Cambridge AS Level Accounting Tutors Online

Cambridge AS 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 AS Level candidate sits two papers in the same exam series, and candidates following an AS Level route are eligible for grades a to e. Candidates following an A Level route are eligible for grades A* to E. The AS grade scale stops at e and uses lower case letters.

Paper 1 is Multiple Choice. It lasts 1 hour, carries 30 marks as 30 multiple choice questions based on sections 1 and 2 of the subject content, and 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 is worth 72% of the AS Level and 36% of the A Level. It also draws only on sections 1 and 2.

So both AS papers examine exactly the same content, and the difference is entirely in how much of the grade each carries. Paper 2 is nearly three quarters of the AS Level, which means the written paper is where this qualification is decided.

Paper 2 has four structured questions and every one is compulsory. Questions 1, 2 and 3 focus on financial accounting. Question 1 has 30 marks, and questions 2 and 3 have 15 marks each. Question 4 focuses on cost and management accounting and has 30 marks.

That distribution is worth planning around. Half the paper, 60 of the 90 marks, sits in Question 1 and Question 4, and they test opposite halves of the course. A candidate who is comfortable with financial statements but weak on costing loses 30 marks in one question. A candidate who is the other way round loses 30 marks on the first.

There is a rule on Paper 2 that is easy to miss and expensive to break. Candidates must use the formulae given in the appendix to section 3, and the syllabus states that these are the only formulae accepted in candidate responses. The appendix is in the syllabus and is the only acceptable source.

Candidates are also expected to use international accounting terminology and formats as appropriate, which is a real requirement rather than a stylistic preference.

Where a question asks for a recommendation or a decision, the syllabus states that candidates are expected to support their answer with a balance of reasons and to justify their recommendation or decision. So an evaluation answer is a weighed argument, not a list of points.

Paper 2 assesses all three assessment objectives, which makes it the paper where judgement actually earns marks. Paper 1 does not.

The AS Level content is eight topics in two sections. Section 1 is financial accounting and covers types of business entity; the accounting system; accounting for non-current assets; reconciliation and verification; preparation of financial statements; and analysis and communication of accounting information.

Section 2 is cost and management accounting and covers costs and cost behaviour, and traditional costing methods.

So the AS year is weighted towards financial accounting, with six of the eight topics in that section. The costing side is comparatively short at AS Level, and it gets much larger at A Level.

A Level candidates go on to section 3 and section 4. Section 3 adds preparation of financial statements, regulatory and ethical considerations, business acquisition and merger, computerised accounting systems, and analysis and communication of accounting information. Section 4 adds activity based costing, standard costing, budgeting and budgetary control, and investment appraisal.

The assessment objectives are three. AO1 is knowledge and understanding. AO2 is analysis. AO3 is evaluation.

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.

That is the highest knowledge weighting in this AS block. Nearly two thirds of the AS grade rewards knowing the material and being able to do the procedures correctly, and only 12 per cent rewards evaluation.

The per paper weightings explain why. Paper 1 is 70 per cent AO1, 30 per cent AO2 and nothing at all on AO3, so multiple choice never asks for a judgement. Paper 2 is 60 per cent AO1, 23 per cent AO2 and 17 per cent AO3, so evaluation exists but is a small slice of even the written paper.

The syllabus publishes a summary appendix of commonly used ratios, and it is the most concrete revision list in the document. Profitability ratios are gross profit margin, mark up, profit margin, return on capital employed, the expenses to revenue ratio and the operating expenses to revenue ratio. Liquidity ratios are the current ratio and the acid test ratio.

Efficiency ratios are non-current asset turnover in times, trade receivables turnover in days, the working capital cycle in days, and net working assets to revenue. Alongside those sit interest cover in times and gearing.

Two definitions in that appendix are examinable and easy to garble. Capital employed is issued shares plus reserves plus non-current liabilities. And net working assets is inventories plus trade receivables minus trade payables.

One family of ratios is A Level only, and the syllabus labels it as such: investment ratios, also called stock exchange ratios, which include earnings per share. An AS candidate does not need them.

Three routes are available. Route 1 is AS Level only, taking Papers 1 and 2 in the same series. Route 2 is the A Level staged over two years, taking Papers 1 and 2 in Year 1 and Papers 3 and 4 in Year 2, with the AS result carried forward subject to Cambridge Handbook rules and time limits. Route 3 is the A Level with all four papers in one series.

The qualification is graded a, b, c, d or e for an AS Level candidate.