TL Accounting: assessment support

This paper covers the following specification content:

• Element 1 – The Business Environment
• Element 2 – Careers within the Accounting Professions
• Element 6 – Professional Services
• Element 8 – Fundamentals of Financial Accounting (1)
• Element 9 – Technology
• Element 10 – Data Driven Innovation / Analytics and Design Thinking
• Element 11 – Research Skills
• Element 12 – Project / Change Management and Administration

The structure of the paper has two sections; Section A which is worth 18 marks and Section B which is worth 72 marks, for a total of 90 marks. Section A consists of shorter answer questions worth 1-6 marks and Section B contains longer scenario questions that require more in-depth responses that include justification and evaluation, ranging from 2-12 mark questions.

This paper covers the following specification content:

• Element 3 – Regulation
• Element 4 – Professionalism, and ethics/equality, diversity, and inclusion
• Element 5 – Security and risks
• Element 7 – Fundamentals of Law
• Element 13 – Fundamentals of Financial Accounting (2)
  

Having a good understanding of the content of element 13 fundamentals of financial accounting is key. It may be useful to start covering some of the occupational specialism before this paper is taken, to aid students’ understanding.

Performance Outcomes
In this project students will:
PO1 – Produce and analyse a trial balance
PO2 – Prepare primary financial statements
PO3 – Analyse business performance and present results
PO4 – Provide support to tax and audit functions
PO5 – Prepare computations for payroll

Assessment overview
There are eight parts to the assessment.
● Task 1: Preparation of a trial balance and complete a reconciliation
● Task 2: Preparation of financial documents for a sole trader
● Task 3: Preparation of tax computation
● Task 4: Preparation of financial documents for a limited company
● Task 5: Payroll activities
● Task 6: Production of a payslip
● Task 7: Audit
● Task 8: Business performance analysis
Students will respond to a given scenario to complete a substantial project. They will be assessed on their application of the skills listed for the Performance Outcomes.
Students will not be assessed against specific ‘knowledge’ outcomes but will be expected to draw on and apply related knowledge to ensure appropriate outcomes when applying the skills in response to an assessment scenario.
● Students will undertake the project under a combination of supervised and controlled conditions.
● The assessment will take place over multiple sessions, up to a combined duration of 17 hours and 25 minutes.
● The project outcomes will consist of a portfolio of evidence submitted electronically.

Past question papers, mark schemes and examiners' reports are available on the qualification page.

These are kept locked for the first 9 months after an examination series and you will require an Edexcel Online username and password to be able to gain access.

For the Core Component, separate entries are required for both the Core Examinations and the Employer Set Project.

The two Core Exams have to be taken in the same exam series.

For the Occupational Specialist Component, an entry is required for the window the student wishes to sit the assessment in.

Students may resit:
● to improve grades
● the Core Examinations
● the Employer Set Project
● the assessments for an occupational specialism, or
● any combination of these.

Where a student fails one of the Core Examinations, they must resit both exams and must do so in the same assessment window.

In order to access a resit opportunity, an entry for the required window must be made.

Resits can take place up until two academic years after the end of the final academic year for the cohort within which the relevant student is included.

Recall a piece/pieces of information.

Detailed responses are not needed for these 1-mark questions.  Candidates do not need to write complete sentences.

Recall a piece/pieces of information.

Detailed responses are not needed for the 2 x 1-mark questions.  Candidates do not need to write complete sentences.

Identify a point (advantage/disadvantage/reason/factor etc) and then give a linked justification/reasoning of the given point.

For a 3-mark question a further linked justification / reasoning is required.

Example: Explain one benefit of ... (2)

• the first mark is for identifying the benefit.
• the second mark is for a linked justification/expansion.
  

Example: Explain one reason why ... (3)

• the first mark is for identifying the reason.
• the second mark is for an appropriate linked justification/expansion.
  
• the third mark is for a further expansion.

Explain two factors (reasons/benefits, drawbacks etc) - 4 marks

These should be answered as 2 x 2-mark questions.

Obtain a numerical answer, showing relevant working.

The number of marks indicates the number of stages in the calculation.

Candidates should show their workings for computational questions, to ensure that if the final answer is incorrect that marks can be awarded for correct workings.
 

Levels-based mark schemes (LBMS) have been designed to assess students’ work holistically. They consist of two parts:

1) Indicative content
Indicative content reflects content-related points that a student might make but is not an exhaustive list. Nor is it a model answer. Students may make some or none of the points included in the indicative content as its purpose is as a guide for the relevance and expectation of the responses. Students must be credited for any appropriate response.

2) Levels-based descriptors
Each level is made up of a number of traits which when combined together articulate the quality of response that a student needs to demonstrate. The traits progress across the levels to demonstrate the different expectations of each level. When using a levels-based mark scheme, the ‘best fit’ approach should be used.

Applying the levels-based descriptors

Examiners should take a ‘best fit’ approach to determining the mark.

● Examiners should first make a holistic judgement on which level most closely matches the student’s response. Students will be placed in the level that best describes their answer. Answers can display characteristics from more than one level, and where this happens markers must use any additional guidance (e.g. weighting of traits) and their professional judgement to decide which level is most appropriate.

● The mark awarded within the level will be decided based on the quality of the answer and will be modified according to how securely all traits are displayed at that level:

● Marks will be awarded at the top of that level if the student has evidenced each of the descriptor traits securely.

● Where the response does not securely meet all traits, the marks should be awarded based on how closely the descriptor has been met.

Consider the factors that apply in relation to a specific context.

Give careful consideration to opposing aspects of an issue, situation, or a problem

Examples of high scoring answers in the following examiners’ reports:

Consider the factors that apply in relation to a specific context.

Give careful consideration to opposing aspects of an issue, situation, or a problem

Examples of high scoring answers in the following examiners’ reports:

Consider the factors that apply in relation to a specific context.

Give careful consideration to which are the most significant, important, or relevant, leading to a reasoned judgement/conclusion.

Examples of high scoring answers in the following examiners’ reports:

Consider the factors that apply in relation to a specific context.

Give careful consideration to characteristics such as, strengths or weaknesses, advantages or disadvantages, pros or cons, leading to a reasoned judgment/conclusion.

Level 3 answers clearly identify both positives and negatives of both options,  incorporate context from the scenario, and include a thorough evaluation and a well-supported conclusion.

Examples of high scoring answers in the following examiners’ reports:

Consider the factors that apply in relation to a specific context.

Give careful consideration to characteristics such as, strengths or weaknesses, advantages or disadvantages, pros or cons, leading to a reasoned judgment/conclusion.

Examples of high scoring answers in the following examiners’ reports:

The pre-release Set Task Brief will be issued one day before the start of Task 1.

This is to allow students to familiarise themselves with the industry context of the business prior to the first task. Students should complete familiarisation during the timetabled window allocated. These window dates are in the key dates document and timetable for the exam series.

During the pre-release window students should spend time familiarising themselves with the ways in which digital tools and technologies are used within the identified sector.

Students are advised to spend around 4 hours on this task, but they may choose to spend more time if they wish. Providers will need to schedule a minimum of 4 hours to allow students to complete this familiarisation.

During the pre-release students are permitted to:

•  Access the internet
•  Work with others
•  Share and receive findings from the investigations being carried out
•  Complete investigations both during and outside of supervised sessions
•  Make notes about findings

Students will not be allowed to take notes into the supervised assessment sessions.

Students need to be able to calculate percentage change and a percentage of a value.

Students are given a partial SWOT analysis.

It is essential that students understand that strengths are internal, and opportunities are external as there is still some confusion over this.

Task 2 outline:

Examiner report feedback:

Task 3 outline:

Examiner report feedback:

Task 4 outline:

Examiner report feedback:

Task 5 outline:

Examiner report feedback:

Task 1 outline:

This task needs access to industry recognised accounting software.

The software we will be aligning the assessment to are:

• Sage50 Desktop
• Sage Cloud
• Quickbooks Cloud
• Xero Cloud

Other software packages will not be supported in Task 1A.

The Administrative Support Guide (ASG), SAM, AdSAM, and live assessments will use generic accounting terminology. We will provide a glossary of terms for each listed software package, that can be used to cross reference to the generic terms.

In preparation for Task 1, the provider will be required to ensure that the students have access to the accounting software package they have been using.

Expert tutors are required to set up the company and associated information for that company on the accounting software.

Company details are provided for tutors.

For Task 1a students are required to use industry recognised accounting software, which can include cloud-based software.

Where the provider provides cloud-based software to students, access to the internet - for the sole purpose of accessing this software - is permitted.

Provider must ensure that all students are provided with an appropriately restricted
user account which means they cannot access any other files or webpages (e.g. student files stored on the centre’s network, the internet, search engines, AI tools, online forums etc). Students must use this restricted account to complete the task.

Task 1a requires candidates to produce using computerised accounting software.

• a trial balance,
•  an audit trail and
• an aged creditors or debtors report *
  

[The SAM and the summer 2024 papers ask for an aged creditors report. The AdSAM asks for an aged debtors report.]

Task 1b requires candidates to use information from both a Resource Booklet and a Task Booklet relating to bank transactions.

Examiner report feedback:

Task 2 outline:

Examiner report feedback:

Task 3 outline:

Candidates have to read information in the Resource Booklet and the Task Booklet before completing four sub-tasks.

Examiner report feedback:

Task 4 outline:

The Resource booklet and the Task booklet for Task 4 provide essential information in a Trial Balance for a limited company together with further information which must be used in completing financial statements.
From the information provided students are required to produce a Statement of Profit or Loss, a Statement of Changes in Equity, a Statement of Financial Position, and a Statement of Cash Flows for the limited company.

Examiner report feedback:

Task 5 outline:

Candidates are provided with payroll information and the Task requires them to complete four activities related to payroll.

Examiner report feedback:

Task 6 outline:

Candidates are provided with more payroll information and Task 6 requires them to complete pay calculations using appropriate tax and national insurance tables, a payslip, and write an email to an employee.

Examiner report feedback:

Task 7 outline:

Candidates are provided with information about ethical threats, audit risks and roles and responsibilities in relation to audit in a given business.

In Task 7ai candidates identify rwo ethical threats, give a reason why each is a threat and provide a recommendation to mitigate the threat.
In Task 7aii candidates identify two audit risks to a business and for each provide a possible impact on the business.

For Task 7b candidates identify two deficiencies in a system used by the business and for each identified deficiency provide a possible impact on the business if the deficiency is not addressed by management.

In Task 7c candidates address audit issues relating to a business.

Examiner report feedback:

Task 8 outline:

Candidates are provided with financial information (financial statements and data).

In Task 8a, candidates calculate ratios and make justified recommendations based on the financial information they are provided with.

In Task 8b, candidates prepare and then update a cash flow forecast.

In Task 8c, candidates produce budgets.

In Task 8d, candidates calculate variances and use data to make recommentations about a business decision.

Examiner report feedback:

The Core Component uses an aggregation of points from each of the three Core Assessments to calculate the A* to E.

Uniform Mark Scale

Students’ raw sub-component marks will be converted to a Uniform Mark Scale (UMS). The UMS is used to convert students’ sub-component ‘raw’ marks into uniform marks. This is done to standardise marks from one series to another as assessments may vary in difficulty. For example, a student who achieves the lowest mark worthy of a C grade in the Employer Set Project in one series will receive the same uniform mark as a student achieving that same grade and level of performance in another series, regardless of their raw marks.

The maximum number of uniform marks available for each sub-component, and the uniform marks relating to each grade boundary, are fixed. These are shown in the table above.

The Core Examination has two exam papers, the results of which are combined before conversion to UMS.

To be awarded the T Level, a student must complete both components and achieve a minimum of a grade E in the Core Component and a Pass in the Occupational Specialism Component. In addition, they must successfully complete the other elements of the T Level as required by the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education (the Institute) and the T Level Panel, such as 315 hours of industry placement.

Students whose level of achievement for either component is below the minimum judged by Pearson to be of sufficient standard will receive an unclassified U result.