Unit II: School Accountancy Curriculum

 Accountancy Curriculum 

Accountancy as a subject of study was first introduced into Bhutanese education in 1978. All the curriculum materials used for teaching the subject were developed and published for Indian ISC Board and assessment was also carried out by Delhi University since the college was affiliated with the university. Although Bhutan Council for School Assessment and Examination (BCSEA) took over assessment when the subject was introduced in the higher secondary schools in the country, the curriculum materials remain the same till the reform was initiated in 2016.

The old curriculum was developed based on the American accounting system of Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) and has become irrelevant in Bhutan as the country has switched accounting system to Bhutan Accounting Standard (BAS) which is the adoption of International Accounting Standard (IAS) or International Financial Reporting Standard (IFRS). . Bhutan initiated the adoption of BAS in 2012 with the first set of Bhutanese Accounting Standards (BASs) was launched and issued on April 6, 2012. 

The main goal of developing accountancy curriculum is to enhance: 

i. Learners participate in nation building as accounting professional for framing policies, budgeting, revenue and expenditure to guide the government in planning, distribution and monitoring of national resources. 

ii. Develop pool of professional with sound financial knowledge and skills that would inspire and drive the socio-economic development programs and activities, crucial in improving the living standard of the people. 

iii. Provide learners with sound knowledge, skills and values on Finance, Cost, and Managerial accounting to develop a financially literate society and help them to lead a successful life. 

iv. Recognize and understand ethical issues related to accounting profession to ensure transparency, accountability, efficiency and integrity in managing the public resources and services mindfully. 

v. Provide academic standards in accounting to be competent in national and international levels that enable learners to cope with changing global financial and business scenario. 

Global Accounting standards

Global accounting standards are set of rules or principle which is mostly applicable or acceptable by globally and followed such standards. Those standards guides different organization to bring uniformity in terms of representing accounting information to the general public. 

It plays a crucial role in ensuring transparency, consistency and comparability in financial reporting across different countries. It provides set of rules, principles and guidelines that govern how company should record, measure and disclose financial transaction and information. And finally it promotes global harmonization and facilitates cross border business activities. 

Two sets of global standards: 

1. International Financial Reporting Standards Developed by IASB. 

2. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP)

Bhutan is a small country and compare to other country most of our companies and business are very small and nature of business is totally different. Though our country IFRS/IAS from 2012 however due to our countries situation such as rules and regulation, nature of business, GNH and our cultures its difficult to adopt as same as what other country is following. Therefore we have to developed our own standards based on IFRS and commonly known as BAS which is more relevant and applicable in our country. 

Allocating BAS in class 11 accountancy curriculum 

Topic (in which BAS is embedded)	Bhutanese Accounting standards (Indicate the BAS number)	Examples (how is it embedded in the textbook)
Chapter 8 Accounting for Property, Plant and Equipment	❖       BAS 16 (Property, plant and Equipment)	❖       Definition and Meaning of PPE ❖       Recognition of PPE ❖       Measurement of PPE ❖       Depreciation ❖       Revaluation of PPE ❖       Disposal & DE recognition of PPE
Chapter 9 Financial Statements	❖       BAS 1 (Presentation of Financial Statements) ❖       BAS 7 (Statement of Cash Flow) ❖       BAS 2 (Inventories) ❖       BAS 32 (Financial Instruments : Presentation)	❖       Definition ❖       Characteristic  ❖       Purpose ❖       Complete set of financial statements ❖       Presentation of Statement Cash Flow ❖       Measurement of inventories (Cost of inventories)
Chapter 11 Cost Sheet	❖       BAS 2 (Inventories)	❖       Treatment of Inventories
Chapter 7 Bank Reconciliation Statement	❖       BAS 8 (Accounting Policies, Changes in Accounting Estimates and Errors)	❖       Objectives ❖       Correction of Errors ❖       Bank Statement and Cash Flow