Cambridge IAL · Analysis & Prediction

2024 Cambridge IAL Accounting (9706) Past Paper Analysis

A highly challenging exam series with a strong focus on International Accounting Standards (IAS 2 & IAS 8), incomplete sole trader records, structured marginal costing statements, and strategic partnership mergers.

Updated: 12 Jun 2026

Analysis Sample paper

Difficulty 4.0/5

Total marks

245

Duration

315 mins

Most tested

Preparation of Financial Statements & Cost-Volume-Profit Analysis

Paper breakdown

Paper 1 Multiple Choice: 30 marks · 60 minsPaper 2 Fundamentals of Accounting: 90 marks · 105 minsPaper 3 Financial Accounting: 75 marks · 90 minsPaper 4 Cost and Management Accounting: 50 marks · 60 mins

Top chapters

Traditional costing methods - Marginal costing · 34 marksPreparation of financial statements - Sole traders · 33 marksPreparation of financial statements - Limited companies (A Level) · 27 marks

May/June 2024 Accounting (9706) Comprehensive Examiner Analysis

The May/June 2024 exam series for Cambridge International AS & A Level Accounting (9706) presented a robust challenge, testing both foundational concepts and complex application techniques across all four papers. With a difficulty index of 4 out of 5, candidates faced rigorous scenario-based structured tasks that demanded a deep conceptual understanding alongside pristine technical execution.

Where the Marks Were Won and Lost

In Paper 2, candidates who secured top marks on the incomplete records of Zahid demonstrated strong proficiency in calculating gross profit from mark-up ratios and reconstructing control accounts to find purchases and cash stolen. However, significant marks were lost in J Limited's statement of financial position due to incorrect adjustments of sales returns erroneously entered as purchase returns, which affected both receivables and payables. In Paper 3, the adjustments for W plc under IAS 8 (retrospective correction of building depreciation) and IAS 2 (valuing individual categories of inventory at the lower of cost and net realisable value) proved to be major differentiators. Those who valued inventory in aggregate rather than on an item-by-item basis lost crucial marks.

Examiner Pitfalls & Critical Misconceptions

Capital vs. Revenue Reserves: In multiple-choice and written parts, candidates frequently confused the nature of general reserves with share premiums, leading to erroneous journal entries during bonus and rights issues.
Incorrect Treatment of Debenture Interest: Many failed to extract accrued interest from the nominal value of debentures, displaying a lack of precision in distinguishing liability values from finance costs.
CVP and Marginal Costing Apportionment: On Paper 4, candidates often struggled with the allocation of fixed overheads when evaluating the 'make-or-buy' decision. The reallocation of depreciations and its subsequent impact on Product B was frequently overlooked.

Preparation Strategy & Predictions

For upcoming series, candidates must focus heavily on the dual application of international standards (particularly IAS 2, IAS 8, and IAS 16) within complex adjustments. Regular practice of multi-step cash budget preparation containing complex credit terms (such as staggered settlement percentages and discounts) is highly recommended. Based on historical rotations, we predict a high likelihood of Standard Costing (mUPTJww09s1pVpfEYg0K) and Investment Appraisal (fr3saISHczlDJlBBfeBH) returning as primary focus areas in Paper 4 structured questions, as these were less prominent in the current series.

Charts

Marks by chapter

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Question type mix

Compare the mark share of each paper section and question type.

Multiple Choice30 marks · 30 questions
Structured Calculation145 marks · 18 questions
Written Explanation/Analysis38 marks · 10 questions
Evaluation & Advice32 marks · 4 questions

Mark accessibility

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71%within easy or medium reach

110

easy: 65 marksmedium: 110 markshard: 70 marks

Difficulty trend

Compare difficulty across recent years.

Command word frequency

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Skill weighting

Shows the skill mix this paper tested most heavily.

Study ROI

Bigger bubbles recur more often; higher bubbles carry more marks, helping you rank revision priorities.

Incomplete sole trader records & statement extracts

30 marks · Difficulty 2.5 · recurrence 5%

Activity based costing (ABC) system implementation

25 marks · Difficulty 3.2 · recurrence 4%

Partnership merger & goodwill valuations

25 marks · Difficulty 3.8 · recurrence 4%

Clubs and societies café trading & subscriptions adjustments

25 marks · Difficulty 3.5 · recurrence 4%

Time vs marks

Compare marks with suggested time allocation to plan exam pacing.

marksmins

Next-year prediction

Topics worth watching next year, with the reason shown directly below each bar.

Standard Costing and Variance Analysis90%

Completely absent in the current Paper 4 management accounting structured questions; highly likely to reappear as a 25-mark requirement.

Investment Appraisal (NPV, IRR & Payback Period)85%

No investment appraisal structured question was examined in this cycle, making it prime for the next examination series.

Manufacturing Businesses & Provision for Unrealised Profit75%

A steady recurring high-mark chapter in Paper 2/Paper 3 that requires mastery of structural layout adjustments.

Cumulative marks ladder

The line is your running mark total question by question; dashed lines are the estimated grade cut-offs. See which question the line crosses your target grade at, so you know how far you must answer cleanly and which questions decide a band.

Topic-year heatmap

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Jun 2023 (V1)

Jun 2023 (V2)

Jun 2023 (V3)

Nov 2023 (V1)

Nov 2023 (V2)

Nov 2023 (V3)

Jun 2024 (V1)

Jun 2024 (V2)

Investment appraisal

Budgeting and budgetary control

Preparation of financial statements - Manufacturing businesses

Preparation of financial statements - Partnerships (A Level)

Analysis and communication of accounting information (A Level)

Preparation of financial statements - Sole traders (AS)

Accounting for non-current assets

Reconciliation and verification

Preparation of financial statements - Limited companies (AS)

Traditional costing methods - Absorption costing

Examiner insights

Official report

Common pitfalls

Failing to evaluate inventory adjustments on an individual-item basis under IAS 2, mistakenly calculating the overall aggregate value of the categories.
Omitting the retrospective adjustment for prior-period depreciation under IAS 8, failing to subtract the 2022 depreciation error from the opening retained earnings.
Confusing the elimination of goodwill in a merged partnership capital account, applying old ratios instead of the new profit-sharing ratio (40%:40%:20%).
Struggling to adjust payments in the cash budget for production expenses when staggered across months (e.g., separating direct materials payments with and without trade discounts).

Misconceptions

Believing that a change in the allocation basis of depreciation (cost drivers) will change the overall profit of the company in total, rather than merely shifting individual product profit margins.
Treating proposed dividends as a current liability in the Statement of Financial Position instead of correctly keeping them in the notes to the financial statements.

Where marks are lost

Double-entry errors in correcting sales returns that were wrongly recorded as purchase returns, leading to errors in both trade receivables and payables.
Not showing clear step-by-step calculations for multi-step costing contributions under Option A and Option B, limiting partial marks via the Own Figure (OF) rule.

Estimated grade cut-off

Updated: 12 Jun 2026

Source: Cambridge International grade thresholds (official)

Level	Mark	Percentage
A*	188/250	75%
A	160/250	64%
B	132/250	53%
C	110/250	44%
D	88/250	35%
E	67/250	27%

Official grade boundaries published by Cambridge International grade thresholds (official).

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