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Accounting

Grade 10 · Exam Revision · CAPS-aligned
CAPS · Grade 10 · 2022–2026
Accounting Gr 10 · Exam RevisionDate: TopJournal

In Accounting the layout is worth marks before the figures are. Learn the format and the numbers always have somewhere to go.The GOAT Notes™

Two 2-hour papers · 150 marks each
THE PAPERS EXAM FORMAT

What you must be able to do

Core content · Two papers, 150 marks each

Grade 10 Accounting is two papers of 150 marks, each 2 hours, written on different dates: 300 marks in all. CAPS describes one 3-hour paper of 300 marks, but the annual teaching plan and every provincial paper we read set two, so this guide follows the papers.

Read from 10 Paper 1 and 6 Paper 2 provincial papers, 2022 to 2025. Your school or province sets your own paper.
Paper 1Paper 2
DisciplineRecording, reporting and evaluation of financial statementsInternal management and control processes
Marks · time150 marks · 2 hours150 marks · 2 hours
Questions3 or 4, all compulsory4 or 5, all compulsory
One question is20 to 65 marks15 to 63 marks
⚡ MUST MEMORISE About 0,8 minute a mark: 120 minutes for 150 marks. The cover table prints each question’s topic, marks and minutes, so keep to its minutes.

Core content · Paper 1: the question map

⭐ EXAM FAVOURITE The SCI and the SFP are about 93 of the 150 marks, more than 60% of Paper 1.
⚠️ COMMON MISTAKE Skipping salaries because 7 of 10 papers left it out. Provinces set their own papers: revise it after the big three.

Core content · Paper 2: the question map

🔥 FREQUENTLY TESTED Reconciliation was the largest question in 4 of 6 papers read, 30 to 63 marks. Fixed assets, cost accounting and budgeting follow.
⚠️ COMMON MISTAKE Waiting for VAT or ethics to arrive alone. VAT was set only in the 2022 papers read, and ethics sits inside other questions.

Core content · The answer book and what the paper prints

The answer book is part of the paper. It prints the layouts with some information given, and you complete them.

💡 EASY MARK Format marks are the cheapest in the paper. The headings are printed: copy every heading, sub-heading and note number exactly.

Core content · The formula sheet

Every paper carries the Grade 10 financial indicator formula sheet: nine formulas, the acid-test in two forms. It does not print how to interpret a ratio, or that a ratio is answered as n : 1.

Core content · Three levels of thinking

LevelsShareIn an Accounting question
1 to 2: basic30%Match, state or complete a given line
3 to 4: moderate40%Prepare a statement from the information
5 to 6: higher30%Integrate adjustments, comment with figures, solve a problem

Problem solving, 10 to 15% of the marks, runs across the levels. This is curriculum policy: no provincial paper prints a level for each question, so we label none.

Core content · Instructions as printed

Core content · What is not on this exam

The presentation, project and case study are school tasks, never set in November. Grade 11 and 12 content stays out: bank reconciliation, disposals, partnerships, clubs, companies, FIFO and VAT returns.

⚠️ COMMON MISTAKE Revising Grade 11 or 12 topics. No Grade 10 paper sets bank reconciliation or VAT returns: use the time on a layout.
🧠 ACTIVE RECALL
ONE-MINUTE SUMMARY Two papers, each 150 marks in 2 hours, every question compulsory. Paper 1 is the statements: the SCI and the SFP are about 93 marks. Paper 2 is control: reconciliation is the largest question. The answer book prints ten layouts, and the formula sheet is attached to every paper.
IN THE EXAM
  • The SCI, the SFP and reconciliation come first: about 140 of the 300 marks.
  • The answer book prints the layouts, so the headings are free format marks.
  • Learn the answer form (%, n : 1) and the comment shape: the formula sheet prints neither.
Not in the November papers · Term 1 presentation (50 marks, school-based)
TERM 1 · INFORMAL AND INDIGENOUS BOOKKEEPING INFORMAL BOOKKEEPING

What you must be able to do

Core content · Informal against formal: the comparison points that earn the marks

‘Compare the informal and formal systems with reference to records, capital, stock and pricing (4)’ earns one mark a feature, each set against both systems.

📖 KEY DEFINITION Informal sector: small businesses not registered for tax, with little or no formal records. Formal sector: registered businesses that pay tax and keep full books.
💡 EASY MARK Write ‘the informal trader prices by feel, whereas the formal business adds a mark-up’: one system alone loses the mark.

Core content · Key terms and the informal trader’s calculation of selling price, cost of sales and profit

📖 KEY DEFINITION Capital: money or assets the owner puts in. Stock: goods bought to sell again. Fixed assets: long-lasting items used, not sold.

‘Explain how an informal owner manages capital, fixed assets and stock (6)’ earns a mark a point:

⚡ MUST MEMORISE Cost price + mark-up = selling price. Mark-up % = mark-up ÷ cost price × 100. Labour cost = rate × time. Income = number sold × selling price. Cost of sales = opening stock + purchases − closing stock. Profit = income − expenses (cost of sales plus other expenses). In the formal SCI, cost of sales is taken off first to give gross profit, and only the running costs are operating expenses.
⚖️ LAWS / FRAMEWORKS Four steps, four lines of working: cost price, add the mark-up, selling price, then take off cost of sales and other expenses.
⚠️ COMMON MISTAKE Deducting the owner’s own spending as an expense. Cash or stock taken home is drawings and stays out of the profit.
⚠️ COMMON MISTAKE Writing the takings as profit, or subtracting every purchase. Cost of sales is only the stock sold.
Worked example: Lindiwe’s potato stall: mark-up, cost of sales and profit (6)

Lindiwe sells 10 kg bags of potatoes at a taxi rank. She pays R48 a bag and sells each for R72. She starts the week with 10 bags, buys 90 and ends with 15; takings are R6 120. She pays a packer R220 a day for 2 days, R120 rank fee and R80 packaging, and takes R300 from the till for groceries. Calculate (a) her mark-up percentage (2), (b) the cost of sales (2) and (c) her profit (2).

  • (a) ✓ method: Mark-up = R72 − R48 = R24.
  • (a) ✓ accuracy: Mark-up % = R24 ÷ R48 × 100 = 50%.
  • (b) ✓ method: Opening stock R480 (10 × R48) + purchases R4 320 (90 × R48) − closing stock R720 (15 × R48).
  • (b) ✓ accuracy: Cost of sales = R4 080.
  • (c) ✓ method: Labour cost = 2 × R220 = R440. Other expenses = R440 + R120 + R80 = R640. The R300 for groceries is drawings and stays out.
  • (c) ✓ accuracy: Profit = R6 120 − R4 080 − R640 = R1 400.

Check: 85 bags × R24 mark-up = R2 040 gross profit, and R2 040 − R640 = R1 400. A wrong figure carried forward still earns the later method mark.

Core content · The Term 1 presentation and the link to formal procedure

The 50-mark presentation is school-based: you interview a real informal owner and report on this topic. Your findings must be your own, so check your teacher’s rubric.

A ‘relate’ question pairs habit with procedure:

🧠 ACTIVE RECALL

Choose the correct definition of ‘capital’ in an informal business.

Which ONE of the following is the correct definition of ‘stock’?

Select the correct definition of ‘fixed assets’.

Choose the correct meaning of ‘labour cost’.

In an informal business, ‘drawings’ are…

Grace keeps a notebook in which she writes the money that comes in and goes out of her stall. In formal bookkeeping this habit grows into…

Vusi lets neighbours take airtime and sweets on credit and remembers who owes him. The formal version of this habit is…

Every Friday Palesa looks at her shelves and counts what is left. The formal bookkeeping procedure this grows into is…

Mama Thandi sets her prices by guessing what people will pay. In formal bookkeeping a business sets its prices by…

Bongani takes R200 from the till every Friday to buy groceries for his home. The formal bookkeeping name for this is…

Which ONE of the following correctly compares the records kept in an informal and a formal business?

Which ONE of the following correctly compares how an informal and a formal business get and keep their capital?

Which ONE of the following correctly compares the way an informal and a formal business deal with stock?

Which ONE of the following correctly compares how an informal and a formal business deal with labour?

Which ONE of the following correctly compares the controls in an informal and a formal business?

Nandi’s spaza starts the week with stock worth R650 at cost, buys stock worth R3 900 and ends the week with stock worth R820 at cost. What is her cost of sales?

A stall starts the week with 25 packs of mealie meal and buys 120 more. Each pack costs R14 and sells for R20. At the end of the week 30 packs are left. What is the cost of sales?

A hair-care stall starts the week with products worth R300 at cost, buys R2 100 of products and ends the week with R900 of products at cost. What is the cost of sales?

Lwazi’s vegetable stall starts Monday with stock worth R520 at cost. He buys R1 760 of stock on Tuesday and R2 240 on Friday, and on Saturday evening R610 of stock is left. What is his cost of sales?

A fruit seller starts the week with 14 crates of apples and buys 46 more. Each crate costs R95. She has 10 crates left at the end of the week. What is her cost of sales?

Busi buys 10 kg bags of rice at R80 a bag and adds a mark-up of 25% on cost. She starts the week with 6 bags, buys 56 bags more and has 12 bags left at the end; prices do not change. She pays a packer R90 a day for 2 days and R60 for transport, and takes R200 from the takings for her family. What is her profit for the week?

Zandile buys school socks at R25 a pair and adds a mark-up of 40% on cost. She starts the week with 20 pairs, buys 80 pairs more and has 12 pairs left at the end; prices do not change. She pays a helper R90 a day for 2 days and R120 for her market stall, and takes R150 from the takings for her phone. What is her profit for the week?

Mandla buys phone covers at R30 each and adds a mark-up of 60% on cost. He starts the week with 10 covers, buys 40 covers more and has 14 covers left at the end; prices do not change. He pays R130 for data and R48 for transport, and takes R100 from the takings for his lunch. What is his profit for the week?

Thabiso buys oranges at R12 a kilogram and adds a mark-up of 50% on cost. He starts the week with 15 kg, buys 135 kg more and has 20 kg left at the end; prices do not change. He pays a helper R40 an hour for 5 hours and R70 for crates, and takes R180 from the takings for his children’s school shoes. What is his profit for the week?

Nomsa buys bread rolls at R5 each and adds a mark-up of 60% on cost. She starts the week with 40 rolls, buys 360 rolls more and has 60 rolls left at the end; prices do not change. She pays a helper R150 a day for 2 days and R120 for gas, and takes R130 from the takings for herself. What is her profit for the week?

A learner works out the cost of sales: ‘Opening stock R400 + purchases R2 600 + closing stock R500 = R3 500.’ Which correction is needed?

Crates cost a trader R100 each and sell for R130 each. A learner works out the income: ‘Opening stock 14 crates, bought 46 crates, 8 crates left. Number sold = 14 + 46 = 60 crates. Income = 60 × R130 = R7 800.’ Which correction is needed?

A learner works out the week’s profit: ‘Income R4 800 − cost of sales R3 200 − labour R400 − transport R100 − groceries for the owner’s family R250 = R850.’ What is the correct profit, and why?

In one week a trader has income of R3 600 and cost of sales of R2 400, and pays a helper R300 and R150 for transport. A learner writes: ‘Profit = R3 600 − R2 400 = R1 200.’ Which correction is needed?

A learner works out a mark-up percentage: ‘Cost price R120; selling price R150. Step 1: mark-up = R150 − R120 = R30. Step 2: mark-up % = R30 ÷ R150 × 100 = 20%.’ Which statement about the working is correct?

Compare an informal business with a formal business with reference to (i) capital, (ii) stock, (iii) pricing and (iv) profit. Name BOTH systems each time (4)

Mrs Khumalo sells fruit and vegetables at a taxi rank. She keeps the stall’s money and her household money in one purse, uses a trolley and a scale that nobody has ever written down, and leaves tomatoes at the back of the crate until they rot. Explain how she should manage (a) her capital, (b) her fixed assets and (c) her stock (6)

Khanyi sells 5 kg bags of sugar at a market stall. She pays R60 a bag and sells each for R78. She starts the week with 9 bags, buys 61 and has 10 left at the end. She pays a packer R130 a day for 2 days and R90 for transport, and takes R250 from the till for school fees. Show every line of working and calculate (a) her mark-up percentage (2), (b) the cost of sales (2) and (c) her profit for the week (2)

Explain to a Grade 8 learner why an answer to ‘compare informal and formal bookkeeping’ loses its mark if it describes only one of the two systems.

Explain to a Grade 8 learner why the cost of sales is opening stock plus purchases minus closing stock, and not simply everything the trader bought in the week.

Explain to a Grade 8 learner how a trader’s notebook and a business’s journals and ledgers are the same idea in two sizes.

ONE-MINUTE SUMMARY Name both systems in every comparison; define each sector in two ideas; price by cost plus mark-up; cost of sales = opening + purchases − closing; profit = income − expenses.
IN THE EXAM
  • No November paper we studied sets this topic; school assesses it: the Term 1 presentation (50 marks) and possibly the Term 1 control test.
  • Compare, define, explain and describe: one point per mark, both systems named.
  • Calculations: method and accuracy marks, a tick per line.
🔒 GAAP & CYCLE
🔒 ETHICS & CONTROL
🔒 EQUATION
🔒 BOOKKEEPING
🔒 RECONCILIATION
🔒 VAT
🔒

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