How to use this guide
Where this guide comes from. It follows the course's published description (financial results and financial position reported to investors, managers and others, with an emphasis on using accounting information for decisions) and the standard topics for an introductory financial accounting course. Instructors' emphasis and notation vary: check your own course outline.
The order. Topics 01 to 04 are the accounting cycle: analyse transactions, record them with debits and credits, adjust the books at period end, close and produce statements. Topics 05 and 06 move to businesses that sell goods: merchandising, then how inventory is costed. Topics 07 to 10 cover cash and internal control, receivables, long-lived assets and liabilities. Topics 11 and 12 finish with equity (partnerships and corporations) and the statement of cash flows. Terms follow Canadian practice: ASPE for private companies and IFRS for public ones, with the differences flagged where they matter.
Inside a topic: read the idea, look at the rules, then open each worked example and follow every step. Close it and redo it on paper. Use the lab to change the numbers, and finish with the traps.
Notation used here: Dr means debit and Cr means credit. A journal entry lists the debited accounts first, then the credited accounts, which are indented. Amounts are in dollars. A = assets, L = liabilities, E = equity. NBV is net book value, COGS is cost of goods sold, NRV is net realizable value.
Then practise. The Drill, the multiple-choice bank and the flashcards are all levelled:
| Level | What it asks | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Beginner | A definition, or one step: apply one rule or formula | Assets are 90,000 and liabilities 55,000. What is equity? |
| Intermediate | A standard problem in a few steps | Find the accrued wages at year end, or the cost of a purchase after a discount |
| Exam level | A full exam-style question that strings several steps together | Prepare a bank reconciliation, or the adjusting entry for an allowance for doubtful accounts |
| Hard | Twists: topics combined, working backwards, and the traps that cost the most marks | Revise depreciation after a change in estimate, or work out cash collected from customers |
The question generator starts on Auto: it begins at Beginner and moves up a level after three correct answers in a row. You can pick a level yourself at any time. The multiple-choice bank and flashcards are ordered from easy to hard, so working through them in order builds each idea from the ground up.
Method choices (FIFO or weighted average, straight-line or declining balance) are always stated in the question. In real work you choose a policy and apply it consistently.
Exam format, weight and allowed aids differ between sections and terms. Check your own course outline.
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This is the first section. The full guide has every topic, the labs and the practice questions.
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