Syllabus for MICB - ICB Levels 2 & 3 Certificates in Bookkeeping & Accounts (Sage 50 Accounts or Xero)

Paper A1 – Basic double-entry bookkeeping to trial balance

• Underpinning knowledge
  • Knowledge of the different categories of business that exist
  • Terms in bookkeeping (assets, liabilities, etc.)
  • Banking procedures
  • Understanding the different categories of VAT (standard, reduced, zero, exempt, outside the scope)
• Calculation of the value of the capital investment for a sole trader
• Calculation of business documents including calculation of VAT
• Showing an understanding of the effect of entering transactions into a bookkeeping system for sales, purchases, overheads, capital items, returns, personal items, etc.
• The effect of making and receiving payments including bank, cash and petty cash transactions
• Calculation of account balances
• Production and explanation of a trial balance

Paper A2 – Further double entry bookkeeping to trial balance

• Underpinning knowledge
  • Ethics
  • Legislation relevant to the bookkeeper
  • Accounting concepts
  • Understanding the different categories of VAT (standard, reduced, zero, exempt, outside the scope)
• Further double entry including the following
  • Topics from Paper A1
  • The content of control accounts
  • Writing off a bad debt
  • Construction Industry Scheme
  • Posting non-sole trader entries (subscriptions, donations, drawings of partners, directors’ loan accounts, etc.)
• Entry of payroll journals
• Calculation of the value of a suspense account in a system that does not balance
• Reconciliation of debtors, creditors and bank balances
• Correction of errors that do not affect the trial balance
• Production and explanation of a trial balance

Paper A3 – Data entry to trial balance using a computerised accounts package

• Opening of entries
• Entry of cash and credit transactions
• Production of a trial balance
• Production of reports for debtors, creditors, bank, VAT and the audit trail

Paper M4 – reconciliations and final accounts of a sole trader

• Underpinning knowledge
• Reconciliation and correction of errors (customer and supplier reconciliations, bank reconciliation, correction of errors including the clearance of a suspense account balance)
• The calculation of summary figures for control accounts
• VAT Returns (cash and standard VAT returns only but including EU transactions)
• Posting adjustments including disposal and acquisition of fixed assets
• Revaluation of assets
• Final accounts of a sole trader (profit and loss account and balance sheet)

Paper M5 – final accounts of a partnership

• All of the requirements for paper M4 but set in a partnership scenario plus:
• Underpinning knowledge
• Ethical considerations
• Underpinning knowledge of the legal requirements for a partnership
• Final accounts of a partnership including the appropriation account and production of partners’ current accounts
• Calculations and bookkeeping entries to record a change of partnership (partnership ratios, goodwill, the effect on capital and current accounts etc.)
• Final accounts of a sole trader (profit and loss account and balance sheet)

Paper M6 – final accounts of a not-for-profit organisation

• All of the requirements of paper M4 but set in a not-for profit scenario plus:
• Underpinning knowledge regarding not-for-profit organisations
• Understanding the different requirements of a chart of accounts for such an organisation
• Understand the concepts of the different forms of income for not-for-profit organisations including a subscriptions account
• Posting adjustments including the subscriptions account and disposal and acquisition of fixed assets
• Final accounts of a not-for-profit organisation

Paper M7 – Management accounts of incorporated businesses

• Final accounts including adjustments for a limited company (internal management accounts format only)
• Limited liability partnerships
• Calculation and interpretation of ratios

Paper M8 – Level 3 External Assessment