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Accounting Paper 1, November 2024

30 questions · 150 marks. Answer any question here and see it marked like the exam, mark by mark.

Practise this paper, marked Write it timed

This is the November 2024 Paper 1 for Accounting, written as 30 questions that add up to 150 marks. By topic the marks are financial statements (56), analysis and interpretation (35), companies, share capital and equity (24), ethics, audit and governance (19) and fixed assets and disposal (16). Financial statements carry the biggest share. Of the 150 marks, 79 are for the correct final answer, 31 for method and working, 18 for explaining, 12 for reading data from diagrams, tables and graphs and 10 for recalling facts and terms.

Questions here are based on the National Senior Certificate paper, in our own words. Each is marked line by line, so a correct figure with its working earns a mark even when a later line is wrong. The Diagnostic Report for this paper says candidates most often lose marks by using the wrong fraction when working back to a gross amount, leaving out opening balances in the cash flow statement, and quoting a figure in an analysis answer without saying what it means. Try the questions in order, or jump to the topic you find hardest.

Where marks are lost: in our words, from Department of Basic Education, NSC 2024 Diagnostic Report, Part 1 (Book 1).

No sign-up to try. Your first 3 answers are marked free. The original paper and memo are on PapersZA.

Every question

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Question 1 · Fixed assets and disposal

[55]

Calculate the depreciation on equipment for the year ended 28 February 2025, using the fixed asset information provided.

(2)Mark it 1.1.2

Calculate the cost price of vehicles on 31 August 2024.

(4)Mark it 1.1.3

Calculate the total depreciation on vehicles for the year ended 28 February 2025.

(5)Mark it 1.1.4

Calculate the profit or loss on the vehicle that Lotus Bay Ltd traded in on 1 October 2023. Use the information provided.

(5)Mark it 1.2(a)

Calculate the sales and the gross profit that Protea Ridge Ltd must show in its Statement of Comprehensive Income.

(8)Mark it 1.2(b)

Calculate the total other income that Protea Ridge Ltd must show in its Statement of Comprehensive Income. Show your workings for the rent income and for the provision for bad debts.

(10)Mark it 1.2(c)

Calculate the total operating expenses that Protea Ridge Ltd must show in its Statement of Comprehensive Income.

(13)Mark it 1.2(d)

Show the last part of the Statement of Comprehensive Income of Protea Ridge Ltd, from operating profit down to net profit after tax.

Question 2 · Companies, share capital and equity

[35]

Draw up the note showing the movement in retained income of Kopano Traders Ltd for the year ended 31 March 2025. Show the details of the ordinary share dividends in your note.

(8)Mark it 2.2(a)

Calculate the taxation paid and the dividends paid that Mvubu Ltd must show in the operating activities section of its Cash Flow Statement. Show both as cash outflows.

(8)Mark it 2.2(b)

Calculate the amounts that Mvubu Ltd must show in the financing activities section of its Cash Flow Statement. Then calculate its cash and cash equivalents at the end of the year.

(9)Mark it 2.3.1

Calculate the operating expenses as a percentage of sales for the year ended 31 August 2024.

(3)Mark it 2.3.2

Calculate the stock turnover rate of Lindani Traders for the year ended 28 February 2025. Show your workings and give the answer as a number of times, correct to one decimal place where necessary.

(4)Mark it 2.3.3

Calculate the interim dividend per share, in cents, for the year ended 31 August 2025.

Question 3 · Analysis and interpretation

[45]

Give TWO indicators from the profitability information that show Kopano Ltd is keeping its costs under control. Support each with the actual percentages and say in which direction each one moved.

Comment on the change in the company’s dividend pay-out policy between the two years. Explain why this change is a responsible decision. Give ONE point in your explanation.

Comment on whether the shareholders of Karoo Fresh Ltd should be satisfied with the earnings per share (EPS) and the return on average shareholders’ equity (ROSHE) for the current year. Support your comment by quoting TWO financial indicators with figures.

(4)Mark it 3.4.1

The directors of Lumka Traders Ltd bought additional fixed assets during the 2025 financial year. Use the extracted figures in the information block to identify the TWO main sources of finance (each with an increase of more than R1 000 000) that were used for this purchase. For each source, state the source and give the figures (the opening and closing amounts and the change).

(4)Mark it 3.4.2

The directors of Mkhize Traders Ltd bought extra equipment during 2024 and paid for part of it with a new loan. Using the information provided, explain how this decision changed the company’s financial risk and its gearing. Support your answer with TWO different indicators, and quote the figures for each.

(6)Mark it 3.5.1

Thandi Mokoena owned 840 000 of the 2 000 000 shares that Zulu Traders Ltd had in issue on 1 April 2024. On 30 September 2024 the company offered every shareholder 3 new shares for every 20 shares already held, at a reduced price. Thandi took up her full right. Calculate how many shares Thandi bought through this rights issue.

(3)Mark it 3.5.2

Calculate Peter’s percentage shareholding in the company after the rights issue was completed.

(5)Mark it 3.5.3

Calculate the total amount that Grant Waters paid for the shares he received through the rights issue. No shares were repurchased during the financial year.

(4)Mark it 3.5.4

Refer to the information given. Mr Sipho Dlamini, the majority shareholder, plans to ask the board to buy back some of his shares in the next financial year at R15 per share. Explain why the other directors would probably vote against his proposal. Give TWO points, each supported by figures.

(4)Mark it 3.6.1

Shareholders appoint a chief executive officer (CEO) to run the company on their behalf. Explain TWO qualities that shareholders would want to see in a capable CEO.

(4)Mark it 3.6.2

The shareholders are pleased with the work of the CEO. Apart from the points already made about profit and dividends, identify and explain TWO other points from the indicators that show the company is well managed by the CEO. Quote figures.

Question 4 · Ethics, audit and governance

[15]

Explain the role of an independent external auditor of a company. Give ONE point.

Rand Valley Ltd received a/an (qualified / unqualified / disclaimer of opinion) audit report. Write down the correct word and explain your choice.

Name TWO types of evidence that the auditor would look at to confirm that the property, plant and equipment of Thabo Traders Ltd are properly stated.

Explain what this auditor’s report means for each of the following groups. Give ONE point for each group: the directors and the shareholders.

The directors of Ridgeway Holdings Ltd pressured the company’s independent external auditor to knowingly issue an untrue audit report to the shareholders. The auditor gave in and issued it. State THREE possible consequences for the auditor, or for the auditing firm that employs him, of this dishonest conduct.

Updated 12 November 2026