If you are an accounting student preparing to take the 2024 JAMB exam, then you should have the updated JAMB Syllabus for Principles of Accounts this year. Having this will give you an edge/advantage in the coming exam as it will serve as a guide to your study.
It’s not enough to just study, you need to study the right materials and the right topics for the said subject; in this case, Principles of Accounts.
The JAMB Principles of Accounts syllabus also contains objectives for each topic mentioned. These objectives are what you must know for every topic you study.
With that being said, let’s get to it.
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JAMB Syllabus for Principles of Accounts Exam
#1. Accounts of Not-For-Profit-Making Organizations
Objectives
Candidates should be able to do the following:
- Distinguish between the features of Not-for-profit-making organizations.
- determine the subscription income, subscription in arrears, and in advance.
- compute the cash balances and accumulated funds, surplus, and deficit for the period from all sources.
- Prepare:
- receipts and payments account.
- income and expenditure account.
- statement of financial position.
Content
- Objectives of Not-For-Profit-Making organizations.
- Receipts and payments account.
- Income and expenditure account.
- Statement of financial position (Balance sheet).
#2. Book Transactions and Reconciliation Statements
Objectives
Candidates should be able to do the following:
- Identify bank documents such as cheques, pay-in-slips, credit and debit cards, and their uses.
- assess the impact of automated credit systems, credit transfers, interbank transfers, and direct debit on cash balances.
- list factors that cause discrepancies between balances of the cashbook and bank statements.
- prepare adjusted cash book balance.
- prepare bank reconciliation statements.
Content
- Instrument of bank transactions.
- e-banking system.
- Courses of discrepancies between cashbook and bank statement.
- Bank reconciliation statement.
#3. Branch Accounts
Objectives
Candidates should be able to do the following:
- Determine the reasons for branch accounts.
- calculate profits and losses from branches.
- determine the sources of differences and reconcile them.
Content
(a) Objectives.
(b) Branch accounts in the head office books.
(c) Head office account.
(d) Reconciliation of branch and head office books.
#4. Cashbook
Objectives
Candidates should be able to do the following:
- determine the cash float.
- differentiate between two and three-columnar cashbooks and how transactions are recorded in them.
- differentiate between trade and cash discounts.
- examine the effects of trade and cash discounts in the books of accounts.
- identify various petty cash expenses.
Content
(a) Columnar cashbooks.
(b) Discounts.
(c) Petty cashbook and the imprest system.
#5. Control Accounts and Self-Balancing Ledgers
Objectives
Candidates should be able to do the following:
- Determine the importance of control accounts in a business enterprise.
- differentiate between sales ledger control account and purchases ledger control account.
- identify the individual elements of control accounts.
- prepare the control accounts.
Content
(a) Importance of control accounts.
(b) Purchases ledger control account.
(c) Sales ledger control account.
#6. Departmental Accounts
Objectives
Candidates should be able to do the following:
- Identify the reasons for departmental accounts.
- determine the expenses associated with individual departments.
- compute departmental profits or losses.
Content
(a) Objectives.
(b) Apportionment of expenses.
(c) Departmental trading and profit and loss account.
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#7. Ethics in Accounting
Objectives
Candidates should be able to do the following:
- Use ethics in preparing and presenting Accounting Reports.
- list qualities of an Accountant such as honesty, integrity, transparency, accountability, and fairness.
Content
(a) Objectives.
(b) Qualities of an Accountant.
#8. Incomplete Records and Single Entry
Objectives
Candidates should be able to do the following:
- Determine proprietor’s capital using statement of affairs.
- determine the amount of sales, purchases, cash balances, debtors, creditors and expenses by converting single entry to double entry.
- use accounting equations and gross profit percentage to determine gross profit or cost of sales.
Content
(a) Conversion of single entry to double entry.
(b) Determination of missing figures.
(c) Preparation of final accounts from incomplete records.
#9. Information Technology in Accounting
Objectives
Candidates should be able to do the following:
- Relate and differentiate between manual and computerized accounting processing system.
- identify the processes involved in data processing.
- relate the different components of computer.
- identify the advantages and disadvantages of manual and computerized accounting processing system.
Content
(a) Manual and computerized accounting processing system.
(b) Processes involved in data processing.
(c) Computer hardware and software.
(d) Advantages and disadvantages of manual and computerized accounting processing system.
#10. Introduction to Company Accounts
Objectives
Candidates should be able to do the following:
- differentiate between types of companies.
- identify the processes and procedures of recording the issue of shares and debentures.
- compute elements of final accounts of companies.
- interpret the accounts for decision making using ratios such as current, acid test and stock turnover.
Content
(a) Formation and classification of companies.
(b) Issue of shares and debentures.
(c) Final accounts of companies.
(d) Interpretation of accounts using ratios.
(e) Distinction between capital and revenue reserves.
#11. Joint Venture Accounts
Objectives
Candidates should be able to do the following:
- Identify the objectives of Joint Venture.
- determine the profit or loss of the Joint Venture.
- determine the profit or loss of each venture.
Content
(a) Objectives.
(b) Personal accounts of venturers.
(c) Memorandum Joint venture accounts.
#12. Manufacturing Accounts
Objectives
Candidates should be able to do the following:
- Calculate prime cost, production overhead, production cost, and total cost.
- determine the basis of apportionment into production, administration, selling, and distribution.
Content
(a) Cost classification.
(b) Cost apportionment.
(c) Preparation of manufacturing account.
#13. Nature and Significance of Accounting
Objectives
Candidates should be able to do the following:
- differentiate between bookkeeping and accounting.
- use the historical background of bookkeeping and accounting for future development.
- apply the right principles, concepts, and conventions to solving accounting problems.
- examine the role of accounting records and information in decision making.
- list the branches of Accounting such as Cost Accounting, Management Accounting, Auditing, Financial Accounting, and Taxation.
Content
(a) Development of accounting (including branches of accounting).
(b) Objectives of bookkeeping and accounting.
(c) Users and characteristics of accounting information.
(d) Principles, concepts and conventions of accounting (nature, significance and application).
(e) Role of accounting records and information.
#14. Partnership Accounts
Objectives
Candidates should be able to do the following:
- determine the instruments of partnership formation.
- categorize all accounts necessary for partnership.
- determine the effects of admission and retirement of a partner.
- prepare revaluation account.
- identify the accounts required for dissolution and conversion to a company.
- determine the partners share of profits or losses.
Content
(a) Formation of partnership.
(b) Profit and loss account.
(c) Appropriation account.
(d) Partners current and capital accounts.
(e) Treatment of goodwill.
(f) Admission/retirement of a partner.
(g) Dissolution of partnership.
(h) Conversion of a partnership to a company.
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#15. Principles of Double Entry
Objectives
Candidates should be able to do the following:
- Relate the various source documents to their uses.
- relate source documents to the various books of original entry.
- determine the effect of changes in elements of accounting equation.
- identify the role of double entry and use it to post transactions into various divisions of the ledger.
- balance off ledger accounts.
- extract a trial balance from balances and determine its uses.
- identify various types of errors and their necessary corrections.
- create a suspense account.
Content
(a) Functions of source documents.
(b) Books of original entry.
(c) Accounting equation.
(d) The ledger and its classifications.
(e) Trial balance.
(f) Types and treatment of errors and uses of suspense account.
#16. Public Sector Accounting
Objectives
Candidates should be able to do the following:
- Differentiate between public sector accounting and private sector accounting.
- identify the sources of government revenue.
- differentiate between capital and recurrent expenditure.
- calculate consolidated revenue fund and determine the values of assets and liabilities.
- analyse the duties of the Accountant General, the Auditor General, the Minister of Finance, and the Treasurer of local government.
- distinguish between the elements of control in government accounting procedures e.g. virement, warrant, votes, authority to incur expenditure, budget, and due process certificate.
Content
(a) Comparison of cash and accrual basis of accounting.
(b) Sources of government revenue.
(c) Capital and recurrent expenditure.
(d) Consolidated revenue fund.
(e) Statement of assets and liabilities.
(f) Responsibilities and powers of:
i. The Accountant General.
ii. The Auditor General.
iii. The Minister of Finance.
iv. The Treasurer of local government.
(g) Instruments of financial regulation.
#17. Stock Valuation
Objectives
Candidates should be able to do the following:
- Determine the cost of materials issued to production or the cost of goods sold using FIFO, LIFO, and simple average.
- calculate the closing stock of materials or finished goods using FIFO, LIFO, and simple average.
- compare the advantages and disadvantages of each method of stock valuation.
iv. determine the effects of stock valuation on trading, profits, and cost of goods sold.
Content
(a) Methods of cost determination using FIFO, LIFO, and simple average.
(b) The advantages and disadvantages of the methods.
(c) The importance of stock valuation.
#18. The Final Accounts of a Sole Trader
Objectives
Candidates should be able to do the following:
- determine the cost of sales, gross profit, and net profit of a sole trader.
- identify fixed assets, current assets, long-term liabilities, current liabilities, and proprietor’s capital.
- compute adjustable items on the related expenditure and income in the profit and loss account.
- relate the adjustable items and their corresponding disclosure in the statement of financial position.
- differentiate between bad debts and provision for bad and doubtful debts.
Content
(a) Income statement (Trading and profit and loss account).
(b) Statement of financial position (Balance sheet).
(c) Adjustments:
i. provision for bad and doubtful debt.
ii. provision for discounts.
iii. provision for depreciation using straight-line and reducing balance methods.
iv. accruals and prepayments.
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JAMB Recommended Textbooks for Principles of Accounts
- Abdullahi D. Z. (2014), Modern Financial Accounting, Husab Global Press Concept Ltd.
- Adeifa O. Ajileye, J. O and Oluwasanna, R. O (2001), Get your Financial Accounting Right. Book One: Oyo, Tenlad Press International.
- Ajileye, J. O. and Adetifa O. (2001), Get your Financial Accounting Right, Book Two: Lagos: De Hadey Printing Services.
- Akinduko, A. O (2001), Basic Accounting: Akure: Spetins.
- Awoyemi, E. O. (1989), A guide to Government Accounting and Internal Audit, Ibadan: Onibonje Press.
- Dodge, R. (2002), Foundation of Business Accounting, (Second Edition), Bershire: Chapman and Hall.
- Ekwere, A. B. (1997), Contemporary Accounting, Abuja: Aflon Finance (Control and Management) Act 1959.
- Ekwue K. C. (2010), Principles of Accounts, Book 1 & 2, Adson Publishing Company, Onitsha.
- Femi L. (2013), Simplified and Amplified Financial Accounting.
- Frankwood and Alan S. (2002), FrankwoodÂ’s Business Accounting, Prentice Hall International Edition.
- Hassan M. M. (2001), Government Accounting, Lagos: Malthouse Press Limited.
- Igben, R. O. (2004), Financial Accounting Made Simple (Vol. I) Lagos: Roi Publishers.
- Longe, O. A. and Kazeem, R. A (2006), Essential Financial Accounting for Senior Secondary Schools: Lagos: Tonad Publishers Limited.
- Millichamp, A. H. (1989), Foundation Accounting: An Introduction manual for Accounting Students, London: DP Publications.
- Okwoli, A. A. (1995), Financial Accounting, Zaria: Tamaza Publishers.
- Oshisami, K. (1997), Government Accounting and Financial Control: Ibadan: Spectrum.
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In Summary
There you have it, the updated JAMB Syllabus for Principles of Accounts Exam 2024, and the recommended textbooks you should read to help you pass the exam.
This JAMB Syllabus for Principles of Accounts Exam is very important because, without it, you will not know where to concentrate while studying for your exam.
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