For students preparing to take the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WAEC) accounting paper in 2024, having access to credible, comprehensive practice materials is critical. One of the best ways to prepare effectively is by practicing with WAEC Accounting past questions and answers. Updated to 2024, these resources are designed to help candidates familiarize themselves with the exam format, question types, and correct answers—boosting confidence and increasing the chances of success.
Why Download WAEC Accounting Past Questions and Answers?
Understand Exam Structure: Past questions reveal the pattern of questions commonly asked, allowing students to anticipate and prepare accordingly.
Identify Repeated Questions: Many questions tend to recur over the years, giving you an advantage if you practice from past question banks.
Master Time Management: Simulate actual exam conditions by timing your practice sessions with past papers.
Clarify Key Accounting Concepts: Answer explanations help deepen understanding of fundamental accounting principles and practices.
Improve Accuracy: Regular practice reduces careless mistakes and strengthens problem-solving skills.
What’s Included in the WAEC Accounting Past Questions PDF?
This updated 2024 PDF collection typically contains:
Objective Questions: Multiple-choice questions covering a wide range of accounting topics such as journal entries, ledger accounts, trial balance, depreciation, financial statements, and bookkeeping.
Theory Questions: Essay-style questions requiring detailed explanations on concepts like accounting principles, asset valuation, accounting for errors, and cash flow statements.
Practical Questions: Computation and preparation of financial accounts, including balance sheets, income statements, and control accounts.
Marking Schemes & Answers: Clear, step-by-step solutions to help you understand the basis for correct answers and how to approach similar problems.
Key Topics to Focus on Using WAEC Past Questions
Basic Accounting Concepts and Principles: Understanding consistency, going concern, prudence, and matching concepts.
Accounting Records: Journals, ledgers, cash books, and petty cash management.
Trial Balance and Errors: Preparing and correcting trial balance discrepancies.
Depreciation Methods: Straight-line and reducing balance methods.
Financial Statements: Preparation of profit and loss accounts and balance sheets.
Control Accounts: Purchases and sales control accounts.
Bank Reconciliation Statements: Understanding and preparing bank reconciliation.
Incomplete Records: Single-entry bookkeeping and conversion to double-entry.
Costing and Budgeting: Activity-based costing and budgeting basics.
Accounting for Partnerships: Profit sharing, maintenance of partnership accounts.
FREE WAEC Accounting Past Questions and Answers
What is the main objective of accounting?
(a) Recording transactions
(b) Providing financial information for decision making
(c) Tax calculation
(d) Budget preparation
Answer: (b)Which of the following is a liability?
(a) Cash
(b) Debtors
(c) Creditors
(d) Furniture
Answer: (c)The accounting equation is:
(a) Assets = Liabilities + Owner’s Equity
(b) Assets = Capital – Liabilities
(c) Assets + Liabilities = Capital
(d) Capital = Assets – Liabilities
Answer: (a)What does GAAP stand for?
(a) Generally Accepted Accounting Principles
(b) General Agreement on Accounting Practices
(c) Government Approved Accounting Procedures
(d) General Accepted Account Process
Answer: (a)Which document records all transactions in chronological order first?
(a) Ledger
(b) Trial balance
(c) Journal
(d) Balance sheet
Answer: (c)What is a debit in accounting?
(a) An increase in assets or expense
(b) An increase in liability or income
(c) Record of sale
(d) Credit balance
Answer: (a)A credit entry in the accounting records means:
(a) Increase in assets or expenses
(b) Increase in liability, capital, or income
(c) Cash paid
(d) Cash received
Answer: (b)What is the purpose of a trial balance?
(a) To check accuracy of ledger postings
(b) To prepare financial statements
(c) To calculate profit
(d) To record transactions
Answer: (a)Which is NOT an example of an asset?
(a) Vehicles
(b) Bank overdraft
(c) Stock
(d) Equipment
Answer: (b)What is capital expenditure?
(a) Expenses for everyday business operations
(b) Money spent to acquire assets
(c) Payment to suppliers
(d) Revenue received
Answer: (b)Accrued expenses mean:
(a) Expenses not yet paid but incurred
(b) Expenses paid in advance
(c) Expenses paid late
(d) None
Answer: (a)Depreciation is:
(a) A process of asset valuation increase
(b) The allocation of the cost of a fixed asset over its useful life
(c) Repair expenses
(d) A type of income
Answer: (b)What is the normal balance of a cash account?
(a) Debit
(b) Credit
(c) Zero
(d) Both debit and credit
Answer: (a)What type of account is ‘Sales’?
(a) Asset
(b) Expense
(c) Income
(d) Liability
Answer: (c)Double-entry bookkeeping means:
(a) Two people record transactions
(b) Every transaction affects at least two accounts
(c) Recording transactions twice
(d) Backup accounts
Answer: (b)Which account shows the financial position of a business?
(a) Income statement
(b) Trial balance
(c) Balance sheet
(d) Journal
Answer: (c)What does ‘matching principle’ in accounting refer to?
(a) Matching of receipts and payments
(b) Recording expenses in the same period as revenues they help generate
(c) Matching assets with liabilities
(d) Matching bank balance
Answer: (b)Which financial statement shows profitability?
(a) Balance sheet
(b) Income statement
(c) Trial balance
(d) Cash flow statement
Answer: (b)What is ‘working capital’?
(a) Current assets + Current liabilities
(b) Current assets – Current liabilities
(c) Total assets – Total liabilities
(d) Capital invested
Answer: (b)If assets increase and liabilities remain the same, owner’s equity will:
(a) Increase
(b) Decrease
(c) Remain the same
(d) Become negative
Answer: (a)Which of the following is a current asset?
(a) Building
(b) Cash at bank
(c) Machinery
(d) Land
Answer: (b)Accumulated depreciation is:
(a) Liability
(b) Expense
(c) Contra asset
(d) Asset
Answer: (c)The ‘going concern’ assumption means:
(a) Business will close soon
(b) Business will continue operating indefinitely
(c) Business owns assets
(d) Business will stop operations
Answer: (b)Capital is classified as:
(a) Income
(b) Liability
(c) Owner’s equity
(d) Expense
Answer: (c)Which is the primary source document in purchasing goods?
(a) Invoice
(b) Receipt
(c) Purchase order
(d) Delivery note
Answer: (c)What is the effect of a purchase on credit?
(a) Increases assets and increases liabilities
(b) Increases expenses only
(c) Decreases cash only
(d) Increases cash and income
Answer: (a)‘Inventory’ refers to:
(a) Sales goods
(b) Stock of goods for resale
(c) Office supplies
(d) Consumables
Answer: (b)Prepaid expenses are classified as:
(a) Current assets
(b) Current liabilities
(c) Expenses
(d) Revenue
Answer: (a)The trial balance should balance when:
(a) Total debit equals total credit
(b) All transactions are recorded
(c) Only cash transactions are recorded
(d) Profit is made
Answer: (a)Drawings refer to:
(a) Owner’s withdrawals from the business
(b) Business expenses
(c) Sales discounts
(d) Debtors’ payment
Answer: (a)Which account increases with a credit?
(a) Asset
(b) Expense
(c) Income
(d) Withdrawal
Answer: (c)What is a ‘ledger’?
(a) Record of all transactions in chronological order
(b) Summary of accounts showing debit and credit balances
(c) Cash book
(d) Bank statement
Answer: (b)Which method is commonly used for depreciation?
(a) Straight line
(b) Sum of years digits
(c) Declining balance
(d) All of the above
Answer: (d)Bad debts:
(a) Are anticipated losses from debtors who may not pay
(b) Are assets
(c) Increase profits
(d) Are liabilities
Answer: (a)Which of these is a cost of goods sold component?
(a) Opening stock + Purchases – Closing stock
(b) Purchases + Sales – Returns
(c) Sales – Purchases
(d) Expenses + Capital
Answer: (a)Bank reconciliation statement is prepared to:
(a) Show bank balance
(b) Adjust ledger balance to the bank statement
(c) Reconcile cash book balance with bank statement
(d) Calculate interest
Answer: (c)The journal entry for closing revenue accounts involves:
(a) Debit revenue, credit income summary
(b) Credit revenue, debit income summary
(c) Debit expenses, credit income summary
(d) Credit expenses, debit income summary
Answer: (a)‘Accrued income’ means:
(a) Income earned but not yet received
(b) Income received in advance
(c) Income recorded in error
(d) Income forfeited
Answer: (a)What is petty cash?
(a) Large cash fund
(b) Small cash fund for minor expenses
(c) Bank cash
(d) Salary account
Answer: (b)Which document records all cash receipts and payments?
(a) Ledger
(b) Cash book
(c) Journal
(d) Trial balance
Answer: (b)What is the formula for net profit?
(a) Gross profit – Expenses
(b) Revenue – Expenses
(c) Gross profit + Expenses
(d) Expenses – Revenue
Answer: (a)Cost principle states that:
(a) Assets recorded at market value
(b) Assets recorded at historical cost
(c) Assets recorded at replacement cost
(d) Assets not recorded
Answer: (b)Which account does credit sales increase?
(a) Debtors
(b) Creditors
(c) Cash
(d) Expenses
Answer: (a)The owner’s equity account usually has:
(a) Debit balance
(b) Credit balance
(c) Zero balance
(d) None
Answer: (b)Which of the following is NOT a financial statement?
(a) Income statement
(b) Trial balance
(c) Balance sheet
(d) Cash flow statement
Answer: (b)The term ‘liquidity’ refers to:
(a) Profitability
(b) Ability to meet short-term obligations
(c) Asset growth
(d) None
Answer: (b)Deferred revenue refers to:
(a) Revenue earned and received
(b) Revenue received before it is earned
(c) Revenue lost
(d) Revenue outstanding
Answer: (b)Which accounting principle requires expenses to be recorded in the same period as related revenue?
(a) Revenue recognition principle
(b) Matching principle
(c) Consistency principle
(d) Prudence principle
Answer: (b)A business pays rent in advance. This is recorded as:
(a) Prepaid expense
(b) Accrued expense
(c) Liability
(d) Income
Answer: (a)Which account increases on the debit side?
(a) Capital
(b) Drawings
(c) Revenue
(d) Loan
Answer: (b)A ‘contra account’ is:
(a) An account that subverts another account
(b) An account that offsets another account
(c) Revenue account
(d) Expense account
Answer: (b)Going concern assumption means:
(a) The business will close soon
(b) The business will continue operating indefinitely
(c) The business has no value
(d) The business will merge
Answer: (b)Matching concept helps in:
(a) Correctly determining profit or loss
(b) Increasing capital
(c) Decreasing expenses
(d) Improving cash flow
Answer: (a)Which of the following is an example of an intangible asset?
(a) Cash
(b) Patent
(c) Machinery
(d) Stock
Answer: (b)Which document confirms the receipt of goods?
(a) Invoice
(b) Delivery note
(c) Debit note
(d) Receipt
Answer: (b)The double-entry system is based on:
(a) Single sided recording
(b) Recording every transaction twice
(c) Debit and credit entries in relevant accounts
(d) Only ledger posting
Answer: (c)A ‘balance sheet’ shows:
(a) Profit or loss for the period
(b) Assets, liabilities and capital at a point in time
(c) Cash inflow and outflow
(d) All transactions
Answer: (b)Which of the following affects only the balance sheet?
(a) Purchase of inventory on credit
(b) Payment of salaries
(c) Sales of goods for cash
(d) Payment of rent
Answer: (a)Accounting is often referred to as the:
(a) Language of business
(b) Science of money
(c) Art of commerce
(d) Study of economics
Answer: (a)Which account type is ‘sales’?
(a) Revenue
(b) Expense
(c) Asset
(d) Liability
Answer: (a)The main document for recording cash payments is the:
(a) Cash book
(b) Journal
(c) Ledger
(d) Invoice
Answer: (a)Debtors are:
(a) Persons who owe money to the business
(b) Persons to whom the business owes money
(c) The owners
(d) Bankers
Answer: (a)Creditors are:
(a) Owners
(b) Debtors
(c) Persons the business owes money to
(d) Customers
Answer: (c)What is a journal?
(a) A book of original entry
(b) Final accounts
(c) Financial statements
(d) Trial balance
Answer: (a)What is the purpose of posting?
(a) To enter transactions into the journal
(b) To transfer journal entries to ledger accounts
(c) To balance accounts
(d) To prepare financial statements
Answer: (b)The term ‘nominal account’ refers to accounts that deal with:
(a) Assets and liabilities
(b) Income, expenses, gains and losses
(c) Owner’s equity only
(d) Debtors and creditors only
Answer: (b)The accounting period concept means:
(a) Preparation of accounts at the end of each period
(b) Accounts are prepared whenever needed
(c) Accounts prepared annually
(d) Continuous accounts
Answer: (a)The periodic inventory system updates inventory records:
(a) After every sale or purchase
(b) At the end of the accounting period
(c) Weekly
(d) Monthly
Answer: (b)The balance of the drawing account is:
(a) Debit
(b) Credit
(c) Zero
(d) Both debit and credit
Answer: (a)What is ‘capital introduced’?
(a) Additional investment by the owner
(b) Business revenue
(c) Business loan
(d) Business expenses
Answer: (a)The accounting principle of consistency requires:
(a) Use of same accounting methods period after period
(b) Using new accounting policies often
(c) Changing accounting principles yearly
(d) Switching auditors frequently
Answer: (a)Which is NOT a step in the accounting cycle?
(a) Journalizing
(b) Posting
(c) Cash counting
(d) Trial balance preparation
Answer: (c)
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