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The enrolment process and how it works
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Immediately after purchase of The Balancing Act we will ask for the names and email addresses of your trainees.
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We will send them log in details to the online element of the course within two working days. (If you prefer, we can send this email to you, so you can forward it to your trainees when you want them to start).
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Students can start studying online as soon as they have received their log in details.
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We will also dispatch The Balancing Act workbook to the address you have provided. The workbook should arrive within 2 working days.
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We will email you the end of course test so that you can issue it to your student once they have completed the The Balancing Act course.
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Unless you have arranged with us to mark the end of course assessment for you, we will send you the model answers, which includes the marking scheme.
Your trainees now undertake the course – see details below
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Most clients get their new recruits to complete The Balancing Act as part of their initial induction over the first 5 days (you may choose to leave your trainees to work through The Balancing Act course on their own and catch up with them at the end of the week).
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Trainees will take the end of course assessment at the end of this period.
List of course Modules
How it works at The Balancing Act, the course is designed to be a fast and cost-effective way to train new accountants. It minimises the impact on your internal resources and ensures efficient training is provided to new recruits during the first week of their employment with you. The course is delivered with both online and offline self-study elements and can be completed in approximately 35 hours. Students’ knowledge is tested along the way to ensure a thorough understanding of the course content.
SESSION 1: Introduction to Business
An introduction to the most common business structures, typical business transactions and the purpose of financial accounting and management accounting.
SESSION 2: Basic Bookkeeping Session 1
This module includes an introduction to the three fundamental concepts that underpin double-entry bookkeeping. It also covers The Accounting Equation and introduces the Dual Effect.
SESSION 3: Basic Bookkeeping Session 2
This module runs through how to record double-entry transactions using T-accounts. It also introduces the three ledgers used (General Ledger, Sales Ledger, Purchases Ledger).
SESSION 4: Basic Bookkeeping Session 3
This module looks at how to transfer all the brought down balances from the General Ledger into the Trial Balance.
SESSION 5: Basic Bookkeeping Session 4
This module provides a brief introduction to the Financial Statements – the Statement of Financial Position (Profit and Loss Account) and Statement of Financial Position (Balance Sheet).
SESSION 6: The sales system and processing sales documents
This module provides an overview of the sales system, the documentation that could be involved in a sales transaction and how it is recorded.
SESSION 7: Dealing with VAT
This module covers what should be shown on an invoice, rates of VAT, how to calculate VAT and how to ‘round’ for VAT.
SESSION 8: Dealing with VAT on discounts
This module covers the different types of discount that can be offered, along with a detailed look at how to calculate ‘prompt payment’ discounts.
SESSION 9: Recording Credit Sales in the Day Books
This module covers The Books of Prime Entry i.e. where we record all the business’s day to day transactions, with particular focus on how to record credit sales in the Day Books.
SESSION 10: Recording Sales Receipts in the Cash Receipts Book
This module covers The Books of Prime Entry i.e. where we record all the business’s day to day transactions, with particular focus on how to record credit sales in the Day Books.
SESSION 11: The Purchases System and processing purchases documents
This module provides an overview of the purchases system, the documentation that could be involved in a purchases transaction and how it is recorded.
SESSION 12: Recording Credit Purchases in the Day Books
This module focuses on the business’s day to day transactions from a purchases perspective, including how to record credit purchases in the Day Books.
SESSION 13: Recording Payments in the Cash Payments Book
This module covers how to manage creditors, and how we record payments from credit suppliers as well as payments from cash purchases, in the Cash Payments Book.
SESSION 14: The Petty Cash Book
This module runs through the ‘Imprest System’ and how we record entries in the Petty Cash Book.
SESSION 15: Payroll
This module looks at how to calculate payroll (for a basic understanding only) and how to post payroll to the various T-accounts in the General Ledger.
SESSION 16: Bank Reconciliations
This module runs through how to prepare a bank reconciliation using the Bank Statement and the Cash Book.
SESSION 17: Posting Sales and Receipts to the Sales Ledger
This module covers how to post sales and receipts from the Day Books into the General Ledger and Subsidiary Sales Ledger.
SESSION 18: Posting Purchases and Payments to the Purchases Ledger
This module covers how to post purchases and payments from the Day Books into the General Ledger and Subsidiary Purchases Ledger.
SESSION 19: Sales Ledger and Purchases Ledger Control Accounts and Reconciliations
This module runs through how to reconcile the Sales Ledger Control Account and Purchases Ledger Control account. The module also covers how to deal with Contras.
SESSION 20: The Trial Balance
This module runs through how to balance off all the T-accounts and transfer all the brought down balances to the Trial Balance. The module also covers errors in a Trial Balance.
SESSION 21: Accrual and Prepayments
This module looks at the Accruals Concept and explains how to accrue for expenditure and income. It also covers Prepayments for expenditure and income.
SESSION 22: Irrecoverable Debts / Allowance for Doubtful Debts
This module looks at how to account for debts if a customer is unlikely to settle their account and also the treatment for debts where there is uncertainty of settlement being made.
SESSION 23: Inventories / Stock
This module focuses on how to value Inventory (Stock) using three different valuation methods (LIFO, FIFO, AVCO) and how to account for Inventory in the accounting records.
SESSION 24: Suspense Account
This module runs through the different types of journal that may need to be prepared, with particular emphasis on journals used to correct errors.
SESSION 25: Non-Current Assets and Depreciation
This module looks at the Non-Current Assets that are/are not allowable as a capital expenses. It also runs through Depreciation and the two different methods used to calculate it.
SESSION 26: The Financial Statements
This module focuses on entering all our accounting adjustments into the Extended Trial Balance prior to preparing the Statement of Profit or Loss (Profit and Loss Account) and the Statement of Financial Position (Balance Sheet).
Our clients
We have a proven track record of training accountants since 1992.
“For a number of years, we have used The Balancing Act distance learning bookkeeping course as part of our induction programme for all new recruits. This has allowed our school-leaver and graduate intake to acquire the necessary knowledge and skills to become productive in the workplace within a week and, in the case of our AAT students, to commence their studies at level 3, rather than spend a year completing level 2. This not only fast tracks their career progress and enables our business to immediately benefit from their increased effectiveness, but also reduces the amount of on-the-job training provided by their line managers and consequent lost chargeable time.”
Sophie Parkhouse FCA PGCE
Technical and Training Partner
Albert Goodman Chartered Accountants
“At Andrew Price & Co we believe training is the best investment you can make in your team. We do this from the start, from new apprentices to people looking for a refresher after joining us from industry. We’ve found no better way than The Balancing Act to be able to get people confident with the core underlying accounting principles and processes. It’s comprehensive and highly practical with the added benefit of testing to support the learning process. Even with software like Xero, you need to be able to understand the accounting that goes on within it to ensure it’s used correctly. The Balancing Act is one of the best ways I’ve seen to get entry level team members as productive as possible in a short period of time, freeing up your more experienced staff to do client work. ”
Andrew Price
Director
Andrew Price & Co Chartered Accountants
“The Balancing Act is the best introductory course we have seen, easy to use, effective and reasonably priced. We have found it invaluable in ascertaining very quickly whether someone is cut out to be an accountant and have done so without needing to spend a lot of expensive manager time in the process. The small investment is very quickly repaid.” ”
Tony Paine
Director
Chalmers HB Chartered Accountants
Our awards
The Balancing Act was created by the team at Accountancy Learning which is an Award-winning AAT approved training provider.
Sustainability
We will be buying a Birch, Alder or other indigenous tree at Stone Lane Gardens for every copy of The Balancing Act sold. We have already sponsored our first 100 trees. Stone Lane Gardens is a spectacular 5 acre woodland and water garden on the edge of Dartmoor National Park, that enchants and inspires in every season, famous for National Collections of Birch and Alder trees.
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