How AS & A Level Accounting (9706) is really marked
Accounting 9706 covers twelve papers, and the overall balance in our bank — 984 point-marked questions, 191 marked by calculation, and 49 marked by a hybrid of points and levels — undersells how central calculation actually is on the structured papers. On papers 21-23, 31-33 and 41-43, roughly a fifth to a third of every paper's questions are calculation-based: preparing statements, deriving figures, computing ratios. The multiple-choice papers (11-13) are entirely points, testing whether you know the correct accounting treatment for a single scenario.
On the calculation questions, correct method carries real weight, but so does presentation: financial statements must use accepted terminology in full (not abbreviations like 'COS'), correct labels, and figures in the right section of the right statement. A numerically correct answer placed in the wrong part of a statement, or labelled with an outdated term such as 'net profit' instead of 'profit for the year', can still lose marks.
A small number of questions carry level-of-response marking, typically where you are asked to comment on, evaluate, or compare figures rather than just calculate them — these need a reasoned point, not just a number restated in words. Across the syllabus, the most damaging failure mode is not misunderstanding accounting principles broadly but mishandling one specific adjustment within an otherwise correct method — a missed depreciation entry, an omitted opening balance, a mistreated overdraft.
Where candidates actually lose marks
- In a statement of cash flows, failing to account for depreciation, making errors deriving profit from operations, or omitting the opening and closing bank balances entirely despite being given them. (try the question)
- Believing there is a separate 'bank overdraft' account in the general ledger, rather than understanding an overdraft is simply a negative balance on the existing bank account. (try the question)
- When asked to derive non-current asset turnover, only calculating the non-current asset figure for partial credit, or incorrectly multiplying revenue by the turnover ratio instead of dividing. (try the question)
- Incorrectly calculating or treating the allowance for irrecoverable debts and loan interest, and using unacceptable abbreviated headings in financial statements. (try the question)
- Assuming a bank reconciliation will eliminate the possibility of staff fraud entirely, when in practice a reconciliation can only reduce, not guarantee to eliminate, that risk. (try the question)
- Failing to split share capital from share premium correctly, or omitting or miscalculating goodwill, when preparing partnership or company accounts. (try the question)
- Treating fixed overheads incorrectly (for example posting the full total to both products), applying the mark-up wrongly, or carrying forward an absorption-costing revenue figure into an activity-based costing statement by mistake. (try the question)
- Providing a formula in the answer when the question explicitly stated that no formula was required. (try the question)
Command words in AS & A Level Accounting
| Command word | Times in our bank | What it demands |
|---|---|---|
| Calculate | 445 | The most frequent command word in this subject — needs a correct figure supported by clear method, since method marks are available even if the final total is wrong. |
| Identify | 358 | Heavily used on multiple-choice papers to select the single correct accounting treatment or figure from given options. |
| State | 100 | Wants a brief, precise fact — a term, a figure, or a definition — without further explanation. |
| Explain | 80 | Requires reasoning about why a particular accounting treatment or outcome applies, not just naming it. |
| Draw | 70 | Used for preparing accounts or statements in the correct format, where structure and labelling are marked alongside the figures. |
| Evaluate | 55 | Asks for a judgement, typically comparing options such as different business structures or costing methods, reaching a reasoned conclusion. |
| Assess | 27 | Similar to evaluate — requires weighing the relative merits of a course of action rather than only describing it. |
| Prepare | 23 | Instructs you to construct a full financial statement or account, where correct format and section placement are marked as well as the figures. |
How to revise with past papers
Because so much of this subject is calculation, treat past papers as an opportunity to isolate exactly which adjustment you get wrong, not just whether your final total matches. Keep a running log of specific recurring errors — treatment of overdrafts, life membership funds, provisions for unrealised profit — since the same handful of adjustments reappear across topics.
When you prepare a full statement, check it against the mark scheme's exact section headings and terminology before checking the numbers; abbreviated or outdated labels (such as 'net profit' instead of 'profit for the year') can lose marks even when the figures themselves are correct. Practising the correct pro forma from memory, blank, before filling in numbers, builds this habit.
For the multiple-choice papers, when you get a question wrong, work out which distractor you chose and why it looked plausible — most wrong multiple-choice answers come from one specific misunderstanding (mistaking a bank reconciliation for a fraud-prevention guarantee, say) rather than random guessing, so understanding the logic of the distractor closes the gap faster than repetition alone.
Practise real 9706 questions with AI marking →FAQs
How much of this subject is calculation versus written answers?
Across the fact sheet, 191 of 1,224 questions are marked by calculation and 984 by points, with calculation concentrated on the structured papers (21-23, 31-33, 41-43) rather than the multiple-choice papers.
Do I lose marks for using accounting abbreviations?
Yes — abbreviations such as 'COS' and outdated terms like 'net profit' can lose marks, so using the full, current terminology matters even when your figures are right.
Which command words carry the most weight?
Calculate and Identify are by far the most frequent, reflecting the calculation-heavy structured papers and the multiple-choice papers respectively.
Are there questions that need a written judgement rather than a number?
A smaller set of questions use points-with-levels marking (49 in our bank), typically where you are asked to evaluate or compare, and these need an actual reasoned conclusion rather than a repeated calculation.