AAT Professional Diploma in Accounting Course Guide

Before you get started you will need to pass the quiz below to test your current knowledge of accounting and business. There are 40 questions in this quiz and you must achieve a pass mark of 80% to proceed.

Learn how to efficiently access, save, and manage Excel workbooks, apply SUM functions and formulas for data calculations, and organise data using filters and sorting tools. You’ll also explore formatting techniques, number formats, and learn how to prepare and print Excel documents accurately, including saving as PDF.

This course covers essential accounting principles, including the role of accounting in business, the legal framework in the UK and ROI, and types of business structures. You’ll learn to interpret financial statements, apply the accounting equation, and understand key concepts like revenue, expenses, and accruals. It also explores asset valuation, inventory, and property, plant & equipment (PP&E) treatment.

This module explores the importance of cash flow management, budgeting, and financial control to support informed internal decision-making. You’ll learn to prepare budgets, forecasts, and cash flow statements, analyse financial reports, and assess business performance using key financial measures and solvency tests.

This module covers cost classification, costing methods, and variance analysis, helping you understand the differences between product and period costs, variable and absorption costing, and job order vs. process costing. You’ll explore how to calculate weighted average costs, allocate support department costs, and use standard costing to monitor performance. It also includes variance analysis techniques to identify discrepancies and support informed management decisions.

This comprehensive module introduces key management accounting concepts including Activity-Based Costing (ABC), budgeting, and performance measurement. You’ll learn to apply cost-volume-profit (CVP) analysis, use tools like the Balanced Scorecard and SMART KPIs, and manage inventory through systems like JIT and EOQ. The module also covers decision-making strategies, pricing policies, and how to effectively evaluate and communicate performance.

This module covers essential tax and depreciation concepts for small businesses, including the difference between accounting and tax profit, basic tax and VAT calculations, and compliance requirements. You’ll also learn how to apply depreciation methods like Straight-line and Reducing Balance, and understand Capital Allowances and their impact on financial reporting.

This module equips you to prepare financial statements for sole traders, partnerships, and not-for-profit organisations, using both complete and incomplete records. You’ll learn how to construct trading accounts, balance sheets, and appropriation accounts, apply double entry principles, and account for partnership changes and goodwill. It also covers verification processes, workpaper documentation, and techniques for reviewing and justifying financial records accurately.

In this course, you will learn about Internal Accounting Systems and Controls. All organisations must guard against fraud through good control systems. However, many businesses underestimate both the probability and impact of employee fraud. Those working within the accounts department play a pivotal role in guarding against misuse of resources, and the key aim of this unit is to provide students with the tools to evaluate internal controls and to recommend improvements.

In this course, you will develop a wider understanding of the principles and concepts, including the legal and professional rules of audit and assurance services. The unit will provide students with an awareness of the audit process from planning and risk assessment to the final completion and production of the audit report. The unit also aims to provide a practical perspective on audit and assurance, with an emphasis on the application of audit and assurance techniques to current systems. Students will be equipped with the skills required to undertake an audit under supervision and will gain an understanding of relevant regulatory frameworks and ethical requirements.

In this course, you will learn the skills and knowledge for drafting the financial statements of single limited companies and consolidated financial statements for groups of companies. It ensures that students will have a proficient level of knowledge and understanding of international accounting standards, which will then be applied when drafting the financial statements. Students will also have a sound appreciation of the regulatory and conceptual frameworks that underpin the preparation of limited company financial statements.