There are 10 lessons:

1. Introduction to Bookkeeping Applications
   • Stock defines a trading business
   • Bookkeeping requirements for a trading business
   • Steps in processing stock transactions
   • Books required for a trading business
   • Trading businesses and accounting rules
   • Accounting doctrines
   • Accounting standards
2. Decision Making -How to manage bookkeeping
   • Bookkeepers Terminology
   • Using bookkeeping as a management tool
   • What are business structures
   • Business requirements of companies
   • Financial information, and who uses it
   • Alternative approaches to accounting systems
   • Definitions and bookkeeping processes
   • Double entry bookkeeping
   • Single entry bookkeeping
   • Cash accounting
   • Modified cash accounting
   • Accrual accounting
   • Choosing depreciation methods
   • Depreciation calculation
   • Calculating depreciation with the straight line method
   • What if there is no residual value
   • How to enter depreciation in the books
   • Declining balance method of depreciation
   • Calculating percentage rate of depreciation
   • Units of activity depreciation method
   • Intangible assets
   • Tracking assets and depreciation
   • Closing stock control methods
   • Functional profit and loss in a trading business
   • Informative profit and loss presentation – segmentation, grouping expenses
   • Showing Extraordinary Revenue and Expenses
3. Managing Cash Flow, Obtaining Finance, Managing Bad Debts and Accounts Payable
   • Definition of cash
   • The cash cycle
   • Cash flow and liquidity
   • Analysing a businesses cash flow
   • Cash flow margin
   • Statements of cash flow
   • Managing costs in a business
   • Financing a business
   • Rules for business funding
   • Business set up costs
   • Thinking outside the box
   • Loss of time and income
   • Managing bad debt
   • Initiating collection
   • Bookkeeping procedures for bad and doubtful debts
   • Accounts payable procedures
   • Accounts payable schedule
   • Ageing report
   • Source Documents -invoice, monthly statement
   • Credit purchasers journal
   • Creditors subsidiary ledger and schedule
   • Cash payments journal and creditors control account
4. Managing Inventory Part 1
   • Difference between goods and commodities
   • Role of stock in a trading business
   • Purpose of physical stock take
   • Costing goods
   • When an articles cost changes
   • How cost relates to gross profit
   • Difference between cost of goods sold and selling expenses
   • Pricing stock
   • Mark up
   • Margin
   • Stock coding system
   • Stock sheets
   • Journals used in businesses that carry stock
   • Common journals
   • Examples of journal entries
   • Recording purchase returns in the general journal
   • Closing books
   • Closing ledger accounts
   • Preparing for new accounting period
   • Transferring balance day closing entries
   • Profit and loss account
   • Balance sheet
5. Managing Inventory Part 2
   • Perpetual stock control
   • Stock cards and subsidiary ledger
   • Records on stock cards
   • Stock gains and losses
   • Adjustments
   • Errors in stock taking
   • Bar codes
   • Costing sales
   • Inventory turnover ratio
   • Modified general journals for perpetual stock control
   • Valuing stock methods -FIFO, LIFO, Identified cost method, weighted average, etc.
   • Terminology
6. Establishing and Managing Control Accounts
   • Introduction
   • Grouping accounts
   • Advantages of control accounts
   • Debtors control accounts
   • Debtors subsidiary ledger and control account
   • Cash receipts journal and debtors control account
   • Credit purchasers journal
   • Creditors subsidiary ledger and control account
   • Cash payments journal and creditors control account
   • Control accounts relationship to non current assets
   • What happens at the end of assets useful life
   • Assets register
   • Disposal of non current assets
   • Creditors control accounts relationship to subsidiary accounts
   • Control accounts and expenses
   • Control accounts and inventory
7. Budgeting Part 1
   • Introduction
   • Budget types
   • Cash budget
   • Capital budget
   • Sales budget
   • Marketing budget
   • Production budget
   • Expense budget
   • Project budget
   • Master budget
   • Inter-relationships between budgets
   • The cash budget
   • Preparing a cash budget
   • Factoring in safety margins
   • Variable Costs
   • Using net profit to evaluate business performaNCE
   • What is profitability?
   • What is gross profit?
   • What is net profit?
   • Cash flow margin
   • Return on assets margin
   • Gearing ratio
   • Owners equity margin
   • Budgeted profit and loss statements
   • Budgeted balance sheets
   • Variances in budgets
   • Budget reviews and performance reports
8. Budgeting Part 2
   
   • A problem based learning project (ie. PBL) where you will prepare budgeting for a retail business.
   • PBL project is carefully designed by experts to expose you to the information and skills that we want you to learn.
   • In undertaking the project, you are given:
     • A statement of the problem (e.g. diseased animal; failing business; anorexia case study);
     • Questions to consider when solving the problem;
     • A framework for the time and effort you should spend on the project;
     • Support from the school.
9. Payroll, PAYG Taxation, Taxation for Trading Businesses
   • How to set up a payroll system
   • Types of payments made for worek done
   • Employee records to be kept
   • Other records
   • Fringe benefits and taxation
   • Recording wage payments
   • Employee payment summary
   • PAYG Taxation
   • Using time sheets
   • Superannuation or pension funds
   • Taxation law terminology
   • Tax related expenses
10. Financial Statement Analysis
    • Analysis and interpretation
    • Why do we analyze financial data
    • Using net profit figures to evaluate business performance
    • Analyzing cost centres in business
    • Functional classification on P & L Statement
    • Difference between analysis and interpretation
    • Ratio analysis
    • Trend analysis Vertical analysis
    • Horizontal analysis
    • When should financial data be analyzed
    • Calculating investment returns
    • Return on assets margin, equity margin
    • Cash flow ratio operation
    • Accounts receivable turnover ration
    • Evaluating business performance using net profit ratio
    • Profitability 

Please note:  Each lesson culminates in an assignment which is submitted to ADL, marked by your tutor, and returned with relevant comments, and where  necessary, extra reading.

• Outline of the nature of trading businesses and their bookkeeping requirements. Review bookkeeping procedures.
• Describe the selection of bookkeeping processes to suit particular business needs and the advantages and disadvantages of each.
• Describe: cash flow management and cash flow margins and returns on investment, business finance methods, how to manage bad debts and accounts payable procedures.
• Describe the nature of stock and the periodic system used to record inventory.
• Outline various control accounts and their use.
• Outline budgeted reports used in trading businesses and their preparation methods.
• Outline methods used in payroll systems and taxes applicable to payroll; describe a range of taxes applicable to trading businesses.
• Analyse the financial position of a business

TERMINOLOGY AND THE BOOKEEPER’S WORLD

Bookkeepers live in a world of finance. People working in the world of finance should understand terminology
used by the bookkeeper, but sometimes others who you work for might not understand or appreciate the
significance of the work a bookkeeper does.

Bookkeepers need to communicate with both:
1. People in the world of finance such as bankers, taxation officers, financial advisors; and
2. People who are not in the world of finance, such as people who create and or provide goods and
services to and from the enterprise they work for.

A good bookkeeper needs to cultivate communication skills and be able to accurately interact with everyone
they work with, in order to properly and accurately gather the information needed to do a good job.

Understanding the Language

Although accounting standards (and therefore terminology) may change from time to time, the concepts and
language of bookkeeping has rigid consistency. It was formulated from a long history of accounting standards,
set down by various bodies over many years – both as national and increasingly as international standards.
Bookkeepers know the importance of learning the correct terms whilst also keeping pace with new standards as
they are introduced. This is important knowledge that bookkeepers must learn and use to communicate with
people in the world of bookkeeping and accounting.

Terminology:
Accounts receivable/debtors: the money owed to a business by a customer, after they have been sent
an invoice, for the products or services they were supplied on credit.

• Accounts payable/creditors: the money owed by the company for good or services supplied to them.
• Accruals: bringing forward the cost of goods or services or the receipt of monies owed against an
  invoice into a current accounting period, even though you may not have paid for the goods/services
  received or received payment for goods/services you supplied.
• Cash accounting: accounting system that does not recognise accruals – in other words it only recognises
  the debts and credits for a specified accounting period.
• Assets: items of value to a person or a business that can be easily transferred to cash.
• Current assets: Cash and other resources that a company expects to either use up or to turn into cash
  within the following year of the date on the balance sheet.
• Fixed assets: an asset that is not sold off (or consumed) during the normal course of trading within a
  business.
• Liabilities: the obligation of a business to transfer an item of value to another company or person. This
  can include accruals on a balance sheet.
• Current liabilities: amounts due to be paid to creditors, within a twelve-month period from the date on
  the balance sheet.
• Capital: the assets and cash owned by a business.
• Equity: the total value of assets within a business that have been contributed by the owner
• Net profit: income generated before taxes.
• Chart of accounts: a list of numbered and named ledger accounts.
• Credit: a facility extended by a company or person to enable payment of goods after they are received.
• Debits: an entry recorded on the left-hand side of an account that shows an amount owed
• Income accounts: the books in which all the income that is received by the business is recorded.
• Journal: details all the financial transactions of a business and in which accounts these transactions
  belong.
• General ledger: a book that specifies a summary of all the transactions held within the accounts of a
  business.
• Trial Balance: a report that lists all the accounts of a ledger and the total (end amount for a given
  period) of the transactions for each account – both credits and debits.
• Depreciation: due to wear and tear an asset is reduced in (book) value over a period of time.
• Double-entry bookkeeping: amounts are debited in one account and credited in another.
• Financial Statements:
• Income statement: A financial statement that shows the results of all income received and expenditure
  by a business within a certain period.
• Balance sheet: states the liability and assets held by a company at a particular date.
• Profit and Loss Statement: a standard financial document for a specified period (e.g. monthly, 3 monthly
  or yearly) that summarizes a company’s income and expenses.
• Inventory: a list of stock (i.e. all items including raw materials and finished products etc.) held by a
  company.Using Bookkeeping as a Management Tool
  
  When a manager has access to well-kept books, they can use these as a tool for future business planning and in
  order to make timely and considered decisions. They can see at a glance whether the business is making a profit
  or a loss, how much money is owed to creditors and how much is owed to the company by debtors. They can
  determine by using this information whether all is going to plan, and decisions can then be made around that
  information.For example, if sales are down should prices be dropped? Can the wage bill be met? Is downsizing
  an option to consider? Conversely, if sales are up decisions to expand the business may need consideration.
  How much would it cost to expand? How much extra money would it take to cover expansion costs? And so on.Managers are also able to see in detail where spending has increased or decreased.For example, if the phone account is suddenly a lot higher than it has been in the past, employees may be using mobile phones more for
  business, or it may be for personal calls – these sorts of added, unexpected expenses, lower the net profit (or
  bottom line as it is referred to). A manager can look at these lifts in expenditure and adjust spending or reign in
  employees accordingly.Cash flow is important in the secure trading of any business and efficient bookkeeping clearly shows the
  manager which creditors are slow in paying, and whether action needs to be taken.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Here is a list of the most often asked FAQ’s.

General

Q. Why should I enrol with the Academy for Distance Learning?
A. Here at ADL, our students are our priority – we treat everyone as a unique individual.

Q. Do I need to buy text books?
A. No, as each module has been written by highly qualified industry professionals. The content of the material is presented in such a way that text books are not required. However, if you require additional reading your tutor will be able to supply a list.

Q. What happens if I have to stop studying for a while? (eg. become sick, go on holidays, have a baby, move house, etc)
A. It’s OK to take a break and start up your study at a later point in time. Just let us know.

Q. Is there an age limit?
A. There is no maximum age limit. We do however, have a minimum age limit of 18 years. Below that age parental consent would be required.

Q. Are your courses up-to date?
A. Our courses are revised and updated on a rotation system.

Q. Do you have a Cancellation policy?
A. Yes. We have a cancellation policy that is fair and equitable. For further details please click here.

Q. Will I have any opportunity to engage with other students?
A. We have a Student Community group based on facebook! If you don’t have a facebook account already, you could make one just for talking with fellow students on the group.

Enrolment

Q. When can I enrol/start?
A. You may enrol and start at any time of the year – it’s all self- paced.

Q. Can I study from anywhere in the world?
A. Our courses are available to anyone, anywhere in the world from the comfort of your own home. The course content is relevant to any country, culture or economy.

Q. How long do I have to complete the course?
A. You complete the course at any time that is convenient for you.

Q. Completing a 100 hour module – how long will it take?
A. For some students a 100 hour module will take approximately to 3- 6 months to complete. Others take less time and some even longer.

Assessment

Q. Assessment – how does it work?
A. For each 100 hour module you are assessed by assignments (at the end of each lesson) and a final one and a half hour exam (or you may elect to complete a Project, instead of sitting the exam) – the choice is yours – you sit for the exam in your own location.

Q. I don’t cope well with exams – what can I do?
A. You may elect to undertake a Project (set by your tutor) instead of sitting the exam. Projects are completed from your home and can usually take a couple of weeks to complete.

Q. If my assignment is not up to standard is there an opportunity to resubmit my work?
A. Yes –

Q. How many assignments do I need to complete for each module?
A. At the end of each lesson, there is an assignment – so if a course has say, 10 lessons, there would be 10 assignments.

Q. I am having difficulty attending workshops/industry meetings, what can be done?
A. If your course requires attendance at workshops, conferences, or industry meetings; alternative arrangements can be made in your country.

Qualifications

Q. Can I customize my diploma/higher qualification?

A. Not all educational institution’s certificates /diplomas meet everyone’s needs. The opportunity to Design Your Own Diploma at the Academy (subject to our approval) is an added bonus, not found at other colleges. You choose modules that you think will help you in achieving your goal.

Q. What do I get when I complete the course? Will I receive a transcript?
A. At the completion of all courses and providing all assignments and exam requirements have been met, you will receive your Award and a Transcript.

Tutors

Q. Our tutors – who are they?
A. We appoint Tutors and require that they must be currently active in their industry, with at least 5 years’ experience in their chosen profession.

Q. Can I contact my tutor at any time?
A. Yes – you have unlimited access to your tutor via email through our Online Classroom. You can always leave a message with ADL requesting your tutor to contact you. You decide on how much or how little contact you wish to have.

Q. Practical work – How is this done?
A. To find out more about this part of the course please visit the section on How Our Courses Work here.