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WACE · WACE Year 12 ATAR · official past papers

WACE Accounting and Finance past exams 2020–2025, by year and topic

The official SCSA exams, marking guides and examiner reports we index, organised by topic and subtopic and labelled with the study design it was written under. Open the official paper, work the question in your own workspace, or bring a tutor into it live.

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ATARMAxxing indexes 12 official SCSA Accounting and Finance papers from 2020 to 2025, with 34 questions mapped to 6 topics. Every paper opens on the SCSA website.

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Syllabus for teaching from 2026 (current) · 2026–2026Previous syllabus (papers 2020–2025) · 2020–2025

WACE Accounting and Finance exams by year: official papers & marking guidance

Past exams indexed: 2025, 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020. Open the official SCSA papers, with marking guidance where available.

YearStudy designOfficial paper(s)Marking guidance
2025 WACE Accounting and Finance examPrevious syllabus (papers 2020–2025)Written examination ↗ · Ratified marking key ↗Marking guidance ↗
2024 WACE Accounting and Finance examPrevious syllabus (papers 2020–2025)Written examination ↗ · Ratified marking key ↗Marking guidance ↗
2023 WACE Accounting and Finance examPrevious syllabus (papers 2020–2025)Written examination ↗ · Ratified marking key ↗Marking guidance ↗
2022 WACE Accounting and Finance examPrevious syllabus (papers 2020–2025)Written examination ↗ · Ratified marking key ↗Marking guidance ↗
2021 WACE Accounting and Finance examPrevious syllabus (papers 2020–2025)Written examination ↗ · Ratified marking key ↗Marking guidance ↗
2020 WACE Accounting and Finance examPrevious syllabus (papers 2020–2025)Written examination ↗ · Ratified marking key ↗Marking guidance ↗

12 official papers across 6 years (2020–2025), 6 with marking guidance, published by SCSA. These span more than one study design; the most recent is Syllabus for teaching from 2026 (current). Earlier papers may cover material that has since changed.

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Unit 3 — Financial institutions and systems · 3 mapped questions

Management accounting vs financial accounting; internal vs external users

Also in this topic: Short- and long-term finance products (cash management accounts, money market, term deposits, shares, debentures, secured/unsecured loans) · Asset-management principles: non-current assets, accounts receivable, inventory, cash, short/long-term debt and equity · Management accounting vs financial accounting; internal vs external users, regulation, statements and reports · Cost concepts and classifications: behaviour (fixed/variable/mixed), cost object (direct/indirect), product/period, past/future — question-level mapping in progress; the year table above links every official paper.

Unit 3 — Recording, using and evaluating: costing, CVP, budgeting and capital investment · 12 mapped questions

Cost concepts and classifications: behaviour (fixed/variable/mixed)

CVP for single and multi-product firms: margin of safety

CVP for single and multi-product firms: contribution margin

CVP for single and multi-product firms: break-even

Job order costing: direct costs, predetermined overhead rate, unit cost

Standard costing and variance analysis: materials price/usage, labour rate/efficiency

Master budget: debtors' and creditors' schedules, cash budget

Performance reports; cash vs accrual performance; business planning

Capital investment decisions: time value of money, net cash flows

Capital investment decisions: NPV and payback

Also in this topic: Job order costing: direct costs, predetermined overhead recovery rate at normal capacity, unit cost, mark-up and quotation price · Standard costing and variance analysis: materials price and usage, labour rate and efficiency, favourable/unfavourable · CVP for single and multi-product (max three) firms: contribution margin, weighted average contribution, break-even, margin of safety, target profit · Short-term decisions: make or buy, close a department/drop a segment, accept or reject a special order, capacity constraints and sensitivity · Master budget: debtors' and creditors' schedules, cash budget, budgeted income statement · Performance reports; cash vs accrual performance; business planning (goals, objectives, cost leadership, differentiation, risk) · Capital investment decisions: time value of money, annual net cash flows net of tax, NPV and payback (years and months) — question-level mapping in progress; the year table above links every official paper.

Unit 3 — Government and the community: audit, insolvency, climate risk and ethics · 2 mapped questions

Business planning (goals, objectives, cost leadership, differentiation, risk)

Insolvency (liquidation, receivership); internal audit; role of ASIC and the Conceptual Framework

  • 2025Previous syllabus (papers 2020–2025)Written examination Section Three Q2230 marksExtended-answer option on a public retailer in financial difficulty: the importance of cash and two cash-management strategies; the purpose of internal audit within business planning; the difference between liquidation and receivership; and the importance of ASIC together with two financial statements the Conceptual Framework requires.Official paper ↗Marking guidance ↗Check tutors for this question →

Also in this topic: Internal audit and control; the role of the accountant · Insolvency under the Corporations Act 2001: voluntary administration, liquidation, receivership, order of priority of distribution · Climate-related physical and transition risks and opportunities; Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions · Ethical issues: unfair compensation, breaches of confidentiality, misrepresentation of financial data, conflicts of interest — question-level mapping in progress; the year table above links every official paper.

Unit 4 — Company characteristics and the Conceptual Framework · 3 mapped questions

Conceptual Framework: fundamental qualitative characteristics (faithful representation)

Conceptual Framework: reporting entity, objective of GPFR

Company characteristics; Corporations Act 2001; reporting entity concept

  • 2025Previous syllabus (papers 2020–2025)Written examination Section Three Q2330 marksExtended-answer option on a large proprietary company expanding and considering listing: factors affecting a capital investment decision plus government regulation and competition; two characteristics that change on becoming a public company; the effect of the Corporations Act, constitution and replaceable rules; and the nature of a reporting entity with two differences between a reporting and a non-reporting entity.Official paper ↗Marking guidance ↗Check tutors for this question →

Also in this topic: Characteristics of public and large proprietary companies (liability, members/directors, continuity, legal entity, transferability, separation of ownership and management) · Conceptual Framework: reporting entity, objective of GPFR, fundamental qualitative characteristics (relevance, faithful representation) · Conceptual Framework: enhancing qualitative characteristics (comparability, verifiability, timeliness, understandability); recognition criteria — question-level mapping in progress; the year table above links every official paper.

Unit 4 — Regulators, accounting standards and sustainability reporting · 2 mapped questions

Purpose of accounting standards; role of ASIC, IASB, ISSB, AASB and ASX

Also in this topic: Function of external audit and the role of the external auditor · Corporations Act 2001: directors' powers and duties, written constitution, replaceable rules, prospectus, shareholder rights · AASB S2 Climate-related Disclosures (governance, strategy, risk management, metrics and targets); sustainability reporting; greenwashing and bluewashing — question-level mapping in progress; the year table above links every official paper.

Unit 4 — Company accounts, general purpose financial statements and ratio analysis · 12 mapped questions

Statement of cash flows (AASB 107, direct method); GST excluded throughout

Ratios: debtor's collection ratio

Ratios: EPS, P/E and dividend yield (market ratios)

Ratios: debt to equity and leverage

Interpretation of annual reports, ratios and cash flow movements

General journal and ledger: bonus issues, share capital and reserve ledgers

General journal and ledger: interim/final dividends

Statement of changes in equity

Also in this topic: General journal and ledger: share issues payable in full, bonus issues, interim/final dividends, share issue costs · Retained earnings ledger: profit or loss, dividends, transfers to/from reserves · Balance day adjustments; profit before tax deemed equal to taxable income · Statement of comprehensive income (one-statement version), statement of financial position, statement of changes in equity (notes: share capital, reserves, PPE, dividends) · Ratios: current, quick asset, debtor's collection, inventory turnover, profit, return on assets, times interest earned, debt to equity, EPS, P/E, dividend yield · Interpretation of annual reports, ratios and cash flow movements; limitations (historical cost, comparability, disclosure) — question-level mapping in progress; the year table above links every official paper.

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