Accountancy / Book Keeping
Subject code 301 · domain paper
Each of those rules names Accountancy / Book Keeping outright — no combination of the other papers reaches them. That is the whole case for spending one of five slots on it.
The paper at a glance
Accountancy / Book-Keeping carries the subject code 301. The syllabus described here is the one published for 2026-27.
It is a short document: a cover page and two pages of topics. Almost all of it is the Class 12 accountancy course — partnership firms, companies, and reading a company's financial statements.
How the syllabus is organised
The document is laid out in five units (Unit I to Unit V), with an optional alternative to Unit V. There are no sections and no A/B split; the units run straight through, and the only fork is at the end, where a second Unit V on computerised accounting is offered as an alternative to the one on financial statement analysis.
The syllabus itself is a list of topics only. It does not print question counts, marks, negative marking or timing, and it does not say how the optional unit is handled in the paper. Read it alongside the exam pattern.
Partnership accounts: Units I to III
The first three units follow the life of a partnership firm: how it is set up and shares profit, how it changes when a partner joins, retires or dies, and how it is wound up.
| Unit | What it covers |
|---|---|
| Unit I: Accounting for Partnership | Nature of a partnership firm — partnership deed (meaning, importance); accounts of partnership — fixed versus fluctuating capital, division of profit among partners, Profit and Loss Appropriation Account, guarantee of profit to a partner, past adjustments |
| Unit II: Reconstitution of a Partnership Firm | Change in profit-sharing ratio among existing partners — sacrificing and gaining ratio; revaluation of assets and reassessment of liabilities, distribution of reserves and accumulated profits; goodwill — nature, factors affecting it, and valuation by average profit, super profit and capitalisation methods; admission of a partner — effect of admission, change in ratio, treatment of goodwill, revaluation, reserves and adjustment of capitals; retirement or death of a partner — change in ratio, goodwill, revaluation, accumulated profits, deceased partner's capital account and executor's account, loan account |
| Unit III: Dissolution of Partnership Firm | Meaning; settlement of accounts — preparation of the Realisation Account and related accounts (excluding piecemeal distribution, sale to a company and insolvency of a partner) |
Unit II is the longest in the document. It names three methods of valuing goodwill and walks through admission, retirement and death separately, so expect the same underlying adjustments — goodwill, revaluation, reserves — to appear in each of those settings. Unit III explicitly excludes piecemeal distribution, sale to a company and insolvency of a partner.
Company accounts: Unit IV
| Unit | What it covers |
|---|---|
| Unit IV: Company Accounts: Accounting for Share and Debenture Capital | Features and types of companies; share capital — meaning, nature and types; accounting for share capital — issue and allotment of equity and preference shares, over- and under-subscription, issue at par and premium, calls in advance and in arrears, issue for consideration other than cash; forfeiture and re-issue of shares; presentation of share capital and debentures in the balance sheet; issue of debentures — at par, premium and discount, for consideration other than cash, with terms of redemption, as collateral security; interest on debentures; writing off discount or loss on issue of debentures |
This unit covers both shares and debentures. On the share side it goes as far as forfeiture and re-issue; on the debenture side it names issue at par, premium and discount, issue as collateral security, interest, and writing off discount or loss on issue. Redemption of debentures appears only as "terms of redemption" attached to issue.
Analysis of financial statements, or its alternative: Unit V
| Unit | What it covers |
|---|---|
| Unit V: Analysis of Financial Statements | Financial statements of a company — simple statements in the prescribed form with major headings and sub-headings; financial analysis — meaning, significance, purpose and limitations; tools — comparative statements and common-size statements; accounting ratios — meaning, objectives and types (liquidity, solvency, activity, profitability); cash flow statement — meaning, objectives, preparation, adjustments for depreciation, amortisation, dividend and tax, and purchase and profit or loss on sale of non-current assets (as per the revised standard issued by ICAI) |
| Optional to Unit V — Unit V: Computerised Accounting System | Concept and types of a Computerised Accounting System (CAS); its features, advantages and limitations; structure of a CAS — chart of accounts, codification and hierarchy of account heads; Accounting Information System (AIS); accounting applications of electronic spreadsheets — features offered, generating accounting information, reports using pivot tables, common spreadsheet errors, depreciation schedule, loan repayment schedule, payroll accounting; graphs and charts in a spreadsheet for business data |
The main Unit V is the analytical half of the course: comparative and common-size statements, the four families of accounting ratios, and the cash flow statement. The document says the cash flow adjustments follow the revised standard issued by ICAI.
The block headed "Optional to Unit V" is a different subject altogether: computerised accounting systems and spreadsheets. The syllabus presents it as an alternative, mirroring the choice schools offer in Class 12. It does not say whether the paper will contain questions from both and let you choose, or how many questions either version gets.
What this syllabus does not tell you
The document is a topic list and nothing more. From it you cannot learn:
- how many questions come from each unit, or the marks, negative marking and duration — those are on the exam pattern;
- how the optional Unit V is offered in the paper — whether both versions appear and you pick, or something else;
- the weightage of any unit, so treat every unit as examinable rather than ranking them;
- how difficult the questions will be, or whether they will be conceptual or numerical;
- which books to use; the syllabus names no textbook;
- how much weight a university gives this paper once you qualify — the programmes that accept it are listed below, but the marks or ranking rule each one applies sits in its own admission bulletin.
For anything about attempt rules or numbers of questions, go to the NTA information bulletin and the exam pattern rather than to this list.
Where this paper can take you
Programmes whose rule can use Accountancy / Book Keeping, from the 15 universities whose documents we have read. 7 of them cannot be reached any other way.
B Design (Fashion) [ 2+2 with international credit transfer option] · B Sc (IT) [2+2 with international credit transfer option] · B. Arch. · and 104 more
B.A. (Hons.) Political Science · B.A. (Programme) · B.A. (Hons.) Psychology · and 45 more
Bachelor of Arts (Global Studies) · Bachelor of Arts (Hons.) - Economics · Bachelor of Arts (Hons.) - English · and 11 more
Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) · B.A. LL.B. (Hons.) · Five Year Integrated Programme in Management (BBA & MBA) · and 8 more
Bachelor of Commerce (Honours/Honours with Research) · Bachelor of Commerce (Hons) · Bachelor of Commerce (Hons) - (Accounting and Finance) Integrated with ACCA · and 1 more
B.B.A. (Hons.) Business Administration (Puducherry Main Campus) · B.Com. (Hons.) General (Karaikal Campus) · B.Com. (Hons.) General (Puducherry Main Campus)
Bachelor of Arts (Journalism and Mass Communication) · Bachelor of Business Administration
B.Com. (Honours) / B.Com. (Honours) Financial Market Management