Incomplete records questions give you some facts about a business and ask you to rebuild the rest. This chapter covers the four ways of filling in what is missing.
It sits inside SPM Accounting and uses the layouts from financial statements of a sole trader. Your school decides which parts you meet and when, so follow your teacher’s scheme of work for order.
What does this chapter cover?
Each skill answers a different missing piece. They connect like steps in one investigation.
- Statement of affairs: find capital at two dates, then profit from the change. Start with using the statement of affairs method.
- Control accounts: rebuild credit sales and purchases. Read reconstructing sales and purchases from control information.
- Cash and bank: find one missing payment. See finding missing cash and bank figures.
- Capital adjustments: complete the profit formula. Finish with calculating profit after capital adjustments.
How do the four skills fit one question?
Imagine a stall owner who lost her files. She knows balances at 1 January and 31 December, some bank figures, and what customers paid. One question might ask for the profit, the total sales and the drawings.
The statement of affairs gives the profit. The receivables account gives sales. The cash account gives drawings, which feed back into the profit. So the skills are tools for one job, not separate topics.
Who should start where?
If you are comfortable with the accounting equation but unsure about layouts, revisit preparing a trading account first. If layouts are fine and only the missing figures confuse you, begin with the statement of affairs.
When the four lessons are done, try the incomplete records practice set. If you want a teacher to work through the chapter with you, see online one-to-one Accounting tuition.