Accounting and Finance ATAR Year 12 Syllabus (for teaching from 2026)
The ATAR course examination is 3 hours working time plus 10 minutes reading time (190 minutes total) and carries 205 raw marks across three sections: Section One — 15 compulsory four-option multiple-choice questions, 1 mark each (15 marks, 15%, 25 minutes suggested); Section Two — six compulsory multi-part questions combining practical preparation tasks with shorter theory parts (160 marks on the 2026 examination design brief, 70%, 120 minutes suggested); and Section Three — two 30-mark scenario-based extended-answer questions, of which candidates answer only one (30 marks, 15%, 35 minutes suggested; never add both Section Three questions together). SCSA weights the school-assessed component separately (Tests 50%, Project 10%, School examinations 40% of the school mark) and then combines the moderated school mark 50:50 with the examination mark for the WACE combined mark used in ATAR calculations — non-school candidates are assessed on the examination alone. Candidates may bring up to three calculators that cannot create or store programmes or text; the supervisor provides a Specifications booklet of formulas (ratios to two decimal places, variance, CVP, special-order, NPV and payback formulas) and an Information booklet repeating selected stimulus — no other notes or formula sheets are permitted.
Past papers on this subject span more than one syllabus. Papers written under an older one still work as practice, but the units and content areas they test have changed — the index labels every paper with the syllabus it was set under.
Syllabus for teaching from 2026 (current) · 2026–2026Previous syllabus (papers 2020–2025) · 2020–2025
The units and content areas, one by one
Each area below lists the concepts named in the syllabus, what the SCSA exam asks of them, and the mistake that most often costs marks.
- Unit 3 — Financial institutions and systems
- Unit 3 — Recording, using and evaluating: costing, CVP, budgeting and capital investment
- Unit 3 — Government and the community: audit, insolvency, climate risk and ethics
- Unit 4 — Company characteristics and the Conceptual Framework
- Unit 4 — Regulators, accounting standards and sustainability reporting
- Unit 4 — Company accounts, general purpose financial statements and ratio analysis
Area 1 of 6
Unit 3 — Financial institutions and systems
This area opens Unit 3 with the finance side of the business: the short-term (cash management accounts, the money market, term deposits) and long-term (shares, debentures, secured and unsecured loans, term deposits) finance products a business can raise, and the principles behind managing non-current assets, accounts receivable, inventory, cash and short- and long-term debt and equity. It then draws the line between management accounting and financial accounting — internal versus external users, regulation, statements and reports — and works through cost concepts and classifications: fixed, variable and mixed costs, direct and indirect costs, product and period costs, and past versus future costs relevant to a decision.
What the syllabus lists under this area · 4 points
- 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
What the exam asks
Typically tested through Section One multiple-choice on cost behaviour and the management-versus-financial-accounting distinction, and as short theory parts inside Section Two scenario questions (for example, describing an appropriate finance product for a stated business need, or classifying named costs).
Where marks go missing
Confusing a cost's behaviour (fixed/variable) with its traceability (direct/indirect) — they are two separate classifications and a question can ask for either or both. Product versus period cost is a common Section One distractor: only costs that attach to inventory are product costs.
3 real SCSA questions indexed on this area →
Area 2 of 6
Unit 3 — Recording, using and evaluating: costing, CVP, budgeting and capital investment
The largest block of Unit 3. Job order costing calculates direct costs and a predetermined overhead recovery rate at normal capacity to reach a unit cost and a mark-up quotation price. Standard costing then compares actual results against a standard cost card through materials price and usage variances and labour rate and efficiency variances, each labelled favourable or unfavourable using the Specifications booklet formulas. Cost–volume–profit analysis covers single- and multi-product (maximum three) firms: contribution margin, weighted average contribution, break-even in units and dollars, margin of safety and target profit, extended into short-term decisions — make or buy, closing a department or dropping a segment, accepting or rejecting a special order, and sensitivity under a capacity constraint. Budgeting builds the master budget (operating, capital expenditure and financial) via debtors' and creditors' schedules and a cash budget, then a budgeted income statement, with performance reports comparing budgeted to actual results and explaining cash-versus-accrual differences. The area closes on capital investment decisions: the time value of money, annual net cash flows net of tax with straight-line depreciation, net present value and payback (in years and months), and a recommendation.
What the syllabus lists under this area · 7 points
- 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)
What the exam asks
This is where most of Section Two's 160 marks sit. Recent papers have asked candidates to prepare a standard cost of a batch and four variances, a debtors' schedule and a multi-month cash budget, and annual net cash flows with NPV and a justified accept/reject decision — all with workings shown for consequential-error marking.
Where marks go missing
Capital budgeting in this syllabus is NPV and payback only, with straight-line depreciation and cash flows net of tax — no internal rate of return, accounting rate of return or reducing-balance depreciation. Multi-product CVP is capped at three products. Job order costing is examined, not process costing.
12 real SCSA questions indexed on this area →
Area 3 of 6
Unit 3 — Government and the community: audit, insolvency, climate risk and ethics
This area places the accountant inside a wider system of oversight and responsibility. Internal audit and control are covered alongside the accountant's role and business planning — setting goals and objectives, cost leadership versus differentiation, reducing costs and managing risk. Insolvency is treated under the Corporations Act 2001: voluntary administration, liquidation and receivership, and the order of priority of distribution to creditors. Climate-related physical and transition risks and opportunities are introduced together with the Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions framework, and the area closes on ethical issues — unfair compensation, breaches of confidentiality, misrepresentation of financial data and conflicts of interest.
What the syllabus lists under this area · 4 points
- 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
What the exam asks
Almost always a Section Three extended-answer scenario — for example, a retailer under cash pressure discussed through the importance of cash, internal audit and the difference between liquidation and receivership, or a company reviewing climate-related risk through physical and transition risk categories and Scope 1–3 emissions.
Where marks go missing
Naming 'liquidation' and 'receivership' as if they were interchangeable. The syllabus expects the distinction (and voluntary administration alongside them) plus the order of priority of distribution — a one-line definition without that detail will not reach the higher mark bands.
2 real SCSA questions indexed on this area →
Area 4 of 6
Unit 4 — Company characteristics and the Conceptual Framework
Unit 4 opens with what a company actually is: the characteristics of public and large proprietary companies — limited liability, members and directors, continuity, separate legal entity status, and transferability of shares versus the separation of ownership and management. The Conceptual Framework for Financial Reporting then supplies the theory underneath every statement prepared later in the unit: the reporting entity concept, the objective of general purpose financial reporting, the fundamental qualitative characteristics (relevance and faithful representation) and enhancing characteristics (comparability, verifiability, timeliness, understandability), and the recognition criteria for assets, liabilities, income and expenses.
What the syllabus lists under this area · 3 points
- 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
What the exam asks
A Section One staple — 2025's paper, for example, asked which qualitative characteristic ensures information is complete, neutral and free from error, and the primary objective of general purpose financial reporting. Also appears as a Section Three theory component alongside reporting-entity classification.
Where marks go missing
Mixing up faithful representation (complete, neutral, free from error) with relevance, or confusing the four enhancing characteristics with the two fundamental ones — examiners test the specific characteristic named in the question, not qualitative characteristics as a vague group.
3 real SCSA questions indexed on this area →
Area 5 of 6
Unit 4 — Regulators, accounting standards and sustainability reporting
This area covers who sets and enforces the rules a company reports under: the purpose of accounting standards, and the roles of ASIC, the IASB, the ISSB, the AASB and the ASX (including the ASX's listing rules and disclosure requirements), plus the function of external audit and the role of the external auditor. It also covers the Corporations Act 2001 provisions on directors' powers and duties, a company's written constitution and the replaceable rules, the prospectus and shareholder rights. Newly examinable from 2026: AASB S2 Climate-related Disclosures core content — governance, strategy, risk management, and metrics and targets — together with sustainability reporting and the concepts of greenwashing and bluewashing.
What the syllabus lists under this area · 4 points
- Purpose of accounting standards; role of ASIC, IASB, ISSB, AASB and ASX
- 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
What the exam asks
A frequent Section One target (for example, which body regulates compliance with accounting standards, or the ASX's main role in general purpose financial reporting) and a growing Section Three theme, since AASB S2 and Scope 1–3 emissions have no past-paper precedent under this syllabus and must be answered strictly from the syllabus wording.
Where marks go missing
AASB S2, ISSB, greenwashing and bluewashing are brand-new to the 2026 syllabus — practice on 2020–2025 papers will not cover them at all, so treat any past-paper silence on climate disclosure as a gap in that paper, not a sign the topic is unimportant.
2 real SCSA questions indexed on this area →
Area 6 of 6
Unit 4 — Company accounts, general purpose financial statements and ratio analysis
The practical core of Unit 4. General journal and ledger entries cover ordinary shares payable in full on application, bonus issues, interim and final dividends (declared or paid) and share issue costs, with a retained earnings ledger tracking profit or loss, dividends and transfers to and from reserves. From there the syllabus builds the one-statement Statement of Comprehensive Income, the Statement of Financial Position and the Statement of Changes in Equity (notes limited to share capital, reserves, property, plant and equipment, and dividends), all after balance day adjustments, with profit before tax deemed equal to taxable income. The Statement of Cash Flows (AASB 107) is prepared by the direct method only, with GST excluded throughout. The area finishes on ratio analysis — current, quick asset, debtor's collection, inventory turnover, profit, rate of return on assets, times interest earned, debt to equity, earnings per share, price/earnings and dividend yield — and the limitations of interpreting annual reports, ratios and cash flow movements (historical cost, comparability, disclosure).
What the syllabus lists under this area · 7 points
- 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)
- Statement of cash flows (AASB 107, direct method); GST excluded throughout
- 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)
What the exam asks
Where most of Unit 4's Section Two marks sit: 2025's paper asked for share capital and asset revaluation reserve ledger accounts with a bonus issue, a full Statement of Changes in Equity plus earnings-per-share, price/earnings and dividend-yield calculations for two years, and a cash flow statement covering investing activities only from a comparative balance sheet extract.
Where marks go missing
Only non-depreciable property, plant and equipment (typically land) can be revalued under this syllabus, dividends are cash dividends only, and ratios must be given to two decimal places per the Specifications booklet convention — rounding differently is marked as an error even when the method is correct.
12 real SCSA questions indexed on this area →
Common questions
Which Accounting and Finance syllabus applies to the 2026 exam?
The Accounting and Finance ATAR Year 12 Syllabus for teaching from 2026 (effective 1 January 2026), examined for the first time in the Friday 13 November 2026 ATAR course examination. A separate 'for teaching from 2027' syllabus already exists but does not apply to 2026 — its only change is renaming the income statement. Papers from 2020–2025 were set on the prior syllabus version, so treat 2024 and 2025 papers as the closest guide to structure and difficulty, not to every current dot point.
Is GST included in Accounting and Finance calculations?
No. The syllabus specifically excludes GST from Unit 3 recording, ratio calculations and the Statement of Cash Flows — a candidate who adds GST to a journal entry or ratio is working outside the syllabus, regardless of how the arithmetic is done.
Do I need process costing, or only job order costing?
Only job order costing is examinable, using a predetermined overhead recovery rate at normal capacity. Process costing does not appear on this syllabus.
What formulas are given in the exam, and what am I expected to know from memory?
SCSA's Specifications booklet (supervisor-provided, valid to 31 December 2026) gives the depreciation, ratio, cost accounting and variance, CVP, special-order, NPV/present-value and payback formulas — candidates are not expected to memorise these, but must know which formula to select and how to apply it, and must follow the booklet's conventions (ratios to two decimal places, payback in years and months).
What changed for 2026 that isn't on the 2024 and 2025 papers?
New for 2026: climate-related physical and transition risks and opportunities, the Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions framework, AASB S2 Climate-related Disclosures, and sustainability reporting including greenwashing and bluewashing. Removed for 2026 (so present on 2024/2025 papers but not to be practised as current content): the Financial Reporting Council, lobby groups, corporate social disclosure dot points, 'recommended' dividends, and KPIs in annual reporting.
What do ATARMAxxing's practice papers for this course leave out?
Practice papers here model the ATAR course examination only. They do not cover, and cannot substitute for, the school-based assessment components that make up 50% of the WACE combined mark (Tests 50%, Project 10% and School examinations 40% of the school mark) or the Year 12 project itself, nor the WACE moderation and Average Marks Scaling process that turns raw marks into a scaled score — those are set and run by your school and by SCSA and TISC respectively, not simulated here.