5 Tips to Succeed in VCE Accounting from a Professional Tutor and Past Accounting Student

VCE Accounting is a popular and highly competitive subject in the VCE curriculum. It is more than bookkeeping with strong links to high level financial analysis and business operation discussion. In part 2 of this VCE Accounting blog series, we explore some tips to succeeding in VCE Accounting.

Definitions are the backbone of a high achieving student’s theoretical responses and are a prerequisite for obtaining full marks in theoretical responses. When revising for your next accounting assessment, be sure to spend some time reviewing your ability to recall and properly understand the key VCE Accounting definitions in the course.

Consider creating flash cards, mnemonics, or test yourself with a friend to commit those definitions to memory! You can also leverage modern tools like digital flashcard apps to speed up the process.

Top students put as much effort into their homework exercises as they do into their assessments. The best way to get used to writing in an exam standard is to complete all your accounting homework at an exam standard. That means:

• Write in full sentences
• Use definitions
• Adopt the right structure (see part 1 of this blog series: Mastering VCE Accounting: Answer Structure for Theory Responses)

It may take a little longer at first, but completing your accounting homework at the highest standard possible will make sophisticated and thorough responses an effortless habit for you!

One of the great aspects about VCE Accounting is its applicability to real-world business scenarios. Whilst the businesses we analyse are fictional, they are more closely linked to the real world than you might think. A great way to reinforce the highly valuable accounting skills and business mindset you develop in the classroom is to think about how these skills are relevant to businesses you see and deal with in the real-world. Thinking about something as simple as how your favourite clothing shop makes decisions about what to sell, or the underlying accounting effect of discounts on outdated technology, is a great way to put your accounting skills into practice - and enhance your accounting intuition.

Whether you are at work in your part-time job or out shopping, think about how accounting matters in the real-world!

Often all it takes is identifying your weaknesses to make progress in VCE Accounting. Do you have trouble with theoretical questions? Are you a student that finds budgeting confusing? Perhaps you find balance day adjustments taking far too much time? Identifying your weaknesses is fundamental to progressing as a student in any subject, especially in VCE Accounting. A great way to identify your weaknesses is to think about which types of questions you least enjoy doing or leave for last. Or which questions you get caught up on during homework sessions and find you regularly have to refer back to your notes for. It is often said in education that we avoid doing what we find most challenging.

Once you have identified your weaknesses, spend some time revising those areas. Be patient with yourself - it takes time and effort to improve. A great way to seek clarification about a difficult concept is through a friend, who might be able to get an idea across in a more comprehensible way.

It may sound trivial, but it is often very tempting to ignore a mistake and to just move on to the next homework question. Even when receiving test feedback, many students simply accept their result and move on. Understanding your mistakes - or reattempting a question - is one of the most effective ways of working in VCE Accounting.

We all hate the feeling of erasing an entire balance sheet to get to the bottom of one small error, but it really is vital to pinpoint the source of your mistakes. Grappling with a difficult question and navigating through your mistakes is one of the most effective ways to build knowledge in accounting.