ACC2100: nail every assessment, not just read the notes
Your complete guide to Monash University's financial accounting unit. See where the marks are, work real practice questions, and study with an AI tutor that knows ACC2100.
Sia generates ACC2100 practice questions, walks through statement of cash flows (aasb 107) and accounting for income tax: deferred tax (aasb 112) step by step, and quizzes you on the material the heaviest assessments weight most heavily.
Worked example
At 30 June 2026 (tax rate 30%), Harlow Ltd reports: Plant carrying amount $120,000 with a tax base of $80,000; Accounts receivable gross $60,000 with an allowance for doubtful debts of $9,000 (so carrying amount $51,000 and tax base $60,000); and a provision for warranty with a carrying amount of $12,000 and a tax base of $0. There were no opening deferred-tax balances. What is the closing deferred tax liability (DTL)?
Classify each item by comparing carrying amount (CA) with tax base (TB). For the plant, an asset with CA $120,000 above TB $80,000 gives a taxable temporary difference (TTD) of $40,000, which produces a deferred tax liability.
For the warranty provision, a liability with CA $12,000 above TB $0 gives a DTD of $12,000, which also produces a deferred tax asset.
Only the plant creates the DTL. Closing DTL = total TTD times rate = $40,000 times 0.30 = $12,000. (The deferred tax asset, for completeness, is ($9,000 + $12,000) times 0.30 = $6,300, but that is the DTA, not the DTL.)
The trap: Netting everything into one figure. Adding the receivables and warranty DTDs (which create a deferred tax asset of $6,300) onto the plant figure gives the distractor $18,300. AASB 112 classification keeps the deferred tax asset and deferred tax liability separate: only the plant's taxable temporary difference feeds the DTL, so the DTL is $12,000. classic slip!
One exam decides 40% of your grade. No hurdle; the official exam brief states there is no hurdle requirement. This whole page is built around that.
Overview
What ACC2100 is, and where it sits
ACC2100 Financial Accounting is Monash University's second-year company financial reporting unit (taught as ACC2100 at Clayton and as the equivalent ACF2100 and ACB2120 on other campuses). It moves past the first-year bookkeeping cycle into the Australian Accounting Standards: how a reporting entity is regulated, and how to apply the specific standards that govern cash flow reporting, asset measurement, income tax, sustainability disclosure, business combinations and group accounts. The set text is Loftus et al., Financial Reporting (5th edition, Wiley), and the unit is delivered through recorded lectures plus face-to-face tutorials.
The content splits into two halves. Weeks 1 to 7 work through standalone standards on a single-entity set of accounts: the regulatory and conceptual framework (Week 1), the statement of cash flows under AASB 107 by the direct method (Week 2), impairment under AASB 136 (Week 3), revaluation of property, plant and equipment under AASB 116 (Week 4), accounting for income tax (current tax in Week 5 and deferred tax in Week 6 under AASB 112), and the new Australian Sustainability Reporting Standards (Week 7). Weeks 9 to 12 are the group-accounting block: business combinations and goodwill under AASB 3 (Week 9), then consolidation general principles and intragroup transactions under AASB 10 (Weeks 10 and 11), and finally investments in associates and the equity method under AASB 128 (Week 12).
The unit is technical and cumulative rather than essay-based. Almost every topic resolves into a repeatable journal-and-worksheet procedure (a current-tax worksheet, a four-step deferred-tax worksheet, an acquisition analysis, a consolidation worksheet), so the marks reward students who can run each procedure cleanly under exam conditions. It is the standards foundation that later financial accounting, corporate reporting and auditing units assume, and is a core requirement on the CPA Australia and CA ANZ accreditation path.
Official outline: handbook.monash.edu · ACC2100 outline. Always treat the official outline and the exam timetable as authoritative.
Difficulty & time commitment
Is ACC2100 hard, and how much time does it take?
ACC2100 is manageable if you keep a weekly rhythm and treat the back half as the main event. Across student reviews the pattern is consistent: it starts gently and steepens, and the heaviest assessment is the part that separates grades.
A read across student reviews and course feedback. See what students say ↓
The difficulty curve and the assessment weighting point the same way: the back half is harder and worth more. Front-loading effort there is the highest-return decision in the unit.
Is this unit for you
Who tends to do well, and who tends to struggle
You will likely do well if
- You are fluent in first-year double-entry bookkeeping, because ACC2100 stacks standards (deferred tax, consolidation) on top of journal entries and assumes you can post them quickly.
- You learn each topic as a repeatable procedure and rehearse it: the current-tax worksheet, the four-step deferred-tax worksheet, the acquisition analysis and the consolidation worksheet are all drillable.
- You do the weekly Group and Individual Exercises every week rather than batching them, since the content is cumulative and Weeks 9 to 12 assume Weeks 5 and 6.
- You memorise the small classification rules cleanly: recoverable amount is the higher of fair value less costs of disposal and value in use, an asset with carrying amount above tax base gives a deferred tax liability, and goodwill is written to zero first in a cash-generating unit impairment.
You may struggle if
- You fall behind on the income-tax weeks (5 and 6), because deferred tax is a 25-mark exam stake and every later consolidation entry carries a tax effect at 30%.
- You treat the multiple-choice topics (sustainability in Week 7 and associates in Week 12) as optional, even though roughly half of Part 1 is drawn from them.
- You memorise journal entries without understanding the worksheet logic, so a small change in the question (a bargain purchase instead of goodwill, a downward revaluation reversing a prior increase) leaves you stuck.
- You only practise individual standards and never sit a full consolidation worksheet end to end (acquisition analysis, then BCVR, then pre-acquisition, then intragroup elimination), which is where students lose the most marks.
- Build one decision procedure per worked-answer machine and rehearse it cold: cash flows by T-account reconstruction, deferred tax by the four-step CA-versus-TB worksheet, business combinations by FVINA then consideration then goodwill, consolidation by the five-step process.
- Keep a one-page rules sheet of the classification calls that recur (recoverable amount, the revaluation reversal rule, the CA-versus-TB matrix, the consolidation loss-allocation order) and reproduce it from memory.
- Practise the four Part 2 stakes timed to their mark allocation (deferred tax and business combinations at 25 marks, consolidation at 20, cash flows at 10) so you pace the 2 hour 10 minute sitting correctly.
- Drill the tax effect on every consolidation adjustment at 30%, because the unrealised-profit elimination and BCVR uplift entries each carry a deferred tax line and that is a common place to drop marks.
Syllabus
The 12 topics, week by week
The exam-weight marker on each topic shows where the marks concentrate. The amber topics carry the highest exam weight.
W1 · Financial Reporting Regulation and the Conceptual Framework
Loftus Ch 1; AASB / IFRS / Corporations Act 2001The Australian regulatory players (AASB, ASIC, FRC, ASX, the Corporations Act), how the IASB's IFRS are adapted into AASB standards (AASB 112 from IAS 12, AASB 3 from IFRS 3, AASB 10 from IFRS 10), and the Conceptual Framework objective of providing decision-useful information.
W2 · Statement of Cash Flows (AASB 107)
Loftus Ch 18The operating, investing and financing classifications, the unit conventions (interest paid is operating, dividends paid is financing), and the direct method built by T-account reconstruction to convert accrual figures to cash.
W3 · Impairment of Assets (AASB 136)
Loftus Ch 8Impairment loss as carrying amount less recoverable amount, recoverable amount as the higher of fair value less costs of disposal and value in use, cash-generating units, and the loss-allocation order (goodwill to zero first, then pro-rata, subject to the asset floor).
W4 · Revaluation of Assets (AASB 116)
Loftus Ch 6The cost versus revaluation model chosen per class of asset, first-time revaluation (increase to other comprehensive income and the asset revaluation surplus, decrease to profit or loss), and the subsequent-revaluation reversal rule.
W5 · Accounting for Income Tax: Current Tax (AASB 112)
Loftus Ch 13The current-tax worksheet from accounting profit to taxable profit, permanent versus temporary differences, the 30% rate convention, and tax losses creating a deferred tax asset.
W6 · Accounting for Income Tax: Deferred Tax (AASB 112)
Loftus Ch 13Tax base versus carrying amount, the four-step deferred-tax worksheet, the classification matrix (asset CA above TB gives a taxable temporary difference and a deferred tax liability, the reverse gives a deferred tax asset), and rate-change adjustments.
W7 · Australian Sustainability Reporting Standards (AASB S1 and S2)
Loftus Ch 23; IFRS S1 and S2Double materiality (financial and impact), the standard-setter map (ISSB, EFRAG, GRI), the four-pillar core content (governance, strategy, risk management, metrics and targets) and the Scope 1, 2 and 3 greenhouse-gas classifications.
W8 · Revision
Weeks 1 to 7Mid-semester consolidation of the single-entity standards before the group-accounting block begins.
W9 · Business Combinations (AASB 3)
Loftus Ch 26The acquisition method in four steps, fair value of identifiable net assets, consideration transferred (including deferred cash at present value and share consideration), goodwill as consideration less FVINA, and gain on bargain purchase.
W10 · Consolidation: General Principles (AASB 10)
Loftus Ch 27 and 28The three-element definition of control, the consolidation worksheet, and the five-step process: acquisition analysis, business combination valuation reserve entries, pre-acquisition elimination, intragroup transactions and non-controlling interest.
W11 · Consolidation: Intragroup Transactions (AASB 10)
Loftus Ch 29Eliminating intragroup sales, unrealised profit in closing and opening inventory, intragroup sales of non-current assets realised through depreciation, intragroup services, dividends and borrowings, with the AASB 112 tax effect on each.
W12 · Investments in Associates (AASB 128)
Loftus; AASB 128Significant influence (typically a 20% to 50% holding) and the equity method: investment at cost, adjusted for the investor's share of post-acquisition profit and reduced by dividends received, distinguished from control and from passive investment.
How it's assessed
Assessment structure
| Component | Weight | Format & timing |
|---|---|---|
| Group and Individual Exercises | 30% | Part A weekly written and group submissions (18%) plus Part B assessed in-class tutorial discussions (12%). Weekly across Weeks 2 to 12 (dates subject to change). No hurdle. |
| Written Assignment (Individual) | 30% | Individual written assignment. Due Friday of the assignment week (a precise S2 2026 date is not confirmed in the materials reviewed). No hurdle. |
| Final Examination | 40% | Invigilated closed-book eExam with permitted items (a calculator and five blank working sheets); 2 hours 10 minutes including reading time; marked out of 100. Formal exam period (date set via your my.monash personal timetable). No hurdle; the official exam brief states there is no hurdle requirement. |
- Pass on a weighted average of at least 50%. The official exam brief states the exam has no hurdle requirement, and no single-component hurdle is stated in the unit materials reviewed.
- Final exam (out of 100), two parts. Part 1 is multiple choice (20%): 10 questions at 2 marks each, with roughly half the questions drawn from Weeks 7 and 12 and the rest from Weeks 3, 4 and 5. Part 2 is constructed response (80%): four short-to-long questions, each with parts, covering the statement of cash flows (Week 2, 10 marks), deferred tax (Week 6, 25 marks), business combinations (Week 9, 25 marks) and consolidation (Weeks 10 and 11, 20 marks). Coverage is Weeks 2 to 12 inclusive.
- Calculator policy: Final exam is closed book with specifically permitted items only: a calculator and five blank working sheets. No notes or other materials. AI use is not permitted in the final exam.
This is a coursework unit. Coursework carries 60% of the grade and the final examination is the single heaviest piece at 40%, so steady work across the semester decides your result more than any one sitting. No hurdle; the official exam brief states there is no hurdle requirement.
Final exam timing: approx Nov 2026 (S2 2026 offering, confirm against the official Monash exam timetable via my.monash). Confirm the exact date and venue on the official exam timetable.
How to actually pass it
A weekly rhythm, two checklists, and the traps to avoid
The unit rewards consistency over cramming, and practice over re-reading. Here is the loop that works, then what to have nailed before each exam.
The weekly loop
Before the mid-semester checklist
- Master the statement of cash flows by T-account reconstruction (cash from customers, cash to suppliers, dividends paid, proceeds on sale of a non-current asset) since it is a guaranteed 10-mark exam stake.
- Drill the impairment test (recoverable amount as the higher of fair value less costs of disposal and value in use) and the cash-generating-unit allocation order with the asset floor.
- Practise the revaluation reversal rule both ways: an increase reversing a prior decrease goes to profit or loss first, a decrease reversing a prior increase goes to other comprehensive income first.
- Run the current-tax worksheet end to end from accounting profit to taxable profit at 30%, keeping permanent and temporary differences straight.
Before the final heaviest topics
- Prioritise the four Part 2 worked-answer machines: deferred tax (25 marks), business combinations (25 marks), consolidation (20 marks) and the statement of cash flows (10 marks).
- Sit a full consolidation worksheet timed: acquisition analysis with goodwill or bargain purchase, the BCVR uplift with its DTL, the pre-acquisition elimination, then the intragroup inventory and non-current-asset eliminations with their tax effects.
- Cover the multiple-choice topics deliberately: sustainability reporting (double materiality, the four pillars, Scope 1, 2 and 3) and associates (significant influence and the equity method), because about half of Part 1 comes from Weeks 7 and 12.
- Rehearse the deferred-tax worksheet on a fresh set of carrying-amount-versus-tax-base data, classifying each item and booking only the movement from the opening balances.
- Practise business-combination consideration with the awkward parts included: deferred cash discounted to present value, share consideration at fair value, and acquisition-related costs expensed rather than capitalised.
The mistakes that cost marks
Netting the deferred tax asset and liability into one figure. AASB 112 keeps deferred tax assets and deferred tax liabilities classified separately. Only taxable temporary differences (asset carrying amount above tax base, or liability carrying amount below tax base) feed the deferred tax liability; deductible temporary differences feed the deferred tax asset. Adding them together gives the wrong DTL and the wrong DTA.
Forgetting the tax effect on consolidation adjustments. Every BCVR uplift and every unrealised-profit elimination carries a deferred tax line at 30%. Removing the unrealised profit in closing inventory without the matching Dr DTA / Cr ITE entry, or restating an asset on consolidation without the DTL, loses marks that the worked-answer machine was designed to award.
Using carrying amount where recoverable amount or fair value is required. Impairment compares carrying amount with recoverable amount (the higher of fair value less costs of disposal and value in use), and a cash-generating-unit loss writes goodwill to zero first, then pro-rata, never below an individual asset's floor. Skipping these steps produces the wrong loss and the wrong allocation.
Expensing nothing, or capitalising acquisition costs. In a business combination, acquisition-related costs (legal, advisory, valuation) are expensed, not added to consideration, and deferred cash consideration is discounted to present value before it enters the goodwill calculation. Getting either wrong cascades into the wrong goodwill or bargain-purchase figure.
Teaching team
Who teaches ACC2100
The bios below are factual. The star ratings are not ours: they are impressions from students who have taken the unit, so you can hear from people who sat in the lectures.
Dr Shala Navissi
Chief Examiner for Financial Accounting (ACC2100/ACF2100/ACB2120) at Monash, with consultation times on Tuesdays 12-1PM.
Deeb Aqabani
Non-primary lecturer for ACC2100 Financial Accounting at Monash.
Mengjie Yang
Non-primary lecturer for ACC2100/ACF2100/ACB2120 Financial Accounting at Monash, with consultation times in Weeks 3 to 8 on Mondays 12-1pm.
Ya Liu
Non-primary lecturer for ACC2100/ACF2100/ACB2120 Financial Accounting at Monash.
Teaching team as listed in the unit materials reviewed. AskSia does not rate lecturers; star ratings are submitted by students who have taken ACC2100.
Formula & concept sheet
The vocabulary and formulas you must own
- Cash from customers (direct method)
- Cash received from customers = Opening accounts receivable + Sales − Closing accounts receivable. Cash to suppliers = Opening accounts payable + Purchases − Closing accounts payable, where Purchases = Closing inventory + COGS − Opening inventory.
- Proceeds on sale of a non-current asset
- Carrying amount sold = Cost − Accumulated depreciation. Cash proceeds = Carrying amount + Gain on sale (or minus a Loss on sale). The proceeds are an investing inflow.
- Impairment loss and recoverable amount
- Impairment loss = Carrying amount − Recoverable amount, recognised only when carrying amount exceeds recoverable amount. Recoverable amount = the higher of fair value less costs of disposal and value in use.
- CGU loss allocation
- Allocate a cash-generating-unit impairment loss to goodwill first (writing it to zero), then pro-rata across the other assets by carrying amount. No individual asset is written below the highest of its fair value less costs of disposal, its value in use, or zero; any excess is reallocated.
- Revaluation (AASB 116)
- First-time increase goes to other comprehensive income and the asset revaluation surplus; first-time decrease goes to profit or loss. A later increase reversing a prior decrease goes to profit or loss to the extent of that prior loss, then to OCI; a later decrease reversing a prior increase goes to OCI to the extent of the surplus, then to profit or loss.
- Current tax
- Taxable profit = Accounting profit, plus non-deductible and accounting amounts, plus taxable cash amounts, minus tax-deductible amounts and accounting revenues taxed differently. Current tax liability = Taxable profit times the tax rate (30%).
- Deferred tax classification
- Compare carrying amount (CA) with tax base (TB). Asset CA above TB, or liability CA below TB, gives a taxable temporary difference and a deferred tax liability. Asset CA below TB, or liability CA above TB, gives a deductible temporary difference and a deferred tax asset. Closing DTL = total TTD times rate; closing DTA = total DTD times rate; book the movement from opening balances.
- Goodwill on acquisition
- Fair value of identifiable net assets (FVINA) = identifiable assets at fair value − liabilities at fair value. Goodwill = Consideration transferred − FVINA when positive; when negative it is a gain on bargain purchase recognised in profit or loss. Deferred cash consideration is discounted to present value; acquisition-related costs are expensed.
- BCVR uplift on consolidation
- On consolidation, restate a subsidiary asset from carrying amount to fair value with a tax effect: Dr Asset (FV − CA) / Cr Deferred tax liability (uplift times rate) / Cr Business combination valuation reserve (uplift times (1 − rate)).
- Intragroup unrealised profit
- Eliminate unrealised profit in closing inventory: Dr Sales / Cr COGS / Cr Inventory (profit on the unsold portion), with Dr DTA / Cr income tax expense for the tax effect. Intragroup non-current-asset gains are removed and then realised through the depreciation adjustment over the asset's remaining life.
- Control and the equity method
- Control (AASB 10) needs all three of power, exposure to variable returns, and the ability to use power to affect returns, and leads to consolidation. Significant influence (typically a 20% to 50% holding, AASB 128) leads to the equity method: investment at cost, increased by the share of post-acquisition profit and reduced by dividends received.
Common acronyms: AASB · ASIC · FRC · IFRS · IASB · CA · TB · TTD · DTD · DTL · DTA · ITE · FVINA · FVLCD · VIU · CGU · BCVR · OCI · COGS · ARS.
What students say
What students actually say about ACC2100
Recurring themes from student reviews, paraphrased in our own words.
- Described as technical and cumulative for a second-year unit: most topics resolve into a journal-and-worksheet procedure that has to be rehearsed.
- Manageable for students who keep up with the weekly exercises; harder for those who fall behind on the income-tax weeks, because deferred tax and consolidation build on them.
- The group-accounting block (Weeks 9 to 12) is widely seen as the steepest part of the unit.
- The unit follows the Loftus Financial Reporting textbook chapter by chapter, so students work the relevant chapter problems for each standard.
- Students rehearse the four worked-answer machines (cash flows, deferred tax, business combinations and consolidation) under timed conditions before the exam.
- Demand for step-by-step worked walkthroughs of the deferred-tax worksheet and the full consolidation worksheet, the two largest exam stakes.
Recurring student opinions, paraphrased and aggregated, not official course information.
Set texts
The prescribed reading
The syllabus references map straight onto these.
Financial Reporting
Loftus, Leo, Daniliuc, Luke, Ang, Bradbury, Hanlon, Boys and Byrnes.
Where it fits
Prerequisites, related units & why it matters
ACC2100 assumes the first-year financial accounting cycle (double entry, the trial balance and the basic financial statements) taught in ACC1100 Introduction to Financial Accounting or its equivalent. Check the current Monash handbook for the exact prerequisite and any prohibited campus-variant combinations (ACC2100, ACF2100 and ACB2120 are the same unit and cannot be taken together for credit).
Your ACC2100 study toolkit
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FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Is ACC2100 hard?
It is moderate to hard for a second-year unit. It is technical and cumulative rather than essay-based: most topics resolve into a repeatable journal-and-worksheet procedure, and roughly 80% of the final exam comes from four worked problems (deferred tax, business combinations, consolidation and the statement of cash flows). It is very manageable if you keep up with the weekly exercises and rehearse each procedure under timed conditions, but it punishes falling behind because later topics build on earlier ones.
How is ACC2100 assessed?
Three components with no hurdle on any of them: Group and Individual Exercises worth 30% (an 18% weekly written and group part plus a 12% assessed in-class discussion part) across Weeks 2 to 12, an individual written assignment worth 30%, and a final examination worth 40%. You pass on a weighted average of at least 50%.
What is the final exam format?
An invigilated closed-book eExam of 2 hours 10 minutes including reading time, marked out of 100, with only a calculator and five blank working sheets permitted. Part 1 is 10 multiple-choice questions at 2 marks each (20%), and Part 2 is four constructed-response questions (80%) covering the statement of cash flows (10 marks), deferred tax (25 marks), business combinations (25 marks) and consolidation (20 marks). It covers Weeks 2 to 12 inclusive.
Which topics carry the most marks in the exam?
Four worked-answer topics dominate Part 2: deferred tax and business combinations are 25 marks each, consolidation (general principles and intragroup transactions combined) is 20 marks, and the statement of cash flows is 10 marks. About half of the Part 1 multiple-choice questions come from Weeks 7 (sustainability) and 12 (associates), so do not skip those for the multiple-choice marks.
Is ACC2100 the same as ACF2100 and ACB2120?
Yes. ACC2100, ACF2100 and ACB2120 are the same Financial Accounting unit taught on different Monash campuses, so they cannot be taken together for credit. The standards, structure and exam blueprint are the same; confirm your campus code in the current Monash handbook.
What textbook does ACC2100 use?
The set text is Loftus, Leo, Daniliuc, Luke, Ang, Bradbury, Hanlon, Boys and Byrnes, Financial Reporting, 5th edition (Wiley). The unit follows the relevant chapters week by week (for example chapter 18 for the statement of cash flows, chapter 13 for income tax, and chapters 26 to 29 for business combinations and consolidation), supported by recorded lectures and face-to-face tutorials.
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