OxfordAQA A-Level Accounting: Clubs and non-profit making organisations (9615) – Revision Notes

For the full Vellacombe worked example and longer explanations, go to the club accounts study guide. These notes squeeze section 3.2.8, Clubs and non-profit making organisations, of the OxfordAQA International AS and A-level Accounting (9615) specification, Version 1.2 (International AS exams May/June 2025 onwards; International A-level exams May/June 2026 onwards), into quick-recall form. The topic is International A-level only and belongs to the Paper 3: Financial Accounting content. When you finish, try the club accounts practice set.

More: the course hub page, free 10-minute diagnostics, a printable checklist and the notes on the incomplete records topic, which use the same “find the missing figure” technique. All clubs and figures below are invented; amounts are in US dollars.

What the specification lists

• Prepare and comment on the financial statements of clubs and non-profit making organisations.
• Statements: receipts and payments account; trading account; income and expenditure account; statement of financial position.
• Calculations and records: subscriptions account; accumulated fund; life memberships and donations.

Key terms

Term	Meaning
Receipts and payments account	Summary of the cash book: opening balance, all receipts, all payments, closing balance. No adjustments
Income and expenditure account	The club’s income statement: accruals basis, revenue items only, includes depreciation
Surplus / deficit	Income above / below expenditure (the club’s profit / loss)
Accumulated fund	Total assets less liabilities and separate funds; the club’s capital
Subscriptions in arrears	Fees owed by members for the period: current asset
Subscriptions in advance	Fees paid early for a later period: current liability
Life membership fund	Life fees received but not yet released to income
Trading account	Prepared for a bar, café or shop; its profit or loss becomes one line of income or expenditure

Where each item goes

Item	Receipts and payments	Income and expenditure	Statement of financial position
Subscriptions received	Yes, as cash	Only the year’s share, via subscriptions account	Arrears and advance balances
Bar takings and supplier payments	Yes	No: bar profit or loss only	Bar inventory, bar payables
Purchase of equipment	Yes	No: depreciation only	Non-current asset
Life membership fees	Yes	Annual release only	Life membership fund
Donation for a capital project	Yes	No	Added to accumulated fund (or named fund)
Small general donation	Yes	Yes, as income	No
Depreciation	No	Yes	Reduces carrying amount
Accruals and prepayments	No	Adjust the expense	Current liability / current asset

Method in steps

1. Opening accumulated fund = opening assets - opening liabilities
                              - opening life membership fund
2. Subscriptions account  -> subscription income (balancing figure)
3. Bar total and trading account -> purchases, then bar profit or loss
4. Adjust each expense for amounts owing and prepaid
5. Life fund: add new fees, release this year's share
6. Depreciation per policy
7. Income and expenditure account -> surplus or deficit
8. Statement of financial position:
   closing accumulated fund = opening fund + capital donations
                              + surplus (or - deficit)

Subscriptions account layout

Debit side                         | Credit side
Arrears b/d (owed at start)        | Advance b/d (paid early, at start)
Income and expenditure (balance)   | Bank (cash received)
Advance c/d (paid early, at end)   | Written off (if any)
                                   | Arrears c/d (owed at end)

Worked reminder: Thrushgill Bowls Club

At the start, arrears were 240 and advance payments 180. Of the opening arrears, 40 will never be paid. Received in the year 9,860. At the end, arrears 310 and advance 260.

Credit side: 180 + 9,860 + 40 + 310          = 10,390
Debit side:  240 + 260 + balance             = 10,390
Balancing figure                             =  9,890
Subscription income (9,890 - 40 written off) =  9,850

Show 9,890 less 40 (net 9,850) in the income and expenditure account, or 9,890 as income with the 40 as an expense: the surplus is the same.

Bar or café trading account

Find purchases from supplier payments first, then prepare the trading account. Deduct only costs the bar itself causes (bar staff wages, for example). A loss is shown under expenditure as “bar loss”.

Worked reminder: Pendrigg Golf Club bar

Supplier payments 21,600; bar suppliers owed 1,420 at the start and 1,180 at the end; bar inventory 2,300 at the start and 2,050 at the end; takings 34,700; bar staff wages 6,900.

Purchases     = 21,600 - 1,420 + 1,180     = 21,360
Cost of sales = 2,300 + 21,360 - 2,050     = 21,610
Gross profit  = 34,700 - 21,610            = 13,090
Bar profit    = 13,090 - 6,900             =  6,190

The income and expenditure account shows one line: bar profit 6,190.

Life memberships

Credit fees to the life membership fund. Release a share each year as the policy says.

Worked reminder: Esklethwaite Birdwatchers’ Society

Earlier life fees totalled 4,800 and the fund stood at 3,000. New fees this year 1,600. Each fee is spread over 8 years, starting in the year received.

Release = (4,800 + 1,600) / 8 = 800
Closing fund = 3,000 + 1,600 - 800 = 3,800

Accumulated fund

Worked reminder: Harrowdene Photographic Society

Equipment 6,300; cash 1,140; subscriptions in arrears 90; subscriptions in advance 210; hall hire owed 150.

Accumulated fund = 6,300 + 1,140 + 90 - 210 - 150 = 7,170

Must-know distinctions

• Receipts and payments vs income and expenditure. Cash basis with capital items included vs accruals basis with revenue items only.
• Surplus vs increase in bank. The bank movement includes capital items and timing differences; the surplus does not.
• Arrears vs advance. Arrears are owed to the club (asset); advance payments are owed by the club in membership (liability).
• Capital donation vs revenue donation. A gift for a named project goes to the accumulated fund; an unconditional small gift is income.
• Bar profit vs bar takings. Only the bar’s profit or loss enters the income and expenditure account.
• Accumulated fund vs life fund. Separate balances on the statement of financial position.

Commenting: what to look at

• Is there a surplus or deficit, and was it boosted by one-off items?
• How far does income rely on subscriptions or on the bar?
• Is the bar making a profit after its own wages?
• Can the club meet its current liabilities from current assets?
• Would a planned project need higher subscriptions, a loan or fundraising?

Quote figures, then finish with a clear verdict.

Quick self-test

1. What is the club equivalent of a sole trader’s capital?
2. Opening subscriptions in advance 300 (no arrears). Received 5,600. Closing arrears 150, closing advance 420. Calculate subscription income.
3. Are subscriptions in advance an asset or a liability?
4. Café takings 8,400; opening inventory 520; purchases 4,990; closing inventory 610. Calculate café gross profit.
5. Equipment 4,800; bank 650; subscriptions in arrears 70; subscriptions in advance 130; payables 240. Calculate the accumulated fund.
6. Four new life members pay 1,500 each; there were no earlier life fees. Fees are released over 10 years starting in the year received. Calculate this year’s release and the closing fund.
7. Where is a legacy of 20,000 for a new pavilion recorded?
8. Opening cash 1,200; receipts 9,300; payments 10,050. What is the closing balance in the receipts and payments account?
9. Give two reasons why receipts less payments is not the surplus.
10. Income 14,200 and expenditure 15,050. State the result and its effect on the accumulated fund.
11. Electricity paid 1,840; 160 accrued at the start and 220 at the end. Calculate the expense.

Answers

1. The accumulated fund.
2. 300 + 5,600 + 150 - 420 = 5,630.
3. A current liability.
4. Cost of sales 520 + 4,990 - 610 = 4,900; gross profit 3,500.
5. 4,800 + 650 + 70 - 130 - 240 = 5,150.
6. Release 6,000 / 10 = 600; closing fund 6,000 - 600 = 5,400.
7. Added directly to the accumulated fund (or a named pavilion fund), not income.
8. 1,200 + 9,300 - 10,050 = 450.
9. Any two: it includes capital receipts and spending; it ignores accruals and prepayments; it ignores depreciation; it includes cash relating to other years, such as arrears and advance subscriptions.
10. A deficit of 850; the accumulated fund falls by 850.
11. 1,840 - 160 + 220 = 1,900.

Where marks are usually lost

• Using subscriptions received as the income figure without preparing a subscriptions account.
• Reversing the sides of the arrears and advance balances in the subscriptions account.
• Omitting arrears written off, or writing them off and also keeping them as an asset.
• Showing bar takings, purchases and wages as separate income and expenditure lines.
• Forgetting supplier balances when finding bar purchases from payments.
• Including equipment bought or a capital donation in the income and expenditure account.
• Crediting a whole life fee to income, or leaving the life fund out of the opening accumulated fund.
• Labelling the result “profit” instead of “surplus” or “deficit”.
• Commenting without figures, or describing the statements without a final verdict.

Official syllabus

OxfordAQA International AS and A-level Accounting (9615) specification, Version 1.2, for International AS exams May/June 2025 onwards and International A-level exams May/June 2026 onwards (OxfordAQA): section 3.2.8, Clubs and non-profit making organisations.