Accounting
Staff
Mr B Mills (Faculty Head)
Mrs A McDonald (Pupil Support)
Ms A Logan
Mrs L Phee
Mr G Strachan
Why Choose Accounting?
Accounting is often defined as ‘the language of business’. It is the backbone of any business, regardless of whether it is a sole trader, or multinational company. Studying accounting will give pupils not only the tools and knowledge to understand financial information, but also to create financial statements for a business, such as an Income Statement or Statement of Financial Position.
Accounting will enable learners to develop the following critical skills, knowledge and understanding.
- Further develop numeracy skills by calculating profit
- How to raise finance within a business
- Develop an awareness of the function that accounting performs in industry and society
- Prepare, present, interpret and analyse accounting information
- Apply a systematic approach to solving financial problems, by using the relevant accounting concepts and techniques
- Apply IT in accounting-related tasks
S3/4 Accounting
Course
In S3 pupils will follow an Accounting course as part of a broad general education, covering level 4 outcomes and experiences. During S3 pupils will also undertake some of the National 5 outcomes. Pupils in S4 will undertake the remainder of the National 5 outcomes to complete the course.
Course Assessment
The course will be assessed and marked throughout the session by teachers. These assessments are appropriate to the subject and level of study. Assessments may include a combination of practical work, case studies, examinations and projects.
Course Progression
The Business and Computing faculty will provide a range of progression pathways appropriate to learners’ needs.
Pupils who wish to continue to study Accounting can progress as follows:-
- Pupils must sit Accounting at National 5 level as National 4 Accounting is not currently offered by the SQA
- Pupils achieving a National 5 award may choose to progress to Higher Accounting
- Entering employment – employability is a core skill that the Course develops
- Further education – Accounting courses are available to study up to Degree Level
Homework
Learners would be expected to undertake approximately 20 hours of homework per topic. This will allow them the opportunity to consolidate, develop and revise the skills, knowledge and understanding being taught in the Unit.
Homework activities will take a variety of forms in order to develop the organisational and problem solving skills of the course as well as breadth and application of subject specific knowledge.
Equipment
No specialised equipment will be required for the study of Accounting at National 5 level. However, access to IT outside of school would allow additional optional activities to consolidate IT skills taught and aid in revision for the assignment element of the course examination.
Higher Accounting
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Course Outline
In this course, pupils will learn how to produce financial accounting statements for different types of businesses and use management accounting techniques to assist with planning and decision-making. You will learn to produce statements such as Income Statements, Statement of Financial Position, Budgeting etc.
Relevant Prior Learning
Continuing pupils: pupils who achieved a National 5 A or B qualification should cope with the demands of the Higher course. Historically, pupils achieving below this have struggled to achieve a pass.
Crashing: pupils electing to crash Higher Accounting should have excellent numeracy skills, evident through having successfully achieved National 5 Maths at grade A or B.
Types of Learner
This course is designed for those who enjoy numeracy-based learning and have expressed an interest in working in Accountancy and related Business fields.
Necessary Skills
Pupils require strong numeracy skills. The ability to work independently and deploy effective problem solving skills to find solutions to complex accounts are necessary.
Career Progression
This course would suit pupils who are considering studying Accounting at College or University. However, it is also extremely beneficial to anyone considering studying Business related courses at College or University as Accounting would be a core subject you will need to study as part of your course.
We also have a link with Grant Thornton, one of the top Accountancy firms in Glasgow. We have visited their Glasgow office and pupils have had the opportunity to find out more about their School Leaver Apprenticeship Programme.
Course Content
The course content is organised into 2 units:
Preparing Financial Accounting Information
In this Unit, learners will develop the knowledge and understanding
- relating to the preparation of financial accounting information for external use, and have the ability to apply the accounting concepts and techniques associated with the preparation of such financial accounting information.
Preparing Management Accounting Information
In this Unit, learners will develop the knowledge and understanding
- of internal accounting information and the ability to prepare such information, using a range of basic accounting techniques. The information produced will be used by management in making decisions about the future planning and control of the business.
Assessment Arrangements
Written assessments are carried out at the end of each unit. Both the Internal assignment and final examination are externally marked by SQA.
