Cambridge A Level Accounting Tutors Online

Cambridge A Level Accounting is syllabus 9706. This page works from the syllabus for exams in 2026, 2027 and 2028. Exams are available in the June and November series, and also in the March series in India.

An A Level candidate sits four papers. Papers 1 and 2 are the AS Level papers and Papers 3 and 4 are the A Level papers. Candidates following an A Level route are eligible for grades A* to E.

Paper 1 is Multiple Choice. It lasts 1 hour, carries 30 marks and 30 multiple-choice questions, and is based on sections 1 and 2 of the subject content. It is worth 28% of the AS Level and 14% of the A Level.

Paper 2 is Fundamentals of Accounting. It lasts 1 hour 45 minutes, carries 90 marks, and consists of four structured questions based on sections 1 and 2. It is worth 72% of the AS Level and 36% of the A Level.

Paper 3 is Financial Accounting. It lasts 1 hour 30 minutes, carries 75 marks, and consists of three structured questions based on section 3 of the subject content. Knowledge of the AS Level content is assumed. It is worth 30% of the A Level.

Paper 4 is Cost and Management Accounting. It lasts 1 hour, carries 50 marks, and consists of two structured questions based on section 4 of the subject content. Knowledge of the AS Level content is assumed. It is worth 20% of the A Level.

So the AS papers give the A Level 14% and 36%, and the A Level papers add 30% and 20%. Paper 2 is the single heaviest paper in the qualification.

The two A Level papers share a structure that is worth knowing exactly. Paper 3 has three structured questions and each question is worth 25 marks. Paper 4 has two structured questions and each question is worth 25 marks.

In both papers every question is worth the same, all questions are compulsory, and candidates answer on the question paper. There is no choice and no uneven weighting inside a paper.

That makes the arithmetic easy to plan against. Paper 3 is 75 marks in 1 hour 30 minutes, which is 25 marks every half hour. Paper 4 is 50 marks in 1 hour, which is also 25 marks every half hour.

Paper 4 is the one to respect. Two 25 mark questions in one hour, each with source material to read, is the fastest paper in the qualification. A candidate who reads the insert slowly will not finish.

Source material for each question is supplied on a separate insert to the paper, and additional information is included within each question on the question paper. So the information a candidate needs is split across two places, and both have to be read.

Paper 3 also restricts formulae in a way that is easy to miss. Candidates must use the formulae given in the appendix to section 3, and those are the only formulae accepted in candidate responses.

In practice that means a correct calculation using a formula from memory, or from a different section of the syllabus, does not earn the marks. The appendix is the whole permitted toolkit for Paper 3.

Both A Level papers also state a requirement that sounds soft and is not. Where candidates are asked to make recommendations or decisions, they are expected to support the answer with a balance of reasons and to justify the recommendation or decision.

So a Paper 3 or Paper 4 question does not end at the number. It ends with a judgement, and the judgement has to be reasoned on both sides.

Both papers require candidates to use international accounting terminology and formats as appropriate.

The assessment objectives are three. AO1 is knowledge and understanding, covering facts, terms, concepts, policies, procedures and techniques relating to financial accounting and cost and management accounting, and applying that knowledge to a variety of accounting situations and problems and presenting outcomes in the most appropriate form.

AO2 is analysis, covering analysing financial accounting and cost and management accounting information, selecting, calculating and interpreting relevant data, and communicating outcomes in the most appropriate form.

AO3 is evaluation, covering evaluating financial accounting and cost and management accounting information to make informed recommendations and decisions, and making judgements and drawing conclusions based on financial and non financial data.

Note that application sits inside AO1 in this syllabus rather than having its own objective. So AO1 is the largest objective by a wide margin, and it covers both knowing a technique and using it.

At AS Level the weightings are AO1 at 63 per cent, AO2 at 25 per cent and AO3 at 12 per cent.

At A Level they become AO1 at 55 per cent, AO2 at 30 per cent and AO3 at 15 per cent.

So the shift towards analysis and evaluation is real but modest. Knowledge and technique still carry more than half the A Level, which is why Accounting rewards students who are accurate and well drilled as much as those who argue well.

The per-paper splits explain where each skill is tested. Paper 1 is AO1 at 70 per cent and AO2 at 30 per cent, with AO3 at zero. The multiple-choice paper has no evaluation in it at all.

Paper 2 is AO1 at 60 per cent, AO2 at 23 per cent and AO3 at 17 per cent. Paper 3 is 54, 33 and 13.

Paper 4 is AO1 at 44 per cent, AO2 at 28 per cent and AO3 at 28 per cent. That makes Paper 4 the most evaluative paper in the qualification, with the lowest knowledge share, and the one where a recommendation has to be defended hardest.

The content divides into four sections numbered 1.1 to 4.4. AS Level candidates study topics 1.1 to 2.2, and A Level candidates study all of it, with the AS content assumed for Papers 3 and 4.

Section 1 is financial accounting at AS Level, beginning with types of business entity and the advantages and disadvantages of a sole trader, a partnership and a limited company.

Section 2 is cost and management accounting at AS Level. Section 3 is A Level financial accounting. Section 4 is A Level cost and management accounting.

Section 3 is where the A Level financial content sits. Topic 3.1 is preparation of financial statements, and it covers partnerships, clubs and societies, manufacturing businesses, and limited companies.

Topic 3.2 is regulatory and ethical considerations, covering International Accounting Standards, ethical considerations, and auditing and stewardship of limited companies. Topic 3.3 is business acquisition and merger. Topic 3.4 is computerised accounting systems. Topic 3.5 is analysis and communication of accounting information.

That section is the one that changes what a student is doing. Preparing statements for a manufacturing business, applying accounting standards, and following the audit and stewardship argument for limited companies are all well beyond the AS treatment.

Section 4 is entirely new technique. Topic 4.1 is activity based costing, which contrasts with the traditional costing methods in 2.2 by allocating overheads using cost drivers rather than bases like direct labour hours, and which also requires an assessment of the uses and limitations of the system.

Topic 4.2 is standard costing, comparing predetermined values with actual costs and revenues to assess performance, exploring reasons for the differences and the interrelationships between them.

Topic 4.3 is budgeting and budgetary control. Topic 4.4 is investment appraisal.

Investment appraisal is the topic most often underestimated. It brings in payback, average rate of return and discounted cash flow, and it asks for a recommendation rather than a set of figures, which is exactly what Paper 4 rewards most.

There are three routes. Route 1 is AS Level only, taking Papers 1 and 2 in the same exam series. Route 2 is the A Level staged over two years, with Year 1 as the AS Level and Year 2 taking Papers 3 and 4 only. Route 3 is the A Level with all four components in one exam series.

On Route 2, Year 2 is Papers 3 and 4 only, so the AS papers are not retaken. Candidates carry forward their AS Level result, subject to the rules and time limits described in the Cambridge Handbook.

The qualification is graded A* to E for an A Level candidate. The lower case a to e scale belongs to the AS Level route only.

This page is written for Year 13 students completing the A Level.