AAT - Prepare Financial Accounts for Sole Traders and Partnerships (FSTP) Exam

Introduction

Studying for the AAT FSTP exam

The content of this Knowledge Bank is not designed to be a substitute for a structured system of study towards the exams but rather should help complement your chosen study system.

In particular,

we do not guarantee full syllabus coverage,
the content here is not necessarily pitched at the right level of difficulty for your exam - in particular, in some areas, it may go beyond what you need,
the knowledge bank focusses on knowledge, concepts and ideas but has very few worked examples or graded exercises for you to practice,
there are no past exam questions here to attempt
examiner's articles and other official guidance are not repeated here.

We highly recommend that you complete a structured course of study and obtain text books and exam kits to improve your chances of exam success.

Using the Kaplan Financial Knowledge Bank

The main benefits of the way the content is presented and accessed via the Knowledge Bank are as follows:

a quick answer to a quick question - if you have a query then you should be able to access a trusted answer quickly and efficiently using either the search function, the top navigation bars or /and the side navigation.
integrated knowledge - examiners often criticise students for not appreciating how different topics fit together. By following the structured links and navigation bars in the content, you can explore related concepts to integrate your knowledge.
assumed knowledge - you can revise assumed knowledge from lower papers by searching for the relevant topics and reading around the subjects.

The AAT FSTP syllabus

A good page to start on if you are unclear where to begin would be the overview Financial Reporting page.

The syllabus for FSTP is split into 6 main learning outcomes (LOs):

LO1 Understand the need for, and the process involved in, the preparation of final accounts

The best page here is to look at the one on the Trial Balance and Errors.

LO2 Prepare accounting records from incomplete information

The Knowledgebank does not have any pages addressing the specific "incomplete records" exam style questions. However, the above page on the Trial Balance and Errors is relevant here as is a recap of basic Double Entry Bookkeeping, along with looking at Books of Prime Entry and the use of Control Accounts.

LO3 Produce final accounts for sole traders

Start with the overview Financial Statements page before exploring the pages on The Statement of Financial Position, The Statement of Comprehensive Income and the Statement of Cash Flows.

LO4 Understand the legislative and accounting requirements for partnerships

The Knowledgebank does not currently have any pages addressing partnerships.

LO5 Prepare a statement of profit or loss appropriation account

The Knowledgebank does not currently have any pages addressing partnerships

LO6 Prepare a statement of financial position relating to a partnership