose and use of management accounting within an organisation.
• Apply techniques required for dealing with costs.
• Apportion costs according to organisational requirements.
• Analyse and review deviations from budget and report these to management.
• Apply management accounting techniques to support decision making.

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.

Learning outcomes

• Understand and apply VAT legislation requirements.
• Accurately complete VAT returns and submit them in a timely manner.
• Understand the implications for the business of errors, omissions and late filing and payment.
• Report VAT-related information within the organisation in accordance with regulatory and organisational requirement.

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.

Learning outcomes

• Understand the need to act ethically.
• Understand the relevance to the accountant’s work of the ethical code for professional accountants.
• Recognise how to act ethically in an accounting role.
• Identify action to take in relation to unethical behaviour or illegal acts.

This Advanced level unit is about using spreadsheets to accurately enter, analyse and present information so that informed accountancy judgements can be made. The skills and knowledge from this unit integrate spreadsheet use within the other Advanced level accountancy subjects.

Learning outcomes

• Design and structure appropriate spreadsheets to meet customer needs.
• Use spreadsheet software to record, format and organise data.
• Use relevant tools to manipulate and analyse data.
• Use software tools to verify accuracy and protect data.
• Use tools and techniques to prepare and report accounting information.

This asks students to apply knowledge and skills gained across the qualification in an integrated way, within a workplace context. Scenarios change over time to ensure validity.