Cambridge IAL · Analysis & Prediction

2025 Cambridge IAL Accounting (9706) Past Paper Analysis

The October/November 2025 Accounting (9706) series presents a balanced but technically demanding set of papers across AS and A Levels. Notable areas of focus include adjustments to draft company profit statements, standard costing variance analysis, IAS 7 Cash Flows, and IAS 37/38 conceptual reasoning.

Updated: 12 Jun 2026

Analysis Sample paper

Difficulty 3.8/5

Total marks

245

Duration

315 mins

Most tested

Preparation of financial statements - Limited companies

Paper breakdown

Paper 12 (Multiple Choice): 30 marks · 60 minsPaper 22 (Structured Questions): 90 marks · 105 minsPaper 32 (Financial Accounting): 75 marks · 90 minsPaper 42 (Cost & Management Accounting): 50 marks · 60 mins

Top chapters

Preparation of financial statements - Limited companies (Financial accounting (AS Level)) · 33 marksPreparation of financial statements - Limited companies (Financial accounting (A Level)) · 25 marksBudgeting and budgetary control (Cost and management accounting (A Level)) · 25 marksStandard costing (Cost and management accounting (A Level)) · 25 marks

Overall Difficulty Verdict

The October/November 2025 Accounting (9706) series represents a comprehensive and rigorous assessment of both financial and management accounting concepts. Balancing multiple choice precision with high-level structured statements, the overall papers sit at a difficulty rating of 4 out of 5 stars. While the AS Level content in Paper 12 and Paper 22 features highly structured templates, the A Level sections (Paper 32 and Paper 42) demand deep conceptual mastery of international standards (such as IAS 7, IAS 37, and IAS 38) and variance analysis. Success required strong arithmetic stamina and the ability to link practical bookkeeping to strategic decision-making.

Key Marks Allocation Areas

In this series, the heavy hitters are clear:

Draft Profit and Loss Adjustments: Question 1 of Paper 22 carries a massive 30 marks, focusing on correct expense allocations (e.g., marketing campaign pre-payments and staff wage ratios) and depreciation corrections.
Statement of Cash Flows (IAS 7): Question 3 of Paper 32 allocates 22 marks directly to preparing the Cash Flow Statement, which represents a crucial chunk of the advanced financial section.
Standard Costing and Budgeting: Standard costing calculations and budgeting in Paper 42 together represent 50 marks, testing candidates on fixed budget preparation, flexed budgets, and specific fixed overhead variances.

Examiner Pitfalls & Mistakes to Avoid

Examiner reports highlight several critical areas where candidates routinely dropped easy marks:

Accumulated Depreciation in Revaluation: Many students struggled with the freehold property revaluation, forgetting that existing accumulated depreciation (provision) must be cleared out when the asset is revalued upwards.
Incorrect Dividend Calculation: In the Statement of Changes in Equity, several candidates applied dividends to the original share count rather than adjusting for the 2:5 rights issue made earlier in the year.
Research & Development Misclassification: Under IAS 38, research costs must always be treated as revenue expenditure. Only development costs meeting strict commercial criteria can be capitalised, yet many candidates attempted to capitalise pure research costs.

Strategic Study Recommendations

To excel in future sittings, candidates should adopt a structured preparation strategy:

Master Cash Book and Bank Reconciliation: This remains one of the highest ROI areas. Ensure you can confidently handle dishonoured cheques, direct debits, and bank errors.
Practice Variance Analysis: Do not just memorise standard formulas. Practice explaining the reasons behind adverse and favourable material/labour variances, as this qualitative section accounts for substantial marks.
Structure Partnership Realisation Accounts: Be systematic when closing down a partnership—record all asset transfers, redundancy payments, and legal fees before splitting the residual profit or loss in the profit-sharing ratio.

Predictions for Upcoming Series

Looking ahead, we predict a strong return of Investment Appraisal (NPV, IRR, and payback period) in Paper 42, which was entirely omitted from this paper. Additionally, a dedicated structured question on Manufacturing Accounts and Sole Trader adjustments is highly overdue for the AS level papers.

Charts

Marks by chapter

See where the marks were concentrated so revision time goes to the highest-value topics.

Question type mix

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

Multiple Choice30 marks · 30 questions
Structured Calculations150 marks · 15 questions
Written explanations / evaluations65 marks · 12 questions

Mark accessibility

Estimate which marks were basic, mid-level, or high-difficulty.

76%within easy or medium reach

110

easy: 75 marksmedium: 110 markshard: 60 marks

Difficulty trend

Compare difficulty across recent years.

Command word frequency

Spot common command words so answers match the expected response style.

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.

Preparation of financial statements - Limited companies (AS)

32 marks · Difficulty 3.5 · recurrence 95%

Reconciliation and verification

18 marks · Difficulty 2.5 · recurrence 85%

Budgeting and budgetary control

25 marks · Difficulty 3.8 · recurrence 88%

Standard costing

25 marks · Difficulty 4.2 · recurrence 90%

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.

Investment appraisal90%

This key management accounting topic did not feature heavily in Paper 42, which focused primarily on budgeting and standard costing, making it highly likely to return in the next series.

Preparation of financial statements - Sole traders85%

Sole trader preparation did not receive a dedicated structured question in Paper 22, being limited only to a couple of multiple choice questions.

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

Compare topic weight by year to spot recurring and returning areas.

Jun 2023 (V1)

Jun 2023 (V2)

Jun 2023 (V3)

Nov 2023 (V1)

Nov 2023 (V2)

Nov 2023 (V3)

Jun 2024 (V1)

Jun 2024 (V2)

Jun 2024 (V3)

Nov 2024 (V1)

Nov 2024 (V2)

Nov 2024 (V3)

Jun 2025 (V1)

Jun 2025 (V2)

Jun 2025 (V3)

Nov 2025 (V1)

Nov 2025 (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 adjust the time-period correctly for prepaid marketing expenses (e.g., distributing the campaign over 16 months instead of 12).
Miscalculating the revaluation reserve by ignoring the accumulated depreciation that must be written back on the date of property revaluation.
Applying the wrong proportion of overheads to closing inventory in absorption costing statements.
Confusing fixed overhead expenditure variance and volume variance calculations under standard costing.

Misconceptions

Believing that research and development expenditure can always be capitalised, ignoring IAS 38 criteria requiring a determined practical application and commercial viability.
Assuming that a positive bank balance is always a credit from the viewpoint of both the cash book and the bank statement, rather than understanding the dual nature of asset recording.
Overlooking the fact that under marginal costing, fixed production overheads are treated as period costs and are completely written off, whereas absorption costing carries them forward inside closing inventory.

Where marks are lost

Omitting the purchase consideration details or failing to show clear workings when transferring assets/vehicles in partnership realisation accounts.
Forgetting to calculate the revised number of shares after a rights issue before computing interim or final dividends in the statement of changes in equity.
Incorrectly classifying cash flows within the IAS 7 Cash Flow Statement, particularly regarding investing activities (such as purchases/disposals of non-current assets) and financing activities (such as share premium adjustments).

Estimated grade cut-off

Updated: 12 Jun 2026

Source: Cambridge International grade thresholds (official)

Level	Mark	Percentage
A*	185/250	74%
A	158/250	63%
B	131/250	52%
C	109/250	44%
D	87/250	35%
E	65/250	26%

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

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