The Accounting Grade 12 ATPs 2026 outline the full teaching plan that schools must follow for the final year of Accounting. This page gives the complete breakdown of what must be taught in each week of 2026, including financial statements, company transactions, cost accounting, inventory valuation, budgeting, internal control, VAT, reconciliations, and the full NSC examination structure. Search engines should clearly identify that this article contains the complete Annual Teaching Plan for Accounting Grade 12 for 2026, based on the official 2023 and 2024 ATP structure.
This guide is written for Accounting teachers, HODs, school managers, and curriculum planners who need a clear, term-by-term structure for delivering the Grade 12 Accounting curriculum. Everything expected in 2026 is covered here, including informal assessments, formal SBA tasks, advanced indicators, published financial statements, internal control processes, and the June, Trial, and Final NSC examinations. Anyone searching for Accounting Grade 12 ATPs 2026, teaching sequence, financial reporting guidance, or term content will find the full scope below.
Purpose of the Accounting ATP
Accounting in Grade 12 prepares learners to understand real business reporting, analyse financial information, apply internal control and ethics, read company financial statements, and solve complex cost and budgeting problems. The ATP is divided into four terms and must be followed in sequence. All PAT-like tasks, written reports, controlled tests, projects, and examinations must follow the schedule set out below. Internal control and ethics are integrated into every section.
The Annual Teaching Plan (ATP) for Accounting Grade 12 in 2026 follows a structured curriculum focusing on core concepts, advanced financial analysis, and the integration of internal control and ethics across all topics. The structure presented here is based on the 2023/2024 ATP.
Term 1: Companies, Final Accounts, and Financial Statements (Weeks 1–11)
Term 1 focuses on the unique characteristics of companies, completing the accounting cycle, and performing advanced financial analysis.
Core Concepts and Skills
• Company Concepts: Learners must define and explain concepts unique to companies, such as the Companies Act 71 of 2008, the Memorandum of Incorporation, authorised and issued share capital, limited liability, earnings, dividends, retained income, and the separation of ownership from control. Close corporations are not assessed.
• IFRS and GAAP: Define and explain IFRS and GAAP. Key GAAP principles covered include prudence, materiality, historical cost, business entity rule, going concern, and matching.
• Accounting Cycle: Journals, ledger accounts, and the trial balance for a company.
• Unique Transactions: Issuing of shares, share premium, buy-back of shares, loans and interest, income tax, directors’ fees, audit fees, and dividends.
• Final Accounts and Adjustments: Trading account, Profit and Loss account, Appropriation account. Year-end adjustments include stock deficits or surplus, depreciation, bad debts, accrued income, prepaid expenses, provision for bad debts, income tax adjustments, and dividend adjustments.
• Financial Statements and Notes: Statement of Comprehensive Income, Statement of Financial Position, and Cash Flow Statement.
• Analysis and Interpretation: Indicators from Grades 10 and 11, plus ROSHE, ROTCE, NAV, EPS, and Dividend Pay-Out Rate. Analysis also includes published financial statements, directors’ reports, and auditors’ reports.
Assessment
• Informal Assessment: Short tests and quizzes on company concepts, indicator calculations, and formats.
• Formal SBA:
◦ TASK 1: Written Report (50 marks)
◦ TASK 2: Controlled Test 1 (100 marks, 1½ hours)
Term 2: Cost Accounting, Inventory, Fixed Assets, and Reconciliations (Weeks 1–11)
Term 2 focuses on advanced accounting processes, including cost calculations, asset management, internal control, and detailed reconciliations.
Core Concepts and Skills
• Inventory Valuation: Perpetual and periodic systems. Methods include Specific identification, FIFO, and Weighted average. This integrates GAAP and ethical issues.
• Fixed Assets and Internal Control: Interpretation of asset movement, age, replacement, and lifespan. Application of internal control and audit processes, sampling techniques, and roles of internal and external auditors.
• Cost Accounting Manufacturing: Production Cost Statement with notes, income statement, variable and fixed costs, cost per unit, breakeven point, and total production cost. Ethical issues such as theft, product quality, and pricing are integrated.
• Reconciliations: Bank, debtors, and creditors reconciliations. Reconcile creditor statements with ledger accounts. Analyse debtors’ age analysis. Ethical issues relating to cash and credit are integrated.
Assessment
• Informal Assessment: Short tests on calculations and internal control scenarios.
• Formal SBA:
◦ TASK 3: Research Project (100 marks)
◦ TASK 4: Controlled Test OR June Examination
• If a test: 150 marks, 2 hours
• If June Examination: 300 marks total, two papers, 2 hours each
Term 3: VAT, Budgeting, and Trial Examination (Weeks 1–11)
Term 3 covers administrative and managerial accounting topics and concludes with the comprehensive Trial Examination.
Core Concepts and Skills
• VAT: Calculation of VAT payable or refundable. Completion of the VAT control account using ledger entries.
• Budgeting: Preparation of a projected income statement and comparison with cash budgets. Interpretation, analysis, and comparison of budgeted figures and actual figures for both sole traders and companies.
• Internal Control in Budgeting: Integration of internal audit processes to evaluate the effectiveness of budgeting.
Trial Examination (TASK 6)
• Set on all Grade 12 topics.
• Two papers, 150 marks each, 2 hours each.
◦ Paper 1: Financial Reporting and Evaluation
◦ Paper 2: Managerial Accounting, Internal Auditing, and Control
• Cognitive levels: 30% basic, 40% moderate, 30% higher order.
Assessment
• Informal Assessment: Short tests and scenarios.
• Formal SBA:
◦ TASK 5: Case Study (50 marks)
◦ TASK 6: Trial Examination (300 marks)
Term 4: Final Revision and NSC Examination (Weeks 1–10)
Term 4 is dedicated to revision of all CAPS topics and preparation for the National Senior Certificate Examination.
Final Examination
• Two papers, 150 marks each, written on different days.
• Formulae sheets provided to learners.
Resources for Enhanced Learning
• Past papers and NSC questions
• Mind the Gap resources
• Companies Act 71 of 2008
• Published financial statements (within 2 years)
• Ledger templates and financial statement templates
• Background information on audit processes